Point Hope is a village in remote northwestern Alaska experiencing coastal erosion, flooding, thawing permafrost, and sea level rise. These factors affect the community ice cellars (siġluaqs), sod houses, and the only road providing access to higher ground. To address these impacts on cultural heritage, food security, and safety, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering With Nature® (EWN) program, in partnership with E.A. Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., PBC, the Point Hope community, and others, are working to incorporate natural and nature-based features along the north shore of the Point Hope peninsula. Such partnerships that actively include Traditional Ecological Knowledge enable EWN to optimize designs for enhanced resilience in cold regions.
Engineering With Nature® is the intentional alignment of natural and engineering processes to efficiently and sustainably deliver economic, environmental, and social benefits through collaboration.