Conservation Trust for North Carolina

Building Resilience through Direct Land Conservation: The Organization builds climate resilience through high-impact direct land conservation, primarily focused along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Organization has conserved nearly 38,000 acres of land, resulting in cleaner water, natural stormwater maintenance, carbon storage, wildlife habitat preservation, and protected views that ensure the local economies thrive. Land protection priorities are informed by computer analysis of conservation values and climate science, including: water quality, wildlife habitat, parkway visibility, development threat, and resilience to climate change impacts. The Organization undertakes landowner outreach to acquire land and conservation easements on high-priority land, stewards protected lands, and monitors easements. It also partners with other regional land conservation organizations and provides loans and grants to increase their capacity and impacts.

Building Resilience through Activating Local Capacity: With a dual focus on increasing local community capacity and enhancing the diversity of people connected to conservation, the Organization created a statewide Resilience Service Network. Using data-driven GIS maps to identify communities in greatest need, the Organization coordinates the placement of AmeriCorps service members to help implement community-led plans that address climate-related challenges. The Organization hires and trains AmeriCorps members and assists local supervisors so as to best leverage the skills of members in building local community resilience.

Building Resilience through Community-Led Partnerships: The Organization uses climate science data to partner with local communities who request help in responding to the impacts of climate change. The Organization's equity-based approach began with building flood resilience in Princeville, NC, which experienced devastating flooding because of increasingly severe and frequent storms, including Hurricanes Floyd and Matthew. Through their partnership, Princeville became a model for how community-led conservation solutions can mitigate future risk. Installation of stormwater management solutions -- like rain gardens, community gardens, and additional tree coverage in flood prone areas -- resulted in 30,000 gallons of stormwater being redirected to ecologically beneficial uses. The Organization is sharing this model to increase climate resiliency statewide.