Brock University Master of Sustainability Candidate DeCock-Caspell is one of only three graduate students chosen to present at a national conference this month.

DeCock-Caspell will be participating in the Student Delegate Program as part of the MSA Research and Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) Connect 2020 conference. The national, three-day discussion takes place in Toronto and brings together industry, academia and government to discuss Canadian natural and man-made catastrophes. The conference is focused on catastrophe management and fostering collaboration before, during and after catastrophic events.

DeCock-Caspell will present her thesis on coastline change and vulnerability on the second day of the conference, Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. She said that being selected as a student delegate for CatIQ Connect 2020 is a momentous moment in her studies.

“This opportunity means a great deal to me,” she said. “Not only do I get to share my research (and that of my team) with a broad national audience, but it will be an incredible networking opportunity.”

Her research analyses how the Town of Lincoln’s shoreline has changed over time and the role that climatic factors and human activities have played in its evolution. This is part of a larger project that is working directly with the community to co-construct adaptation strategies and understand the barriers stopping those communities from acting on climate change.

She will use a combination of historical air photographs, climatic and non-climatic data and land-based photographs submitted from the community to tell the story of shoreline evolution in Lincoln. The photograph comparisons will be later be integrated with the coastline analysis maps in an online, accessible web application that will be shared with the public. The technique she is utilizing can be generalized to other communities interested in disaster risk reduction and adaptation to the increased exposure to natural hazards brought about by climate change.

“Being selected to speak about my research at an event such as this affirms that what I am doing matters,” DeCock-Caspell said. “Not only to the residents of the community I am working with, but to all Canadians.”