This fall, volunteers joined the North Carolina Coastal Federation at Oak Island Waterway Park, Carolina Beach State Park and Morris Landing for living shoreline monitoring events, where they measured marsh coverage and looked for new oyster growth. Living shorelines, or erosion control techniques that reduce the impact of waves through the use of more natural…
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Students from the Dare County-based nonprofit Mano al Hermano enjoyed a day of winter crafts with North Carolina Coastal Federation staff earlier this week. The annual Winter Break Activity Day took place at the Dare County Arts Council on Dec. 18. This is the second year that the federation has collaborated with Mano al Hermano…
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The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation has awarded the North Carolina Coastal Federation a $110,000 grant. The federation plans to use the grant to support its community-based education, restoration and advocacy programs in 2018. The federation works with coastal communities in all aspects of its work, and these partnerships create a healthier, more resilient coast. The…
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The North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wanchese office held their last Adopt-a-Highway cleanup of the year on Dec. 1. Volunteers picked up litter off an adopted two-mile stretch of N.C. 345 in Wanchese, which the federation adopted at the beginning of 2017. Since adopting it, the federation has held multiple cleanups. At the Dec. 1 cleanup,…
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Nov. 7 marked the second public meeting as part of the development of the Lake Mattamuskeet Watershed Restoration Plan. The plan development is funded by a partnership of Hyde County, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The plan is guided by an 11-person stakeholder committee and public input, and will be…
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As the presence of GenX and other “emerging contaminants” in drinking water continues to make news across the state, the North Carolina Coastal Federation is building support for a statewide effort to detect these pollutants in our rivers and streams. The federation is working closely with Duke engineering professor Dr. Lee Ferguson, who has spent…
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Students from Elizabeth City-based River City YouthBuild recently spent time at the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wanchese office and the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island for a fall field trip. Sara Hallas, coastal education coordinator, and Reilly Kelly, the AmeriCorps member at that office, hosted 14 students and staff from River City YouthBuild. Hallas…
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In November, 52 volunteers helped the North Carolina Coastal Federation clean up marine debris near Harkers Island and at Wards Creek Bridge in Bettie. Both cleanups were part of a grant to clean up a former clam-growing operation that went out of business decades ago. Plastic netting, cages, buoys, pipes and ropes are creating navigation…
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Volunteers got their hands dirty in the mulch at the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s two rain garden maintenance days at Alderman Elementary School on Oct. 25 and Bradley Creek Elementary School on Nov. 1. At Alderman Elementary, three volunteers came to help maintain the rain garden. Volunteers included Blair Bannon, a former federation intern, and…
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Coastal Provisions Oyster Bar & Wine Café hosted a Wine and Dine to benefit the North Carolina Coastal Federation earlier this month. Attendees enjoyed a six-course dinner featuring North Carolina oysters and wines, two industries the state has seen growth in the last decade. Chef Dan Lewis, owner of Coastal Provisions, planned the meal and…
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The North Carolina Coastal Federation teamed up with the Town of Manteo on Nov. 18 for the town’s annual Fall Litter Cleanup. The federation has helped with multiple litter pickups by providing support for the water-based portion of the cleanup. Erin Fleckenstein, coastal scientist and northeast office manager, and Reilly Kelly, AmeriCorps member, had help…
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The North Carolina Coastal Federation led activities on stormwater runoff at the 2017 Latino Festival at Wilmington’s Ogden Park on Nov. 11. With the help of many of Spanish-speaking volunteers, the federation used a stormwater model to educate festival goers about stormwater runoff and the many sources of pollutants that are found in runoff. The…
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Fifty students, teachers and adults gathered to enhance their environmental knowledge by participating in the Environmental Education Field Day at the Ponzer Community Building in Hyde County on Oct. 26. Debbie Cahoon, administrator for the Hyde County Soil and Water Conservation District, organized the all-day learning experience. This annual field day is for the county’s…
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Two recent events in the Outer Banks celebrated North Carolina oysters and craft beer — all while benefiting the North Carolina Coastal Federation, which was on hand at both events to recycle shells and educate people about the coast. “The federation was honored to be the beneficiary of two local events featuring North Carolina breweries and…
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Recently, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper charged Susi Hamilton, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, with helping lead his administration’s efforts to assist the state’s rural counties. That’s good news for the North Carolina Coastal Federation and its oyster efforts. Hamilton, a former state representative from New Hanover County, has…
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CAROLINA BEACH — Construction began last week on a one-acre artificial reef meant to enhance recreational fishing and create oyster reef habitat in the lower Cape Fear River. The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, with support from Carolina Beach State Park and the North Carolina Coastal Federation, is leading the construction of Artificial Reef…
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In October, students from Appalachian State University and Roanoke College visited the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wanchese office for cleanups on an adopted 2-mile stretch of N.C. 345. Sara Hallas, coastal education coordinator for the Wanchese office, as well as Reilly Kelly, Wanchese AmeriCorps member, led these two programs. The first group to visit was…
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WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — The North Carolina Coastal Federation is teaming up with the Town of Wrightsville Beach and the Hanover Seaside Club to clean up the swimming and fishing waters around Wrightsville Beach. The phased project, which is funded by a grant to the federation from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, will include stormwater…
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WANCHESE — The North Carolina Coastal Federation is currently accepting applications from commercial watermen to be hired to assist in its annual on-the-water Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project. The application period for these jobs is now open for any fisherman with a valid Standard Commercial Fishing License (SCFL) in North Carolina. Watermen are selected to…
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Staff from the North Carolina Coastal Federation presented on the Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project and development of a statewide marine debris strategy at the 2017 North Carolina Marine Debris Symposium on Oct. 16 and 17. The symposium drew a crowd of more than 60, said Lisa Rider, deputy director of Onslow Solid Waste &…
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More than 200 Manteo Middle School students stopped by the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wanchese office this past week for lessons on water quality, oyster restoration and marine debris. Three seventh-grade classes and one eight-grade class taught by Mary Ann Hodges and four seventh-grade classes taught by Dawn Tillett came by to meet staff and…
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The North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wrightsville Beach office staff have stayed busy this fall with two fun events that supported the federation’s clean water initiatives. At the end of September, the Low Country Boil & Brew brought together approximately 300 people at Wrightsville Beach Brewery in Wilmington for an afternoon of good music, yard games,…
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It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to one of our most dedicated volunteers in the southeast coastal region, John King Jr. A retired geologist, John served on the advisory committee for the Wrightsville Beach office and was one of the original Coastal Ambassadors. John was truly one of the kindest human beings…
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On Oct. 12, the North Carolina Coastal Federation completed a salt marsh restoration project at the headwaters of Williston Creek at the North River Wetlands Preserve. Nine volunteers and four staff members participated in the volunteer salt marsh restoration event, where they planted 2,006 plugs of Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass), Spartina patens (saltmeadow hay) and…
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The North Carolina Coastal Federation’s northeast regional office opened its doors this past Friday and welcomed the public to celebrate the one-year anniversary of its current office location in the Wanchese Marine Industrial Park. Several dedicated volunteers and members stopped by to welcome new staff members, Michael Flynn and Reilly Kelly. Flynn, who is the…
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