UGA-IRIS Nature-Based Solutions Short Course to Feature Anchor QEA Subject Matter Experts

The University of Georgia (UGA) Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS) will offer a five-week virtual short course on nature-based solutions (NBS) this fall, featuring Anchor QEA’s Todd Bridges, PhD, and Ram Mohan, PhD, PE, both Professors of Practice at UGA IRIS.

The 2026 NBS short course will explore the planning, design and construction of nature-based solutions across a range of landscape settings. Two additional Anchor QEA professionals, Josef Rieger and Renee Robertson, PE, will contribute to the course as well.

Nature-Based Solutions: Planning, Design & Construction will run October 13 through November 12, bringing together professionals from government, academia, regulatory agencies and the private sector. Bridges and Mohan will serve as course directors. 

Bridges, who joined Anchor QEA in June as a Senior Scientist, is an Associate Director of IRIS and a Professor of Practice in Resilient and Sustainable Systems at UGA IRIS. Mohan is a Professor of Practice at IRIS and Principal Engineer at Anchor QEA. Together, Bridges and Mohan co-direct IRIS’s Sustainable Sediment Management Program.

The course will explore NBS across coastal, riverine and other landscapes, with sessions addressing ecological and coastal processes, planning considerations, design and construction, benefit-cost analysis and real-world case studies. The program combines technical instruction with practitioner perspectives and discussions focused on applying NBS principles to infrastructure and restoration projects.

“Nature-based solutions are rapidly becoming an important part of how we plan and build resilient infrastructure,” said Bridges. “This course is designed to connect the science and engineering behind these approaches with the practical experience needed to successfully plan, design and deliver projects.”

Bridges will open the course with a presentation on “The Case for Nature-Based Solutions,” while Mohan will lecture on “Introduction to NBS, Key Principles and Project Types.” The two will also facilitate open discussion forums following each course module over the five-week program and close the course with a joint session examining key steps to the successful development of NBS projects.

Rieger, Senior Managing Professional Scientist, will present “Developing Restoration Projects Using a Continuum Approach – A Practitioners’ Perspective” on October 15. Robertson, Principal Engineer, will present a case study of the Hancock County Living Shoreline and Heron Marsh on October 29.

The program will address the application of NBS in a range of settings. Sessions include wetland restoration, oyster reefs, beaches and dunes, living shorelines, floodplain and riverbank applications, water supply and drought, water quality and landscape architecture, among other topics.

The virtual course will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m. ET from October 13 through November 12.

For additional information or to register, visit the UGA IRIS’s Nature-Based Solutions Short Course page.

About Anchor QEA
Anchor QEA’s mission is to transform our environment and communities, with integrity and vibe. Headquartered in Seattle, the firm has more than 25 offices in the U.S. and Canada. Services include environmental engineering, sciences, analytics, planning and management for public and private clients.

For more information, headshots or other imagery, contact us at connect@anchorqea.com.

Banner image courtesy of University of Georgia Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems program.