Advancing the practice of engineering with nature is a primary goal for the Engineering With Nature Program, and technology transfer through publications is a critical pathway to achieving this goal. In Season 8, Episode 8, host Sarah Thorne is joined by Amanda Tritinger, Deputy Lead of the Engineering With Nature Program, and Courtney Chambers, Communications Lead for the Engineering With Nature Program. They’re discussing the importance of the Programs’ key publications, including two new ones in 2025.
Publications are critical to advancing the practice and closing the gaps in knowledge. As Amanda says, “They showcase real-world applications of natural infrastructure and inspire others to adopt these strategies in their own projects. By publishing, we make it possible for natural infrastructure to be integrated into more projects and drive innovation across multiple sectors.” She adds, “Our publications not only help maintain top-tier standing in the research world but they also create valuable opportunities for citations, collaborations, and knowledge sharing. Ultimately, the more we publish, the more projects we can contribute to, which fuels continuous innovation and propels the practice of natural infrastructure moving forward.”
A prime example of innovative EWN Publications is the EWN Atlas series. As Courtney explains, it was born out of a conversation that Todd Bridges, founder of the EWN Program, had with the then USACE Director of Civil Works, James Dalton who suggested that people would understand the key principles of EWN if they could see what they look like in practice. “Those principles are applying science and engineering to produce operational efficiencies; leveraging natural processes to enhance performance, minimize resource demands, and extend project lifespans; expanding the range of benefits achieved by integrating economic, ecological, social benefits; and using collaboration to streamline projects, reduce delays, and build mission aligned infrastructure.” She adds, “so that’s where the idea was born. Todd Bridges and Jeff King, current National Lead teamed up and went to work creating the very first Atlas.”
Atlas 1 was released in 2018, Atlas 2 in 2021, and Atlas 3 in 2024. The Atlases are beautiful coffee table books with full-page pictures of projects that incorporate the four EWN principles. Amanda notes, “They serve as this tangible proof of concept that shows stakeholders and team members just what is possible or what the future of sustainable infrastructure could look like.”
The success of the Atlas series has led to additional publications. In January 2025, EWN released Engineering With Nature: Natural Infrastructure For Mission Readiness At U.S. Navy And Marine Corps Installations, also known as “The Navy Playbook.” As Courtney notes, “This publication is important because it connects EWN approaches directly to national defense priorities, demonstrating how natural infrastructure can support operational readiness by providing cost-effective solutions to reduce threats to critical infrastructure and ranges.”
Hollie Janson Schmidt, National Director of the Planning Group for Advisory Solutions at Jacobs, was the project executive responsible for developing the Navy Playbook with EWN. As she explains, “The intention of the book is to really be nontechnical and user friendly so that someone could look at some of these sketches and really understand some of the characteristics and the components that we’re addressing.” She adds, “It’s just really meant to sort of excite people with the visuals and the beauty of what we were trying to bring forward.”
Another project that has been in the works over the last year that will be published soon is The Four Coasts Project Idea Handbook. The Handbook presents design concepts that incorporate Engineering With Nature from four of the EWN Proving Grounds districts: San Francisco, Mobile, the Great Lakes, and Philadelphia. As Courtney describes it, “The Handbook looks into the future and identifies prospective solutions that would be applicable on the four coasts of the United States.
Mindy Strevig, Managing Engineer at Anchor QEA, leads the collaboration on the development of the Four Coasts Handbook. “The whole goal of this Handbook, is to get those solution concepts visualized and conveyed in a way that folks can continue those conversations through their traditional processes to get these projects funded, garner support, and move them to implementation.” She adds, “I’d like to highlight how we did this work. This effort was a collaboration between scientists, engineers, landscape architects, Army Corps points of contact, and some stakeholders in the regions—so that we could make sure we included their perspective.”
The EWN team continues to promote the work of the EWN Program and its partners through publications like these, as well as through ERDC Tech Notes and Tech Reports and peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals. Amanda highlights two recent peer-review publications: Strategic Planting and Nutrient Amendments to Accelerate the Revegetation of Rapidly Retreating Coastal Dunes and Life Cycle Management of Natural Infrastructure: Assessment of State of Practice and Current Tools. She adds, “These publications exemplify just how peer-reviewed research is pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve with natural-infrastructure solutions and how we can help refine and expand this ever-evolving, systems-based practice.
Amanda closes by stressing that “these publications are invaluable to our practitioners because they provide a strong scientific foundation combined with the real-world application of natural infrastructure. By publishing this work, we ensure that knowledge is shared, lessons are learned, and innovations are being scaled up. These publications are critical to advancing the practice. They’re how we bridge that gap between research and implementation and offer actionable insights.”
