Learning from the Floods of 2008
Learning from the Floods of 2008
Practical Strategies for Resilience
December 8, 2008
Gateway Hotel and Conference Center, Ames, Iowa
About the workshop: The flooding that swept across eastern and central Iowa in the summer of 2008 damaged cities, towns, and farms. It left residents without homes, livelihoods, and working lands. It stripped valuable soil and nutrients from the land. In the aftermath of the flooding, many ideas have emerged on how to respond appropriately and effectively.
In four general sessions, each featuring a panel of experts, workshop
attendees will hear about
- Flood 2008 realities (what really happened and why),
- Farming systems (how can we protect our agricultural resources),
- Urban systems (how can we safeguard our cities and towns situated on waterways), and
- River systems (reshaping our relationships with the state's rivers; how we can reduce damage and improve water quality).
Purposes: Iowans want answers to the questions-
- What lessons did we learn in 2008 floods?
- What do we know already that we could apply/implement NOW to significantly reduce impact of future floods?
- What additional research/mitigation is needed in the future?
Four groups of Iowans who work with land, climate, urban and agricultural issues will respond to these questions and interact with workshop participants to devise recommendations to help protect Iowa from the next round of floods.
Sponsored by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, and the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at University of Northern Iowa.
