Hampton University News October 16, 2015 Hampton University, ODU students awarded Norfolk Environmental Action Award Hampton, Va - The Hampton University Department of Architecture in partnership with the Old Dominion University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has been awarded a 2015 Norfolk Environmental Action Award by the Norfolk Environmental Commission. The students were honored for their contributions towards improving Norfolk's environmental sustainability. The awards presented by the Norfolk Environmental Commission go to individuals, organizations, businesses, and government entities that have excelled in making measurable, positive impacts on Norfolk's environment. Through a collaborative venture called "Wetlands Watch" the students from HU and ODU were tasked to find a solution that would maintain and protect the historic black neighborhood of "Chesterfield Heights" in Norfolk from the flooding issues it faced. According to the Tidewater Rising Resiliency Design Challenge Report, "the overall goal of the work was to conduct a flooding/sea level rise adaptation design process in a shoreline community, at the street/parcel level, with full community involvement, focusing on adaptation before significant storm and flooding damage occurred, with a central goal to maintain or expand ecosystem services in any designs developed." The homes in that area were built on creek beds that were re-filling up with water, thus flooding the homes and forcing the residents to spend money on water protection and flood insurance. Hampton's architecture students were able to be a part of the solution to the problem. "We were challenged to maintain the architectural integrity of the community and the historic integrity of the houses that were already there," said Meredith Stone, a recent Hampton graduate who worked on the project. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.