The Dare County Soil and Water Conservation District had its eleventh-annual fifth-grade bookmark contest recently, in which students use artwork to show their understanding of conservation work in Dare County. Each year, fifth-graders learn about the importance of conservation of natural resources and environmental stewardship in Dare County. Students illustrate what they have learned, whether that…
Details
This is the first blog post as part of our Dibblers’ Diaries blog, which offers first-person stories from our interns. Summer Rich is a coastal policy and restoration intern. This first post recaps her first week with the North Carolina Coastal Federation. By Summer Rich Being a native of the North Carolina coast, I’ve got salt…
Details
Take action this World Oceans Day — call your representative or Gov. Roy Cooper today to make it clear the North Carolina coast should remain off-limits to offshore oil drilling. Click here for more information on contacting Gov. Cooper, or click here to learn how to contact your representative. Learn more about the issue at…
Details
Late last week, the state House approved its version of the $23 billion state budget by a vote of 80-31. Now the House and the Senate go to what they call “conference” to iron out their differences and arrive at a final budget before sending it to Gov. Roy Cooper for approval. Oysters The North…
Details
Twenty people joined the North Carolina Coastal Federation and East Carolina University (ECU) for a tour on June 2 that showcased projects that will reduce the amount of stormwater runoff flowing into the White Oak River by 61,000 gallons from the 1-year 24-hour storm, protecting it for fishing, swimming, kayaking and more. The Stormwater Solutions Tour &…
Details
Over 50 town managers, planners, engineers and watershed professionals attended a watershed restoration planning workshop on May 25 to learn about how to reduce polluted stormwater runoff and restore coastal water quality. The workshop, entitled “Watershed Planning: Strategies and Tools to Protect and Restore Coastal Water Quality” was put on by the North Carolina Coastal…
Details
The North Carolina Coastal Federation brought its enthusiasm for oysters inland over Memorial Day weekend, setting up a booth at Chapel Hill’s Jaws Fest. Kelly Bodie, membership director for the federation, ran the booth while wearing the federation’s oyster costume. She talked to people about oysters and how they benefit North Carolina’s economy and environment…
Details
Morris Landing A large group of volunteers joined North Carolina Coastal Federation staff at Morris Landing Clean Water Preserve in Holly Ridge on May 17 for marsh grass planting, monitoring and oyster bagging. The event brought in 50 volunteers, including 21 students from Eugene Ashley High School’s Marine Science Academy, the Green Team at the Blockade…
Details
Staff at the Wanchese office recently took a field trip with students and staff from River City YouthBuild out to Durant’s Point in Hatteras, where they learned about living shorelines, marine debris and explored the marsh. Sara Hallas, coastal education coordinator at the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wanchese office, said they’ve done a trip with…
Details
Students with the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Prevention of Youth Violence (BRC) spent an afternoon learning about marine debris with staff from the North Carolina Coastal Federation on May 12. This lesson is just one of series that federation staff at the Wrightsville Beach office have conducted with these students, who participate in the BRC’s…
Details
Erica Connery and Nina Quaratella are ending their AmeriCorps terms with the North Carolina Coastal Federation at the end of the month. Connery and Quaratella each spent more than a year at the federation’s Wanchese and Wrightsville Beach offices, respectively, where they helped coordinate educational activities and assisted with restoration projects. They worked at the federation…
Details
AmeriCorps member Madison Douthitt will be leading two programs on North Carolina’s sounds and on marine debris this summer on alternating Thursdays in the Outer Banks. Douthitt works with the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wanchese office as a coastal community engagement specialist. Learn more about the two programs — Soundside Discoveries and Trash Talk — below. Soundside Discoveries…
Details
CARTERET COUNTY — Crews have started moving about 25,000 tons of limestone marl as construction is underway on the Swan Island Oyster Sanctuary. “After months of planning and preparation by our staff, as well as by the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries and other partners, it’s great to see Stevens Towing breaking ground on the…
Details
The North Carolina Coastal Federation is now offering public access to the North River Wetlands Preserve in Otway. Access to the preserve is a member benefit. Federation members are allowed access for free and non-members are asked to pay a small fee of $5 per person, per day. The preserve is open from dawn to…
Details
CHARLESTON, S.C. — The North Carolina Coastal Federation, on behalf of a collaborative team, including the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve (NCNERR), is the recipient of a regional 2017 Rain Catcher Award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 for various innovative stormwater runoff infiltration projects in Wrightsville Beach. The federation is accepting the…
Details
As you’ve likely read or heard about from our action alert, President Trump signed an executive order last week that aims to expand offshore drilling off our coast. The North Carolina Coastal Federation opposes offshore oil and gas drilling off the North Carolina coast, and we have been against this controversial and potentially destructive process…
Details
Native plants, costal habitats, juvenile animals and shoreline erosion — those were all topics of four lessons led by the two AmeriCorps members in the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wanchese office in late April. On April 20 and 21, Madison Douthitt, AmeriCorps member who started working at the federation in March, visited First Flight Elementary…
Details
The entire sixth-grade class from First Flight Middle School went on a field trip to Jockey’s Ridge State Park on April 27, where they learned about living shorelines, salt marsh and the components of habitats at the park. The North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wanchese office organized the field trip for 200 students and 10 teachers.…
Details
The North Carolina Coastal Federation joined other environmental groups in an intervention to prevent the seismic industry from challenging the denial of permits for conducting seismic surveys off the Atlantic coast. The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the motion on behalf of the federation, the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, One Hundred Miles and Defenders…
Details
Over the past few months, a senior at Eugene Ashley High School in Wilmington has used her senior project as an opportunity to focus on marine science education in schools, with a special focus on underserved audiences. Rachel Piedmont completed her internship with the North Carolina Coastal Federation in April. Piedmont joins the federation from…
Details
Don’t paint the Gulf Stream with oil — oppose plans to drill for oil and gas off the North Carolina coast. The North Carolina Coastal Federation opposes offshore oil and gas drilling off the North Carolina coast, and we have been against this controversial and potentially destructive process for three decades. We first opposed drilling…
Details
The North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wanchese office was the first stop during March’s NC Coast Oyster Eco Tour, which gave participants a unique and close-up opportunity to learn about oyster aquaculture and restoration. The oyster tour was part of the annual OBX Taste of the Beach event, which showcases local restaurants and cuisine through tours,…
Details
North Carolina Coastal Federation staff stayed busy on Earth Day and in the days leading up to. Staff educated hundreds of people about stormwater runoff, oysters, the coastal environment and more. They attended events up and down the coast. Check out photos and more details in the Storify below. Thank you to all who volunteered…
Details
Kelly Bodie, membership director for the North Carolina Coastal Federation, spoke with Ben Ball of The Talk Station’s Coastal Daybreak (WTKF-FM 107.1) on April 21 about the recently launched Adopt an Oyster program. Adopt an Oyster is designed to raise money for the federation’s 50 Million Oyster Initiative. By 2020, the federation and its partners will…
DetailsThe North Carolina Coastal Federation submitted comments on April 3 regarding the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline that would cross through major water bodies, including waters in North Carolina. The letter, which is addressed to Nathaniel J. Davis Sr., deputy secretary of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, requests “a new Draft…
Details