Shoring Up Resiliency Efforts

STAFF TASK FORCE Shores Up Resiliency Efforts

by JENNIFER ROBINSON Preservation Services Manager, Southern New England

EVERY DAY THROUGHOUT

New England, tons of building waste—old-growth timber, windows, masonry—wends its way to landfills. This cyclic process often represents not only a loss to the historic built environment, but also diminishes the vibrancy of our landscapes and the sustainability of our natural resources. Historic New England works to be a vital resource in the realm of resiliency—not only at our properties, but also in the ways we can share what we learn with others and help form more sustainable communities.

For many years, Historic New England has factored the emerging challenges of climate change into the plans for the preservation of our properties. In 2020 we formed a staff resiliency task force to create a framework for our organizationwide resiliency strategies. Our objective is to consider the effects of recently completed projects and assess new areas of research and implementation that we can share with our preservation peers and the public.

Through the task force discussions, the inherent resiliency of our buildings and landscapes became readily apparent; they have survived storms, disasters, and other natural phenomena over decades and in some cases, hundreds of years. The concept of repairing and retaining original materials has underpinned Historic New England’s preservation philosophy since its founding in the early twentieth century and dovetails with presentday efforts to promote sustainability through the reuse of building material and support of historic building trades. We also have begun to consider the ways in which some

historical design features can inform today’s approaches to sustainability, such as cross-ventilation at our eighteenth-century properties and shading features that Walter Gropius included at his twentiethcentury house in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

The work at our museum sites can inform adaptive strategies for homeowners as well. For example, in recent years we’ve determined that many of our historic gutters and downspouts were being overwhelmed by increasingly intense rain events brought on by climate change. A 2018 study funded by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission’s Federal Historic Preservation Fund allowed us to develop new guidelines for efficient gutter upgrades, which are available online at historicnewengland. org/preservation/property-carewhite-papers/. Implementing the study results has improved gutter performance at several of our properties, including recent upgrades at three Massachusetts properties: the Eustis Estate in Milton and Coffin House and Swett-Ilsley House in Newbury.

Drainage around our buildings significantly impacts their longterm preservation and represents one of the climate change-related conditions where we can make a vital impact. There are several assessments underway and a fullscale drainage project began during the summer at Watson Farm in Jamestown, Rhode Island. Also, we are continually reassessing the effectiveness of previous drainage projects. For instance, a rain garden near the Eustis Estate gatehouse, installed in 2017 to help dissipate and absorb storm water before it creates flood conditions through the planting of native vegetation, is undergoing a water flow engineering review.

From a regional perspective, we are looking for ways to increase the energy efficiency of our buildings without sacrificing historic character. In 2010, we conducted a landmark energy efficiency study at the Lyman Estate in Waltham, Massachusetts, which has guided our approaches to energy conservation. Now, where stateled policies have begun to set new standards for carbon emissions and energy use, our preservation services team is working to provide guidance on efficiency solutions that promote energy savings and are mindful of the character-defining features of historic buildings.

These steps are part of ongoing efforts to understand our dynamic landscapes and the risks to their resiliency. In 2019 interns from Middlebury College in Vermont studied resiliency impacts at our properties in Newbury, a community that is facing many of the challenges affecting the region’s coastal landscapes. With the interns’ case studies we gained a greater understanding of potential impacts of sea level rise to the fragile ecosystems at Spencer-PeirceLittle Farm, which includes a part of the Great Marsh, New England’s largest salt marsh.

Resiliency will continue to be a foundational component that informs decision-making at all levels of Historic New England’s work. We will develop new case studies and share research that will guide best practices for preservation professionals as well as the public. We will also be looking for ways to have a regional influence through partnerships that speak to broader resiliency initiatives and help to further the allied goals of preservation, conservation, and healthy communities.

Students from Middlebury College in Vermont explore the landscape at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, Massachusetts, as part of their 2019 resiliency impact study internship.