The recent hurricanes Harvey and Irma are painful reminders that we are living in an age of increasing risks posed by climate change. The risks are to people and places, including historic cities like Baltimore and around the country and world. Ms. Lisa Craig, Chief of Historic Preservation for Annapolis, has been a national leader in planning for protecting historic places and cultural heritage in the face of rising waters and heightened storm events in coastal cities. One look at a flood plain map of Baltimore shows why Hurricane Isabel in 2003 caused so much flooding from Fell’s Point to the Middle Branch. Ms.Craig will discuss her work in Annapolis on the Weather It Together initiative and nationally on Keeping History Above Water in developing approaches that are being implemented in places like Annapolis and Newport, Rhode Island. From hazard mitigation planning to flooding adaptation strategies to 3D modeling and hurricane case studies, Ms. Craig will share with us the leading edge of thinking on how to protect historic neighborhoods and communities from a future of rising tides.

We hope you can join us and Ms. Craig on Thursday, November 9 at 7:00 pm for the talk, with a wine and cheese reception following. Our host is the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore, a historic treasure of its own. Built in 1818 and designed by noted architect Maximilian Godefroy (who also designed Baltimore’s Battle Monument on Calvert Street), the church is the oldest Unitarian building still being used in the country.