In-person event
Preservation in a Changing Climate Conference
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 from 8:15 am—5 pm
![Preservation in a Changing Climate Conference](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/Ev_PresCionference_1600_Split_Hero.jpg)
Know before you go
In-person event
Location: Conference sessions will take place at PEM. Closing reception and remarks will take place at the National Park Service Armory Visitor Center across the street from PEM.
$50 per person
Registration includes all conference events, optional historic house tours on September 17, light refreshments and a boxed lunch. All lunches include water, chips and a choice of Spinach Cranberry Salad (vegan, with cheese on the side), Falafel Wrap (vegan) or Harvest Chicken Salad Wrap.
All museum galleries will be closed for the duration of the conference.
September 17 | Optional Pre-Conference Historic House Tours
Open to registered participants; weather permitting.
Questions? Contact lela_clawson-miller@pem.org
Join us for the fourth annual Preservation in a Changing Climate conference, hosted by Salem Preservation Partners. This day of thought-provoking talks aims to advance mitigation and adaptation strategies that address impacts of climate change on historic buildings, landscapes and neighborhoods.
Join us for case studies, conversations and panel presentations, beginning with a keynote from Massachusetts State Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer and closing with remarks by National Park Service Superintendent Jennifer Hardin at the National Park Service Armory Visitor Center.
8:15–9 am | Check-in and Light Refreshments
PEM Main Atrium
9–9:20 am | Welcome & Overview of the Day
Join us in Morse Auditorium for opening remarks from Dominick Pangallo (Mayor, City of Salem), Lynda Roscoe Hartigan (PEM’s Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Executive Director and CEO) and Jane Winchell and Steven Mallory (PEM’s Salem Preservation Partners representatives). All conference talks will take place in Morse Auditorium.
9:20–10:05 am | Keynote: Melissa Hoffer, Massachusetts Climate Chief
10:05–10:45 | SESSION 1: PLANNING FOR CHANGE: COASTAL RESILIENCE AND ADAPTATION
Moderator: Barbara Warren, Executive Director, Salem Sound Coastwatch
Julia Knisel, Coastal Shoreline and Floodplain Manager, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management
Neal Duffy, Director of Sustainability and Resiliency, City of Salem
10:45–11:05 am | Break
11:05 am–Noon | SESSION 2: CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND MANAGED RETREAT PLAN CASE STUDY: THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES
Moderator: Julia Knisel
Susan Baker, Collections Manager, The House of the Seven Gables
Paul Wright, Director of Preservation and Maintenance, The House of the Seven Gables
Noon–1 pm | Lunch
Peabody Essex Museum, Main Atrium
1–2:15 pm | SESSION 3: SITE AND BUILDING STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING WATER INUNDATION
Moderator: Christina Pokwatka, Preservation Project Manager, Historic New England
Historic Preservation and Groundwater Mitigation: Finding the Balance | Rodney Rowland, Director of Facilities and Environmental Sustainability, Strawbery Banke Museum
Staying Above Water | Julie Larry, Senior Architectural Historian, Black Diamond Consultants
Stormwater Management in the Face of Climate Change | Ben Haavik, Team Leader, Property Care, Historic New England
2:15–2:35 pm | Break
2:35–3:50 pm | SESSION 4: CLIMATE MITIGATION SOLUTIONS – DECARBONIZING HISTORIC BUILDINGS THROUGH ELECTRIFICATION
Moderator: Neal Duffy
Geothermal 101 and How Networking Communities Can Enable a Just Energy Transition | Angie Alberto Escobar, Director, Community Gas-to-Geo, HEET
Lowell Networked Geothermal Pilot Project: Process, Planning, and Practicality | Ruairi O’Mahony, Executive Director, Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and Katherine Moses, Sustainability Director, City of Lowell
The Cabot House, Beverly: Lessons from an Air-Source Heat Pump Installation in a Historic Building | Sue Goganian, Director, Historic Beverly
4–5 pm | Closing Reception & Remarks
National Park Service Armory Visitor Center (2 New Liberty Street, across the street from PEM and the Museum Place Garage)
Jennifer Hardin, Superintendent, Salem Maritime National Historic Site
September 17 | Optional Pre-Conference Historic House Tours
Join us for two historic house tours, open to all registered participants! Learn how PEM and the House of the Seven Gables are adapting to and preparing for climate change.
Both tours will be held weather permitting. In the event of weather-related cancellation, conference registrants will be notified by email.
2–3 pm | Ropes Mansion (318 Essex St) with Steven Mallory, PEM’s Manager of Historic Structures and Landscapes | No onsite parking available
3:30–4:30 pm | The House of the Seven Gables (115 Derby St) with Susan Baker, Collections Manager, and Paul Wright, Director of Preservation and Maintenance | On-site parking available
![logo](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/City-Seal-Proclamation_sm.png)
![logo](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/destinationsalem_logo_sm.png)
![logo](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/EssexLogo_BlackText_sm.png)
![logo](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/H7G-Logo_Cranberry_sm.png)
![logo](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/Historic-New-England_sm.png)
![logo](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/Historic-Salem-Logo-RGB_sm.png)
![logo](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/MHC-25th-Anniv-Logo_sm.png)
![logo](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/NPSLogo_Restricted_sm.png)
![logo](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/Salem-Inn-logo_sm.png)
![logo](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/SalemSound_Final_sm.png)
About the Collaborators
Other events that may interest you
In-person event
Phillips Library Open House: Recent Acquisitions
Friday, September 20 + Saturday, September 21 | 10 am–4 pm
![](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/_width998/Ev_PhillipsLibraryOH_1800_Share.jpg)
Event
PEM Gala 2024
Saturday, November 9 | 6–8:30 pm (Dinner) + 8:30 pm–midnight (After-Party)
![](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/_width998/Ev_PEMGala_1800_Share_v3.jpg)