CARTERET COUNTY — Construction on the second phase of the Swan Island Oyster Sanctuary began this month as crews started moving granite from the port in Morehead City to the project site. Construction on the 10-acre sanctuary — which is located in Pamlico Sound near the mouth of the Neuse River — started May 11. It is…
DetailsCoastal Policy and Restoration Interns LAKSHYA DHAR With a degree in engineering, I am a current Master of Engineering Management student at Duke University. Having previously worked in the offshore oil and gas sector has made me aware of the perils of this industry. I now wish to understand the stresses such activities put on the…
Details
On April 30 the North Carolina Coastal Federation hosted 37 volunteers at the Bradley Creek Elementary School rain garden for Work on Wilmington, a communitywide event to promote partnerships and community service. During the event, volunteers worked in the rain garden mulching, weeding and performing overall maintenance. One group put on waders and removed cattails,…
Details
Staff in the North Carolina Coastal Federation participated in two events recently that were focused on getting girls interested in math, science and technology. The first event, Girls Exploring Science and Technology (GEST), was on April 14 at the Duke University Marine Lab. GEST brings together researchers from a number of STEM institutions to inspire…
Details
WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — The North Carolina Coastal Federation is working with the Town of Wrightsville Beach, the City of Wilmington and community partners to implement projects that will reduce the volume of polluted stormwater runoff affecting these neighboring coastal communities. These projects are funded by the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF) and…
Details
The North Carolina Coastal Federation staff spent a busy weekend celebrating Earth Day last month, with multiple events going on in all three coastal regions and in the Triangle. Earth Day is always full of events that get people outside and experiencing the coast, and federation staff are always excited to participate in the many…
Details
Veronica Carter, a long-time North Carolina Coastal Federation board member, has been appointed to the Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board, which will advise the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Secretary Michael Regan created this panel to help DEQ involve and engage disadvantaged and minority populations in its decision-making processes. Carter has been involved in promoting…
Details
Over the course of four days, staff at the federation’s Wanchese office educated approximately 600 students on living shorelines, marine debris, water quality and much more. The week full of education events kicked off at Manteo Middle School on April 24 and 25, when Sara Hallas, coastal education coordinator, and Reilly Kelly, AmeriCorps member, visited…
Details
SWAN QUARTER — The fourth public meeting about the Lake Mattamuskeet Watershed Restoration Plan is on May 8 and will cover strategies that are being explored by the planning team. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Hyde County Government Complex in Swan Quarter. The agenda is available here. The goal of the watershed restoration plan is to provide…
Details
This story has been updated with additional numbers from the April 19 bagging event in Wilmington. A total of 87 volunteers worked with the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wrightsville Beach staff for two oyster bagging events in April. The bags of recycled oyster shells and gravel granite will be used on a future living shoreline…
Details
With funding from Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership, the North Carolina Coastal Federation teamed up with River City YouthBuild to install several stormwater retrofits at the Shoppes at Renaissance Square in Elizabeth City on April 18. River City YouthBuild, run by River City Community Development Corporation, provides education and employment skills for economically disadvantaged young adults aged…
Details
The UNC-TV show Exploring North Carolina featured the North Carolina Coastal Federation in an episode that aired April 19. The episode is the third in a four-part series titled “Water in NC: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” More information about the series is available at UNC-TV’s website. Watch below:
Details
HOLDEN BEACH — At last night’s Board of Commissioners meeting, the town of Holden Beach revoked all of its applications for a terminal groin at the east end of the town. The five town commissioners voted unanimously to revoke the applications. The North Carolina Coastal Federation has been against the terminal groin since it was…
Details
During Dare County Schools’ spring break, the North Carolina Coastal Federation hosted a full day of oyster-focused learning at its Wanchese office. This day was just one event in a month-long celebration of science hosted by UNC’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. The eighth annual North Carolina Science Festival will host 676 science-based educational events…
Details
On Tuesday, April 3, 14 volunteers from Cape Fear Realtors volunteered with the North Carolina Coastal Federation in the rain gardens at Alderman Elementary School for Realtor Action Day. Volunteers performed maintenance on the rain garden, which typically consists of removing invasive plants, pulling weeds, removing debris and spreading mulch. The 2018 event marked the fourth year…
Details
With just a month to go before the North Carolina General Assembly’s short session, Gov. Roy Cooper got an early start on what will be one of the biggest issues of the 2018 session — how to respond to the water pollution issues raised by the GenX pollution problem in the Cape Fear region. On April…
Details
In summer 2017, the North Carolina Coastal Federation began the construction of a 300-linear foot living shoreline at Camp Albemarle on Bogue Sound. The project is now only a few workdays from being completed. Camp Albemarle is one of the public living shoreline locations chosen for funding through the federation’s three-year National Oceanic and Atmospheric…
Details
Fourteen local waterfront property owners gathered on March 29 at the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Ocean office to learn how living shorelines, an environmentally friendly alternative to bulkheads and seawalls, could help them control shoreline erosion. The workshop — led by Dr. Lexia Weaver, coastal scientist, and Rachel Bisesi, coastal education coordinator — was designed…
Details