From St. Mary Excel: Could a resilience lab help St. Mary?

Remember the $135,000 Urban Land Institute study that city, parish and private monies funded over two years ago?
City and parish leadership may change, but the people who make up our community do not — and one of the important recommendations was the establishment of a resilience lab. St. Mary Excel has not stopped working to implement the recommendations of that professional group.
Morgan City and Berwick’s location along the coast, near the Atchafalaya Delta, and along the Intracoastal Waterway make the area an ideal location to field test and innovate in response to coastal hazards.
The hazards of living in the area are great; it is the residents who deal with these problems daily who need support in the search for mitigation and response to the problems. A coastal center in Baton Rouge or Thibodaux is nice but the people who work here are the ones with “skin in the game.” The Urban Land Institute recommended a resilience lab for Morgan City because of its safe harbor, easy access, and environmental importance.
What is a resilience lab? Check out a functioning lab in North Carolina at Chapel Hill. https://coastalresiliencecenter.unc.edu/about-us/ The Coastal Resilience Center at this location conducts research to enhance the resilience of people, infrastructure, and economies to the impacts of coastal hazards such as flooding, hurricanes, and future trends.
The North Carolina lab is just what our area needs to respond to constant riverine flooding, ongoing hurricane threats, and future economy growth trends.
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/oup_coefactsheet_cr...
Resilience is the “ability to recover quickly from difficulties.” St. Mary Parish has had its share of difficulties, but resiliency is the ability to respond in a positive way to those problems: high unemployment, a sedimented Atchafalaya River, an oil-price decline, hurricane threats—and, most recently – COVID-19 impacts. The future of the area lies in its resilience.
To follow the development of this initiative, follow St. Mary Excel on Facebook or look for more coverage in local media outlets.