Over the summer many SWISLR RCN participants attended the SALT (Salinity-Affected Lands in Transition) Conference in Cambridge, Maryland, in June 2024. With approximately 200 attendees, this conference was a great opportunity to bring folks together around important issues related to working lands affected by saltwater intrusion. We learned about the current research through 8 curated sessions, a poster session, and two keynote talks. In the first Keynote, Dr. Emily Bernhardt discussed the possible futures that could take place if we can work together to untangle the complexities surrounding SWISLR. She stepped through what we know about SWISLR, what is currently happening to study SWISLR, and the new technology being used to combat SWISLR issues. In the second Keynote, Dr. Diana Seecharran provided a global perspective and discussed how the rice-based farmers in Guyana are reacting and adapting to the SWISLR problem. The other sessions covered topics on the environmental, social, and economic issues SWISLR is causing throughout the coastal plain. 

At the end of last month we had our first SWISLR all-hands meeting! Many exciting projects, working groups, and connections were created at this event. The group of people that were able to join describe our time at Camp Don Lee the best: