Hi there,

As promised, we’re sharing more about the partnerships launching next year — and asking for your support to keep this work moving.

👉 Make a matched gift: Donate here



One of the most powerful efforts underway right now is our Salt Marsh Cooperative partnership with the North Carolina Coastal Federation and NC State University’s Coastal Dynamics Design Lab — a collaboration that puts community voices at the center of flood resilience planning.

Since spring 2025, we’ve been working alongside NC State’s team of landscape architects to develop a Floodprint for North River and Merrimon — a community-designed plan focused on protecting homes, reducing flood risk, and strengthening shared spaces in places that have experienced chronic flooding for years.

Floodprints like this have helped rural communities across North Carolina unlock millions of dollars in implementation funding — because they combine technical expertise with deep local knowledge.

Juanita Small-George, a member of the North River/Laurel Road Ladies Outreach Committee, shares family photos at our latest listening session for the Floodprint's North River Photo Archiving Project.

Last weekend, NC State traveled from Raleigh to hold the second Floodprint listening session, this time focused on community spaces. In earlier sessions, residents named their strengths, threats, and hopes for the future.

One theme came through loud and clear, which is the need for safe, shared places to gather, even as flooding worsens.

This session explored how community spaces can be redesigned and protected in the face of extreme flooding.

Claire Henkel from NCSU's Coastal Dynamic Design Lab presents at the Second Floodprint Listening Session this weekend in North River

Partners can provide this planning at no cost to residents, but only if there is trusted, on-the-ground organizing to make it work.

How your gift keeps this work moving

Floodprint listening sessions will continue through June 2026, when the completed plan will move into funding and implementation.

Your gift ensures this process stays community-led every step of the way.

👉 Make a matched gift until December 31st! Donate here



It supports the organizing that makes planning real: organizing workshops, going door-to-door, gathering feedback, building trust, and making sure community priorities shape the final designs.

Thank you for being part of this work, and for caring about these communities, land, and future.

With gratitude,



Kelly Garvy, Executive Director & Justin Wallace, Community Resilience Organizer