The Princeville Community Garden’s Grand Opening 

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A floodplain reimagined into a community garden takes root  

On April 19, Princeville, NC celebrated an exciting milestone with the opening of the Princeville Community Garden. With nearly 70 community members coming and going throughout the day, the event was a joyful celebration of collaboration, connection, and growth. 

The opening event featured grilled food, garden-themed kids’ activities, a seed giveaway, and an art display featuring the creative talents of Princeville Elementary students. The exciting and collaborative day couldn’t have been made possible without the support of the Town of Princeville, Resilience Corps NC, Freedom Org, MOSS Kids, Princeville Elementary. Catering was provided by Big Bones Meat Market, My Jnlle’Z, and SuSu & Kizzie’s Sweet Treats. 

The garden itself represents more than a place to grow food. It’s the result of years of thoughtful planning and collaboration. The garden is a key outcome of the land use plan developed in partnership with the NC State Coastal Design Lab and Town leaders. Located on land purchased through FEMA’s buyout program, this area could no longer be developed for commercial or residential use, but thanks to the vision of leaders and residents in Princeville, it’s now a vibrant community space. 

The garden also stands as a reimagined nature-based solution to mitigate flood damage and restore the land to a meaningful and productive use. To support stormwater management, the garden space will act as a rain garden as well.  This is especially impactful as Princeville is located in a vulnerable region along the Tar River with devastating flooding events in the past. With this parcel of land reconstructed into a community garden, the benefits exceed just harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables.   

CTNC was honored to have played a role in turning a community garden idea into a reality. CTNC’s Resilience Corps NC service member, Anyah Brown, has assisted with the creation of the garden throughout her term.

Mayor Bobbie Jones and Commissioners Vananza Brown, Joe Myrick, and Lee Staton shared their support for this collaborative achievement through their time and attention. Cynthia Satterfield, Erin Witcher, and Beth Mullenberg joined the celebration as representatives for CTNC, highlighting the tangible difference made by Resilience Corps NC in North Carolina communities. 

This area dedicated to growing fresh and healthy food and connecting with others will foster a greater sense of community in the Town of Princeville for generations to come. 

Gardens Spring Up Across Princeville

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Stormwater interventions offer climate solutions

As communities experience increasingly heavy rainfall, communities across North Carolina are experiencing nuisance flooding. Instances of standing water can disrupt routine day-to-day activities, put added strain on infrastructure systems such as roadways and sewers, and cause minor property damage. 

The town of Princeville knows that well, as do many climate-impacted towns in North Carolina. A spot of historic and devastating flooding as well as every-day challenges resulting from nuisance flooding, this town invested in building natural stormwater capture devices while enhancing once-vacant land throughout the community.

In the summer of 2023, CTNC spearheaded a project to install green infrastructure with wetland enhancement projects on vacant, town-owned parcels along the Tar River. These are now sites where stormwater can naturally flow and reduce nuisance flooding that causes inconveniences to residents, roads, and neighborhoods in populated areas. The project created 6,000 square feet of stormwater retention strategies, including bioretention cells and rain gardens designed to hold 27,740 gallons of water per rain event.

Princeville elected leaders worked with residents and partners to identify three locations throughout town where standing water was already creating safety hazards following large rain events. By turning these sites into managed wetland areas with trees, shrubs, and pollinator plants, each site can now absorb stormwater and address standing water issues. This is all while beautifying each plot with seasonal colorful blooms and leaves, supporting native wildlife, including birds and other pollinators.

GARDENS ARE READY TO BLOOM

Site 1 is located at Town Hall and Freedom Hill to help add stormwater runoff at a high-traffic intersection of Princeville. The site includes NC native pollinator plants including Soft Rush, Walker’s Low Catmint, and Black-eyed Susan.

Site 2 is located at the corner of Church and Walston Streets, and Site 3 is located at the corner of Beasley and Walston Streets. These locations were selected due to their proximity to the elementary school rain garden installations completed in 2020.

The project is continuing with an important science component. The Town of Princeville seeks to incorporate community education into every conservation project that takes place. In the case of the stormwater infrastructure improvements, CTNC received funding from TELUS to purchase sensors that track the water absorption rate of the wetland areas. These sensors are offered by Temboo, a technology company that utilizes data to engage communities in understanding their environmental impact locally. The sensors will be installed this summer and will collect data that will be shared with town leaders, educators, students and families to showcase the importance of conservation as a natural solution to flooding and other climate-related issues being experienced by Princeville and surrounding communities.

RAIN GARDENS & WETLAND ENHANCEMENTS OFFER A CLIMATE SOLUTION

Communities across North Carolina are experiencing greater occurrences of precipitation and rain events that cause minor and major flooding. Conservation solutions, like installing rain gardens and other stormwater management techniques, are a great way to manage flood water while benefiting communities and residents. These types of installations are beautiful, offer a benefit to wildlife like birds and pollinators, effectively manage stormwater, naturally filter contaminants from water flow before it reaches a river or stream, and are low maintenance options for long-term care. CTNC supports natural solutions like stormwater infrastructure to benefit communities seeking to build resilience to flood challenges exacerbated by our changing climate.

The stormwater designs and plant selections were created by NC State Coastal Dynamics Design Lab based on recommendations from the Princeville Community Floodprint. It was informed by input from Princeville residents and approved by the Town of Princeville Board of Commissioners. The project will be installed by M&M Landscaping – a local contracting partner participating in the conservation projects being funded through CTNC.

Funding for this project was generously provided by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation EJ4Climate grant.

Flowering Trees Put Down Roots for Climate Resilience in Princeville

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The streets of Princeville are now lined with flowering native trees, thanks to your support and federal grant funding. This beautification project puts down roots for future flood resilience and carbon sequestration.

The project, completed in the spring of 2023, planted 50 native trees along streets within Princeville’s historic core. Trees were selected through a community-input process where residents were invited to learn about the ecological benefits of street trees and vote for their favorite trees. The trees selected were eastern serviceberry, red maple, and musclewoods.

The trees were chosen for their ability to:

  • Provide beautification to Main Street and surrounding neighborhoods,
  • Showcasing seasonal colorful blooms and leaves,
  • Support native wildlife, including birds and other pollinators,
  • Absorb stormwater from flood-prone areas and carbon from the atmosphere, and
  • Reduce the temperature of sidewalks for pedestrians.

This project resulted from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation EJ4Climate grant awarded in 2022. It serves as a model for other flood-prone cities to make natural adjustments to stave off the increasing impacts of climate change.

Conservation can provide solutions for communities seeking to build resilience to projected and future climate change impacts – including flood, fire, drought, and food insecurity. Tree planting projects – also known as urban greening – that increase the number of small and medium trees located within a town footprint are known to provide multiple climate and community benefits, including:

  • Combat air and noise pollution
  • Soak up rainwater that may otherwise create flooding
  • Create a habitat for local wildlife
  • Offset carbon emissions in the local area
  • Increase resident satisfaction with physical and mental health benefits

In partnership with the Town of Princeville, the tree plan was designed by NC State Coastal Dynamics Design Lab based on recommendations from the Princeville Community Floodprint. It was informed by input from a Princeville resident online survey and approved by the Town of Princeville Board of Commissioners. The trees were installed by M&M Landscaping – a local contracting partner participating in the conservation projects being funded through CTNC.

The partnership with the Town of Princeville is ongoing, and the need to address stormwater and flooding challenges is great. With additional funding and coordination with the local community, we plan to expand our footprint and include more tree plantings in future years. Be part of helping build a more resilient North Carolina. Explore your donation opportunities now.

New Map Helps Pinpoint Where Climate Resilience Will Benefit Communities Most

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Using GIS technology, CTNC has created a new strategic planning tool – The Community Resilience Model.

This interactive map shows which areas across the state are the most vulnerable to the growing risks of climate change.

The map scores all 100 North Carolina counties – down to the census tract-level – on their potential to bounce back from a climate event. Scored against five criteria – social vulnerability, flooding risk, heirs property probability, anticipated climate vulnerability, and distance to CTNC land projects – the darker the red, the greater the opportunity for conservation solutions to support community resilience in the face of change.

See the CTNC Community Resilience Model


By identifying these places, CTNC can be more strategic in delivering conservation that builds community resilience through a lens of equity and inclusion.

This project was inspired by CTNC’s collaboration with the Town of Princeville and NC State. “We saw the importance of incorporating data into project planning,” said Mary Alice Holley, project lead. “In Princeville, data compiled through the Floodprint, developed by NC State Coastal Dynamics Design Lab, helped identify problem areas in town where conservation interventions could have an increased positive benefit to surrounding people and places. We set out to identify other communities in North Carolina where similar partnerships could be established to inform how other communities could benefit from conservation interventions designed to build resilience.“ 

Mary Alice, who serves as CTNC’s Director of Community Innovation, hopes that by prioritizing conservation interventions in vulnerable places, CTNC can provide communities with proven tools to build strength before the next disaster occurs. Those tools might include acquiring land in a flood zone for increased water storage or partnering with certified controlled burn crews to reduce the fuel load in a nearby forest. In places like Princeville, conservation has become a proven tool to support people living in flood-prone areas. CTNC hopes to bring this concept and the capacity to execute projects to more communities in the coming years. 

Over CTNC’s 30-year history, it has developed a prioritization and scoring model that ensures Blue Ridge Parkway land protection work is strategic and effective. The Community Resilience Model brings this knowledge and expertise to measuring climate resilience and prioritizing conservation solutions where they will matter most. 

The model represents CTNC’s strategic plan priorities: climate change, community benefit, and equity and inclusion. By identifying these places, CTNC can be more strategic and effective in delivering conservation that builds community resilience through a lens of equity and inclusion. The map is a tool for CTNC program leaders to visualize communities in North Carolina where climate change impacts are projected to have the most significant impact and where people and places are least resourced to recover. 

This map tells the story of North Carolina’s potential climate future. Similar maps have been created to identify the most resilient and pristine places that are advantageous for land trusts to conserve. This map does the opposite. The new model evaluates where predicted climate change impacts – such as flooding, fires, mudslides, etc. – will have the most negative impact on North Carolina communities in need.

Mary Alice hopes that other conservation and climate organizations can embrace the value that a data-driven lens can provide to their strategic planning, project planning, fundraising opportunities, and vision for establishing collaborative partnerships. The map is being used as a collaborative planning and communication tool through CTNC’s work with various coalitions, including Land for Tomorrow and the NC Heirs Property Coalition.

This tool is not recommended for other conservation organizations to use for their project planning. CTNC hopes to inspire others to visualize our strategic plan priorities and goals in a concrete way for future effective conservation interventions that benefit people and places in North Carolina.

The seeds planted with this project can grow into a more just and resilient North Carolina. By pinpointing the most vulnerable areas, funding and expertise can flood in to provide the necessary information and projects to protect communities.

Stay tuned for another story in the New Year about a mapping tool designed to serve land conservationists across the state. Through a collaboration with Duke University and the Open Space Institute, CTNC has developed a state-of-the-art resource that allows partner organizations to see how lands they have or plan to conserve can help reduce the impacts of climate change while strengthening communities.

CTNC is partnering with experts statewide to help build resilient, just communities. Together, we can be ready for whatever hits our state. It just takes data and care to make it happen.

Duke Nicholas School Stanback Fellow for Summer 2022, Chloe Ochocki, worked to develop the GIS map. Through the program, CTNC was provided Chloe’s talent and time for 11 weeks to complete the project. Thanks to Fred and Alice Stanback, who fund the Stanback Fellowship Program through Duke University, and their generosity, this project was completed at no cost to the organization.

Sharing NC Conservation Wins at Rally

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Alongside our partners in Princeville, we’re carving a new future to meaningfully engage and empower people to respond to climate-related disasters by rebuilding or adapting in ways that make them stronger and prepared for future challenges.

Together, we were able to share the success of this partnership with national audiences at the national Land Trust Rally in New Orleans, LA. The Town of Princeville’s Dr. Glenda Knight, Commissioner Linda Joyner and Historical Outreach Coordinator Kelsi Dew presented alongside the Open Space Institute’s Hallie Schwab, The Land Conservancy of New Jersey’s Barbara Davis and CTNC’s Mary Alice Holley. Each speaker presented creative and varied approaches being implemented to deal with increased rainfall and flooding while developing place-based solutions for climate resilience.

Watch this video to see their work in action.

These partnerships demonstrate the power of land conservation to mitigate flooding and equip communities with the tools to harness nature for community benefit when rebuilding and protecting against climate-related disasters. Sharing our experiences with land trusts from across the nation inspires more organizations to implement similar conservation strategies to address climate impacts.

Together, we’re building a national model for how conservation organizations, municipalities, and community partners can work collaboratively to build more resilient communities.

“Later this year, the Land Trust Alliance is launching a series of trainings on how land trusts can improve climate resilience in their communities. It will focus on exploring and expanding their water-focused work through a process outlined in our recently released water quality guide, “Taking the Plunge”. The collaboration between these land trusts and community partners undoubtedly encouraged more organizations to participate in this programming. More importantly, their examples are already serving as aspirational “North stars” for many as they start to navigate this intricate and difficult area of work.” Andrew B. Szwak, AICP (he|him|his), Land Trust Alliance, Mid-Atlantic Program Manager

It’s your support that made these impacts possible. Only with staunch support can our organization find new ways to carve a path to an equitable and secure future for climate-vulnerable communities.

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Crews Work to Conserve and Protect Princeville

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Summer is the perfect time to accomplish work that builds a more resilient state.

Embarking on Phase II of the Princeville project, CTNC worked with Conservation Corps NC and the Town of Princeville to hire summer youth crews for conservation and maintenance projects in town.

The crew’s first stop was Heritage Park, 428 Mutual Boulevard in Princeville. This park, along the river, is an important piece of Princeville’s resilient future. By claiming it for public use, it offers much-needed overflow for river flooding and runoff. It will also be the future site of a permanent Farmer’s Market and an accessible walking trail. The crew’s efforts this summer have complemented the current use of the park while supporting future goals slated by Town leadership and community members.

At Heritage Park, the youth installed exercise stations, pollinator gardens, benches and trash receptacles, and walking paths, and also re-mulched the playground. They also installed trail signs that will serve as educational tools for parkgoers about the importance of pollinator plants, wildlife habitat, and stormwater management.

At Heritage Trail and the Elementary School, the youth completed maintenance of conservation projects installed in 2021 through similar partnerships. They mulched the newly established Heritage Trail, cleaned up debris, and removed weeds from the rain gardens designed and installed by NC State and M&M Landscaping.

Thank you to the young adults from Tarboro High School who worked with community leaders for six weeks to complete this project. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Work locations for this crew included Heritage Park, Heritage Trail, and Princeville Elementary School. This summer of work completed by the Conservation Corps North Carolina crew members fulfills the first goal of the EJ4Climate grant awarded by the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).

This collaboration is possible in part thanks to a grant from Anonymous Trust as well as the CEC, supported by the Environmental Protection Agency. This new grant program, called EJ4Climate, addresses environmental inequality and promotes community-level innovation and climate adaptation. CTNC was one of 15 projects across three countries to receive a grant award through the CEC, a tri-national effort to promote and facilitate sustainable development in North America.

Princeville Elementary School teachers volunteer during a community planting day.

Seeds of Climate Resilience: FEMA Buyout Program

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“Seeds of Climate Resilience” is a blog series to inspire ideas to help our state weather our changing climate. We can protect our families, economies, and the environment. The seeds of change planted today will help communities thrive for generations to come.

All too often, flood-prone communities are dotted with vacated lots that are scraped clean of man-made structures and left for nature to reclaim. These lots are usually deemed prone to future flooding, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has given the landowners a path to sell their property and move away from the potential of repeated flooding.

What are FEMA buyouts?
Buyouts are the primary federal program designed to increase disaster resiliency.

After a presidentially-declared disaster, local officials may decide to request money from the state to purchase properties that have either flooded or been substantially damaged. The state chooses to offer buyouts using FEMA’s money through its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to reduce future disaster losses.

Buyouts are voluntary, and no one is required to sell their property. As part of the federal buyout program, the area is deed restricted and cannot be developed with permanent structures in the future. Existing properties and structures are demolished, cleared, and permanently maintained as green space by the local government.

The voluntary buyout program gives property owners the option to sell their property and move away from the potential of repeated flooding while reducing property damages and expenses incurred from flooding. The flood buyout program can be an extremely useful tool for communities recovering from a natural disaster.

How does it help lessen climate change?
As our climate changes, communities are experiencing more frequent and severe rainfall as well as greater swings between rains and drought. Creating permeable spaces designed to capture water benefits people, plants, and wildlife.

Once homes are bought, the land is vacated and development rights removed. This provides communities with an opportunity to restore the land to a natural space that can be designed to store water and be flooded again while keeping future residents out of harm’s way.
North Carolina relies on FEMA-funded buyouts to create more open space and reduce future disaster risks.

What if these abandoned spaces were given new life through conservation work?
Land where buyouts occur is eventually deeded over to the town or other local government agency. The rules say that such lots can never be built on again. Too often they remain vacant and are seen as a blight to the remaining community members. But there are other options.

Organizations and local governments can sometimes turn these buyout lots into community use spaces. While these spaces are not safe for human habitation or businesses, with a little imagination, they can be transformed into spaces that support a thriving community. Communities where voluntary buyouts have occurred then have an opportunity to convert that land to a conservation use like a public park, managed wetland, community garden, or other non-permanent use.

North Carolina Success Story: Princeville
Finding effective land uses for FEMA buyout properties is a cornerstone in Princeville’s flood mitigation strategy.

In a project funded by an EJ4Climate: Environmental Justice and Climate Resilience grant from the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation and EPA, CTNC will work with the Town of Princeville to convert vacant and underutilized parcels to conservation benefits, including managed wetlands and a model community garden. This new grant program addresses environmental inequality and promotes community-level innovation and climate adaptation. The leaders and residents of Princeville hope this will become a replicable model that flood-prone communities across North Carolina will implement to protect their residents from the damage caused by severe flood and rain events.

In 2021, the NC General Assembly included over $200 million in the state budget to fund resilience projects that will aid communities in addressing flooding and building resiliency through conservation solutions.

How can citizens help determine how vacant land created from buyouts could be used or maintained?
Advocate with your local elected officials for shared community green space and conservation projects on vacant and underutilized land owned by your city, town or municipality. Where possible, a local land trust or conservation organization may offer programs to support this effort.

Over the past 20 years, The Land Conservancy of New Jersey has worked with communities impacted by ongoing, damaging storms. In many of these municipalities, FEMA cannot provide the relief residents need to leave their properties and settle elsewhere. The Land Conservancy office worked with these towns, the State of New Jersey, and homeowners to purchase more than 200 homes and convert the land to open space. Restoring the land to its natural condition provides additional capacity to hold stormwater, offers safety to residents, reduces further loss of property, and saves the lives of emergency responders who continue to put themselves in harm’s way during these dangerous situations. It creates a park where none existed before and answered a community’s needs to reduce the harmful and serious effects of repetitive, overwhelming storms in some of our most vulnerable neighborhoods.

Learn more about CTNC’s efforts to conserve land in watersheds as a climate mitigation tool protecting NC communities.

SOURCES:

Seeds of Climate Resilience: Rain Gardens

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“Seeds of Climate Resilience” is a blog series to inspire ideas to help our state weather our changing climate. We can protect our families, economies, and the environment. The seeds of change planted today will help communities thrive for generations to come.

Rain gardens offer an attractive and effective solution to address flooding and increased rainfall on a property.

According to the North Carolina State Climate Office,

Heavy rains from hurricanes and other weather systems will become more frequent and intense. Annual precipitation is also expected to increase. These changes are driven primarily by increases in atmospheric water vapor as the climate warms. Extreme rainfall in North Carolina can result from hurricanes, Nor’easters, or other weather systems like thunderstorms. Severe thunderstorms are also likely to increase in a warming climate and can cause flash flooding, especially in urban areas.

https://climate.ncsu.edu/learn/climate-change/

Water containment will be increasingly important as our communities in low-lying areas or near lakes, rivers, and streams see rising waters and flooding.

What is a rain garden?
A rain garden has grasses, flowers, and shrubs that can survive in water-soaked soil after a rainstorm. Rain gardens are located in the low points of yards so that the water that runs off of roofs or driveways can be directed towards the rain garden. After the storm, the soil and plants absorb the rain, and the area dries out quickly.

A rain garden is NOT a wetland, a place for mosquitos to thrive, or difficult to maintain long-term. This garden area is dry to lightly moist most of the time. And it is naturally beautiful!

How does it help mitigate climate change?
As our climate changes, communities are experiencing more frequent and severe rainfall and greater swings between rains and drought. Creating permeable spaces designed to capture water benefits plants, wildlife, people, and the built environment.

If rainwater has nowhere else to go, it will often result in flooding or standing water. However, if rainwater is captured where it lands, it can promote healthy plants and sustainable ecosystems that provide a conservation benefit to nearby residents.

Supporting habitat: Rain gardens capture and store water after heavy rainfall. The water is held in the garden area, absorbed by the water-loving plants, and naturally filtered back into the soil.

Managing stormwater: Any water that does not infiltrate the groundwater then moves through a canal, ditch, drain, or pipeline until it reaches a larger body of water such as a river, pond, or wetland area.

Rainwater is not treated at a facility to remove pollutants before entering larger waterways. This means that rain gardens are essential to help naturally filter the water that passes through them.

This process allows communities to better manage heavy amounts of rainfall and stormwater by slowing it down and using natural spaces to provide an added layer of filtration before the water reaches your home.

North Carolina Success Story: Princeville Elementary School
After Hurricane Matthew devastated Princeville Elementary School in 2016, students had to go to schools in surrounding communities for three years until their school could be renovated and flood-proofed. Finally, in 2020, the Princeville Elementary School welcomed back its almost 200 students.

As part of a $200,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Wells Fargo Resilient Communities Program, CTNC worked with local organizations to install rain gardens at the school to capture and redirect water. Today, the gardens work to protect the school from excess water. The gardens were designed by the NC State Coastal Dynamics Design Lab and installed by volunteers from Conservation Corps NC, CTNC, NC State, M&M Landscaping Co. and residents of Princeville.

Learn more about our work in Princeville.

How can citizens help build a rain garden in your community?
This article from NC State has great tips to bring this climate adaptation strategy to your community:
“Why Your Yard Might Need a Rain Garden”

SOURCE: Rain Water Guide developed by NC State Coastal Dynamics Design Lab

Turning the tide for flood-prone communities

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Photo: NC State Coastal Dynamics Design Lab arial view of the Tar River.

There is even more great news about the Princeville – Seeding Resilience project! 2022 brings many exciting actions to protect this community from the changing climate.

Since the debut of our latest video, this story has captured the attention of conservation champions nationwide. The project was featured in:

As we conclude the first phase of executing recommendations outlined in the Princeville Floodprint, the collaboration is turning our attention to Phase II. This phase will further lay the groundwork toward establishing an effective model of community-driven climate change adaptation that can be replicated in communities across the state. Throughout North Carolina, rural communities established along rivers, the coast, and lakes face repeated flood events. With the increasing threat of climate change, more communities will experience these impacts.

Phase II focuses attention toward converting vacant and underutilized land.
The Town of Princeville, North Carolina State University Coastal Dynamics Design Lab, Conservation Corps NC, and Temboo Software will work to complete another round of conservation projects designed to better manage flood and stormwater, establish recreation opportunities for residents, build a model community garden to support locally-grown food operations, and connect youth and adults to environmental education opportunities. This phase focuses on transforming underutilized town-owned lots and property that FEMA has determined to be at risk of future flooding into absorbing flood impact while making them usable spaces for the community.

Over the next two years, this partnership will work to complete:

  • Installation of 6,000 square feet of rain gardens and managed wetlands on vacated lots to hold up to 28,000 gallons of water per rain event
  • Opening of a 24-bed model community garden on vacated lots to promote local, low-carbon agriculture
  • Planting of trees and native plants for 250,000 gallons of water absorption and 2,900 pounds of carbon storage per year
  • Creation of trails with educational and health-benefit elements at Princeville’s riverfront Heritage Park

“Our town has already seen the rewards from our collaboration with Conservation Trust, NC State, and all our partners,” said Princeville Town Manager Dr. Glenda Lawrence-Knight. “This next phase will only further prepare our town for the next flooding incident while showing a true investment in the health and well-being of our citizens.”

This is possible in part to a grant from the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, supported by the EPA, called EJ4Climate: Environmental Justice and Climate Resilience. This new grant program addresses environmental inequality and promotes community-level innovation and climate adaptation. CTNC was one of 15 projects across three countries to receive a grant award through the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a tri-national effort to promote and facilitate sustainable development in North America.

In tandem with the on-the-ground work, CTNC and our partners are writing an effective model for building a resilient community. We hope this community-based model can be replicated to benefit others facing similar challenges.

“Communities across North Carolina will benefit from the lessons learned as a result of the partnerships and outcomes in Princeville,” said Andrew Fox, FASLA, PLA of NC State Coastal Dynamics Design Lab. “It’s exciting to see people benefit from the principles that we’ve studied and developed.”

Your support fuels all this work. Together, we can turn the tide for flood-prone communities, and you are the first line of defense.

This work will be carried out with financial support from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, the Anonymous Trust, and generous donors who have made an investment in resilience through CTNC and our partners.

View of the Tar River. Credit: NC State Coastal Dynamics Design Lab

Rebuilding for Resilience – Together

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Meet the people of Princeville, N.C. who are utilizing conservation to build a resilient future

As extreme weather events impact communities across North Carolina, places like Princeville are finding innovative ways to rebuild with greater resilience to our changing climate.

In partnership with the Town of Princeville, the Princeville Elementary School, NC State Coastal Dynamics Design Lab, NC State Design + Build Lab and Conservation Corps North Carolina, we are working with citizens to install conservation and restoration projects that will support their goals to build back bigger, better, and bolder.

You can join us in the next phase of this partnership.

Learn About the Princeville Collaborative

Contact Mary Alice Holley, Director of Community Innovation to get involved with our work in Princeville or another community partnership.

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