Designs and renderings developed by university students for how the communities of New Bedford and Fairhaven could adapt to climate change will be on display in a free exhibition at the New Bedford Art Museum Jan. 26 through March 23. The designs reimagine infrastructure, housing, neighborhoods and shorelines and were developed as part of the 2023 Envision Resilience New Bedford and Fairhaven Challenge.

Howard University and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth are taking part in the Fall 2023 Envision Resilience New Bedford and Fairhaven Challenge as part of two pilot programs this year, joining teams Rhode Island School of Design, Northeastern University, the University of Florida, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Virginia in the 2023 cohort.

Skylah and Raquel are the eldest of four very impressive, young environmental scientists. The four sisters each follow their own paths within the discipline and are either graduates or current students of New Bedford High School. Skylah and Raquel shared with the Envision Resilience team their reflections on growing up in the famous port city and their goals for the future.

Rodney Avila has been a fisherman out of New Bedford, Massachusetts for five decades. After making his livelihood at sea, Rodney has had a hard time sticking to retired life and now serves as a liaison between families in the fishing industry for Ørsted and New Bedford’s burgeoning offshore wind industry.