Stone Living Lab 2025 Conference Recap
The Stone Living Lab welcomed more than 350 people for our third biennial conference, “Nature-Based Coastal Resilience in Urban Settings,” on April 16-18 at UMass Boston.
Stone Living Lab Joins Museum of Science for Rise Up Weekend
The Stone Living Lab team joined our partners at the Museum of Science for their Rise Up Boston: A Climate Event program on Saturday, April 26, 2025. The day was full of activities, enlightening live presentations, climate conversations, and much more, with a focus on informing, empowering, and inspiring action.
Recent Publications from the Stone Living Lab
In March 2025, the Stone Living Lab released findings from three projects funded by grants to three external organizations. These publications all explore nature-based approaches (NbA) through lenses of public health, open space access, economic opportunity, and climate justice. We’re also proud to celebrate Emma Brooks, a master’s student with the Stone Living Lab and supervised by Professor Bob Chen, who successfully defended her thesis: Harboring Change: Legacy Contamination, Plant-Metal Dynamics, and the Fate of a Boston Marsh.
Lab Team Meets with Dutch Water Envoy Meike van Ginneken
The Stone Living Lab team was thrilled to host Water Envoy for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Meike van Ginneken, on Friday, February 7, 2025. The group discussed climate resilience along Boston Harbor and what nature-based approaches are being considered, as well as key insights on solutions that address the world’s pressing water needs as it relates to building sustainable research partnerships.
Dr. Katie Dafforn Joins Stone Living Lab as Co-Director
The Stone Living Lab is excited to announce the hiring of Dr. Katie Dafforn as Co-Director of the Lab and as the Distinguished Professor of Coastal Resilience at the School for the Environment at UMass Boston.
How sponge cities offer a sustainable solution to rising sea levels | WBUR
Read or listen to WBUR's coverage of Professor Kongjian Yu's visit to Boston to learn about his visit with Stone Living Lab staff.
Call for Abstracts!
We are now accepting abstracts for our 2025 conference: Nature-based Resilience in Urban Coastal Settings!
North America’s first-ever Living Seawalls habitat panels installed by Stone Living Lab at two Boston Harbor sites
North America’s first-ever “Living Seawalls” panels were installed by the Stone Living Lab at two locations on Boston Harbor this month. The panels are specially designed to create habitat for marine life to flourish on what would otherwise be inhospitable flood barriers.
Snails, mussels and seaweed: Boston project aims to bring life to barren seawalls | WBUR
The Lab's pilot Living Seawalls project, Managing Director Joe Christo, and UMass Boston researcher Jarrett Byrnes are featured by WBUR, highlighting how new engineering designs can help "green the gray" along Boston's shoreline.