Much of our country’s infrastructure is aged but potentially more troubling – it was built for a different era. Changing weather patterns demand climate-smart solutions if we want any hope of mitigating impacts. Rising seas and increased flooding threaten to swamp our existing infrastructure, private property, and public assets. Due to rising water, there are structural requisites that are urgently needed around the causeways that cross the Indian River Lagoon (IRL). As waters rise and waves crash harder onto shore, areas around the causeways wash out. The natural inclination may be to simply build higher seawalls and armor the causeways with concrete and rocks to combat invading waters. But, what’s even more important is supporting nature’s buffers — mangroves, vegetation and seagrass — that harden shorelines, protect our IRL ecosystem, and prevent it from spinning into a death spiral. It’s no secret that the IRL is stressed and currently caught in a recurring negative loop — with algae blooms choking life in the lagoon and making it increasingly difficult for the system to recover.