Courtney Humphries
@strangestsea.com
Writer, environmental researcher, educator, author. PhD in environmental science from UMass Boston. Former Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT. My Substack is The Nature We Make, https://substack.tnwm.net/. My website is https://www.strangestsea.com/
I’m launching a new Substack newsletter, The Nature We Make, https://substack.tnwm.net . It's grown out of many years studying and writing about urban nature, which has convinced me that we need spaces to encourage connection to the natural world, even within the built environment.
January 16, 2026 at 6:47 PM
I’m launching a new Substack newsletter, The Nature We Make, https://substack.tnwm.net . It's grown out of many years studying and writing about urban nature, which has convinced me that we need spaces to encourage connection to the natural world, even within the built environment.
Reposted by Courtney Humphries
“The 2030s are going to be a tough time for Boston.” apps.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/metr... @erinmdouglas23.bsky.social — and @cehumphries.bsky.social — on "sunny-day flooding" in Boston and ongoing failures to address it. #WhenTheFloodsCome
Morrissey Blvd. floods multiple times a year. It's a symptom of a statewide problem.
The Dorchester parkway, one of Boston’s starkest examples of climate impacts, is inundated multiple times a year.
apps.bostonglobe.com
November 2, 2025 at 6:31 PM
“The 2030s are going to be a tough time for Boston.” apps.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/metr... @erinmdouglas23.bsky.social — and @cehumphries.bsky.social — on "sunny-day flooding" in Boston and ongoing failures to address it. #WhenTheFloodsCome
To make cities better, we need to see them as part of nature and steward our built infrastructure the way we do the green stuff, I argue in this essay for @BostonGlobeMag
#cities #infrastructure #nature #ecology #boston
#cities #infrastructure #nature #ecology #boston
It seems unnatural to think of cities as part of nature. But environmental resilience depends on it. - The Boston Globe
Imagining and creating better cities requires seeing cities as nature, not separate from it.
www.bostonglobe.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:21 PM
To make cities better, we need to see them as part of nature and steward our built infrastructure the way we do the green stuff, I argue in this essay for @BostonGlobeMag
#cities #infrastructure #nature #ecology #boston
#cities #infrastructure #nature #ecology #boston
Thank you to @NepRWA for hosting me as speaker at its annual meeting tonight! It was truly energizing to meet so many people working on #ecosystem health and #ClimateResilience in this region.
January 16, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Thank you to @NepRWA for hosting me as speaker at its annual meeting tonight! It was truly energizing to meet so many people working on #ecosystem health and #ClimateResilience in this region.
Even before the recent Twitter drama, I was on Mastodon and can be found at @[email protected]. I hope to see you there!
January 16, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Even before the recent Twitter drama, I was on Mastodon and can be found at @[email protected]. I hope to see you there!
It's nice to see my earlier @GlobeIdeas story discussed in this piece on the "glassification" of #cities in @Poynter. This is an ongoing issue even as cities step up their commitments to #sustainability and #resilience.
January 16, 2026 at 9:20 PM
It's nice to see my earlier @GlobeIdeas story discussed in this piece on the "glassification" of #cities in @Poynter. This is an ongoing issue even as cities step up their commitments to #sustainability and #resilience.
Looking forward to being part of this virtual discussion about sea level rise in Boston later today! Register here
January 16, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Looking forward to being part of this virtual discussion about sea level rise in Boston later today! Register here
An innovative project in Boston Harbor uses inexpensive vegetation mats for flood protection. I do wish articles like these clarified the difference between protecting from waves/surge and rising sea levels/tides. We need multiple strategies.
January 16, 2026 at 9:20 PM
An innovative project in Boston Harbor uses inexpensive vegetation mats for flood protection. I do wish articles like these clarified the difference between protecting from waves/surge and rising sea levels/tides. We need multiple strategies.
A great story by @zteirstein looking at the complex tradeoffs involved in pursuing cleaner energy.
January 16, 2026 at 9:18 PM
A great story by @zteirstein looking at the complex tradeoffs involved in pursuing cleaner energy.
With community input, a revitalization project along the Malden River strives to mix waterfront recreation and industry. by @bytimlogan
January 16, 2026 at 9:18 PM
With community input, a revitalization project along the Malden River strives to mix waterfront recreation and industry. by @bytimlogan
Fascinating story about restoring urban rivers by rebuilding their microbe-rich “guts,” by @egies.
To Revive a River, Restore Its Liver
Radical reconstruction in Seattle is bringing nearly dead urban streams back to productive life
www.scientificamerican.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:17 PM
Fascinating story about restoring urban rivers by rebuilding their microbe-rich “guts,” by @egies.
Excited to be part of this fabulous virtual panel tonight talking about coastal adaptation in Boston and beyond.
January 16, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Excited to be part of this fabulous virtual panel tonight talking about coastal adaptation in Boston and beyond.
Most cities hoping to upgrade infrastructure “have little to no information about how climate change will worsen future storms.” By @lesommer
January 16, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Most cities hoping to upgrade infrastructure “have little to no information about how climate change will worsen future storms.” By @lesommer
I’ve been wanting to see a story about the complexities of this project and why innovative #climate #adaptation strategies are so hard to do in practice, thanks @zteirstein!
January 16, 2026 at 9:15 PM
I’ve been wanting to see a story about the complexities of this project and why innovative #climate #adaptation strategies are so hard to do in practice, thanks @zteirstein!
How wastewater epidemiology went from being the butt of poop jokes to a beacon in the #COVID pandemic: my feature on @BiobotAnalytics for @BostonGlobeMag
January 16, 2026 at 9:15 PM
How wastewater epidemiology went from being the butt of poop jokes to a beacon in the #COVID pandemic: my feature on @BiobotAnalytics for @BostonGlobeMag
“The lion’s share of U.S. flood risk does not stem from the changing nature of storms and seas, but instead from our decisions about where to build and where to live.” Great story by @jake_bittle
US flood risk is about to explode — but not for the reasons you think
A new study projects that the number of Americans exposed to flood risk will double in 30 years. Development is largely to blame.
grist.org
January 16, 2026 at 9:15 PM
“The lion’s share of U.S. flood risk does not stem from the changing nature of storms and seas, but instead from our decisions about where to build and where to live.” Great story by @jake_bittle
My feature story in @BostonGlobeMag takes a look at the story behind the COVID wastewater data you've been following, and the company trying to make sewage a "pillar of public health."
January 16, 2026 at 9:14 PM
My feature story in @BostonGlobeMag takes a look at the story behind the COVID wastewater data you've been following, and the company trying to make sewage a "pillar of public health."
Hey @EversourceMA what’s up with the weekly power outages in Jones Hill #Dorchester? I’m on deadline! #waswriting
January 16, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Hey @EversourceMA what’s up with the weekly power outages in Jones Hill #Dorchester? I’m on deadline! #waswriting
Where to even start with this?
January 16, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Where to even start with this?
Pigeon nesting (on pigeon spikes) under a cozy portico in Albuquerque’s Old Town.
January 16, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Pigeon nesting (on pigeon spikes) under a cozy portico in Albuquerque’s Old Town.
Really masterful story about the many social and financial costs of continuing to build on waterfront land in the face of sea level rise.
January 16, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Really masterful story about the many social and financial costs of continuing to build on waterfront land in the face of sea level rise.
Best views on the Harbor! Watching the @USSConstitution 21-gun salute from the water for #4thofJuly with @Row_BRC
January 16, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Best views on the Harbor! Watching the @USSConstitution 21-gun salute from the water for #4thofJuly with @Row_BRC