Like much of Sussex County, Milton, Delaware, is on the cusp of significant development. But what makes Milton attractive also makes it vulnerable.

Located at the head of the Broadkill River, which runs 13 miles from Wagamons Pond to the Delaware Bay, Milton is one of many coastal communities susceptible to sea level rise and to surges from increasingly intense storms. 

Over the summer, landscape architecture majors Bri Egan, Cate Boettger and Talia Brinker worked as undergraduate Community Engagement Summer Scholars with the Coastal Resilience Design Studio (CRDS) on a community resilience plan for Milton. 

A partnership between three University of Delaware programs — the Delaware Sea Grant College Program, Sustainable Coastal Communities Initiative, and the Landscape Architecture Program — CRDS selects cities and towns throughout Delaware to consider solutions for issues identified by the community.

The students worked on interdisciplinary teams that addressed the three branches of the Milford plan: stormwater management, wildlife habitat loss, and community connection through hiking and biking trails.

Though each team addressed a unique concern, “it's hard to move forward if you're not considering the other groups,” said Egan, a senior working with the downtown team. “It’s all very interconnected.”

Working with other disciplines is all part of the experience. CRDS Director Zach Hammaker, who is also an assistant professor of landscape architecture, said that students “learn someone else's professional language to be able to communicate in a productive way.”

“We push the researchers and scientists to get involved in the design process,” Hammaker said. “And they're helping the designers on the team make sure that their design recommendations will function and meet the goals that they're putting forward.”

Putting together a plan

The students kicked off the project with what Hammaker calls the “immersive experience” — meeting town leaders, viewing key locations, and hearing from the public in the community where the study is taking place. 

“You have to know your audience well,” said Boettger, a junior from Newark working on the trails team.

”We're trying to really capture as many voices as we can,” said Hammaker, noting that CRDS has worked with smaller, bayside towns for the last two summers.

Residents identified where they live, reported flooding hotspots, shared their favorite locations, and described what the town means to them. 

Using this community input, the team identified cost-effective, high-impact projects that can address concerns that come to light. Often, the team proposes solutions that meet many needs. 

Brinker, a senior from Hockessin, is part of the team working on stormwater management.