Deerfield River Valley RISE (Resilience in Shifting Environments)

Our Mission Statement

Our mission is to help Dover, Readsboro, Whitingham, and Wilmington adapt to climate change and mitigate flood risk by creating equitable and lasting tools that connect public concerns with meaningful analysis. By honoring both local knowledge and regional data, we strive to identify the opportunities of varied futures.

What We Heard from Residents

“We need to think about acting more regionally because we’re being forced into it. It makes sense to get out ahead of it.”

- Sam Kondracki, Wilmington

“Locals are realizing their children won’t be able to live here.”

- Gig Zboray, Whitingham, on affordable housing

“I shouldn’t have been allowed to rebuild… nobody should build or be allowed to rebuild in a floodplain.”

- Steve Butler, Wilmington, on rebuilding after Tropical Storm Irene

Play Our Game!

Ready or Not is a serious(ly fun), semi-cooperative game designed by Deerfield River Valley Resilience in Shifting Environments (RISE) to engage the public in conversations surrounding flood risk and scenario planning.

Welcome to Beartown Valley - a quaint, rural region nestled in a mountainous valley in New England! As a newly elected town official, you are responsible for ensuring that your town is successful. Your goal is to provide mandatory services to your residents without overstraining the municipal tax base while preparing for the future (and whatever it may bring)!

As you navigate your time in office, you will be directly controlling the way in which your town develops. This means that you have the final say on how your town builds, grows, and invests. Each of the town in the Valley are facing similar challenges and opportunities for growth. You are all working to help your individual town succeed and become the dominant town in the region.

Ready or Not © 2026 by University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning 2025 Studio licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/byncsa/4.0/.

Game play with students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst March 24th, 2026.