The 6th Annual Florida Climate Conference brings scientists, civic leaders and cultural institutions together to turn climate science into action—and introduce a model that could be replicated by coastal communities around the world.

Sarasota’s greatest natural asset may also be its greatest climate challenge—Sarasota Bay. As a nationally recognized estuary connected to the Gulf, the Bay is central to the region’s ecology, economy, culture and quality of life, and increasingly, to understanding how a coastal community can prepare for a changing climate.

Sarasota already has remarkable pieces of that resilience story taking shape including Selby Gardens, The Bay and Sarasota Orchestra’s new Music Center. Each represents a different dimension of how a community can prepare for the future.

The question is how to connect them and the science behind them into something larger.

That is the focus of the 6th Annual Florida Climate Conference, presented by the Climate Adaptation Center (CAC) on Thursday, November 12, at Selby Auditorium on the New College of Florida’s North Campus, formerly the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus.

This year’s conference, “From Climate Risk to Climate Resilience: Building the Sarasota Living Laboratory for Climate Adaptation - A Blueprint for Coastal Communities Worldwide,” introduces the Sarasota Living Laboratory for Coastal Resilience (LLCR), an ambitious effort led by CAC to bring environmental observations, climate science, technology, artificial intelligence and community decision-making together in one working coastal system.

The goal is straightforward.  The CAC’s work will help Sarasota understand what is happening in its environment in real time, anticipate what may happen next and give leaders better information for making decisions about the future.

From Knowledge to Action

The conference opens with one of the country’s leading climate scientists, Benjamin Kirtman, Ph.D., Dean of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and Director of NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies.

Kirtman has spent his career advancing the science of climate prediction—from days to decades. His keynote, “The State of Climate Prediction: What Models Are Telling Us about Evolving Risk in a Changing Climate,” will examine what today’s climate models can tell communities about changing coastal risks and extreme events.

Then comes the critical bridge between knowing and doing.

Bob Bunting, CEO and Founder of the Climate Adaptation Center and the leader behind the development of the LLCR, will address what he calls Florida’s observation gap in “Flying with One Eye Shut: Florida’s Observation Gap and the Need for a Coastal Intelligence System.”  BTW, Bob used to fly into hurricanes!

A scientist, entrepreneur and former NOAA and NCAR scientist, Bunting founded CAC to connect climate science with the decisions Florida communities must make. The LLCR represents the next evolution of that mission: creating a coastal intelligence system capable of turning scattered observations and scientific knowledge into information communities can use.

The LLCR is envisioned as more than a single project. It will integrate environmental sensors, scientific observations, forecasting, artificial intelligence and eventually a digital twin of the coastal environment - creating a continuously updated picture of what is happening around Sarasota Bay and helping communities test and evaluate resilience strategies.

Sarasota’s “Crown Jewels”

The idea becomes tangible in the afternoon, when the conference turns from science and technology to institutions already demonstrating what resilience can look like on the ground.

Jennifer Rominiecki, President and CEO of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, will discuss “Climate Resilience at Selby Gardens.” Under her leadership, Selby Gardens has transformed itself into a living museum and undertaken a major master-plan expansion that includes the world’s first net-positive-energy botanical garden complex.

Selby Gardens is also one of the initial sites participating in the LLCR, making the Gardens a real-world setting where environmental observation, resilience strategies and innovative technologies can be explored.

Across the bayfront, A.G. Lafley, Founding CEO of The Bay Park Conservancy, brings another perspective.

The former chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble joined the effort to transform 53 acres of Sarasota’s city-owned bayfront into The Bay. Today, the park welcomes more than 300,000 visitors annually while incorporating resilience into its design - including stormwater treatment, elevation of portions of the site and a living shoreline.

The Bay is another initial LLCR site. Together, Selby Gardens and The Bay provide two very different but complementary real-world laboratories for understanding how resilience can be designed, measured and improved.

A Community Effort

The conference will broaden the conversation beyond those featured voices. David Tomasko, Ph.D., one of the leading experts on Sarasota Bay and former director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, will examine how climate change could affect coastal water quality. Stuart Waterman, Ph.D., CAC’s chief technology officer, brings decades of experience in Earth-system science, satellite technology and data analysis.

And resilience is not only about ecosystems and infrastructure. Joe McKenna, President and CEO of the Sarasota Orchestra, will discuss the Orchestra’s new Music Center and how its planning has been shaped not only by its cultural importance to Sarasota but also by decisions that incorporate climate resilience.

Local voices will help frame the day’s conversations as well. Cathy Carter of WUSF Media will moderate the morning fireside conversation, while Susan Burns, editor in chief of Sarasota Magazine, is slated to moderate the closing Leadership Forum.

That final conversation brings the day full circle.  How can Sarasota connect its science, technology, environmental assets, cultural institutions and civic leadership into one integrated coastal resilience system?

The answer could become one of Sarasota’s most important contributions to the wider world.

Selby Gardens and The Bay are already demonstrating resilience in practice. The LLCR is designed to connect those efforts with the science, technology and observations needed to understand what works, and why. Sarasota Bay becomes the laboratory; Sarasota becomes the prototype; and what is learned can ultimately be shared with coastal communities facing similar challenges in Florida, the nation and the world.

The ambition is to make resilience not merely something Sarasota discusses, but something it observes, tests, demonstrates and shares.

The 6th Annual Florida Climate Conference takes place Thursday, November 12, 2026, at Selby Auditorium at New College of Florida’s North Campus. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. and the conference runs from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. General admission is $109 with student admission available for $55. A catered lunch may be added for $30.

Tickets and registration: Register for the 6th Annual Florida Climate Conference