North Carolina partnership seeds resilience
After Hurricane Matthew in 2016, a flood shuttered Princeville Elementary School in eastern North Carolina. In 2020, after four years of renovations, the school reopened only to close again in a few months due to COVID-19. Students who returned this fall were greeted by some new updates — conservation projects installed by local teens.
The Conservation Trust for North Carolina and partners worked alongside the town of Princeville, Princeville Elementary School and NC State University’s Coastal Dynamics Design Lab to design and install the Seeding Resilience project. Supported by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Resilient Communities Program, Seeding Resilience incorporates green infrastructure, such as rain gardens, with educational elements to engage the community and reduce the damage when flooding occurs again.
NC State’s Design + Build lab students installed shaded seating areas, education stations and garden planters to support the school’s science, technology, engineering, art and math curriculum goals while connecting students to nature. Two crews of local high school students, managed by Conservation Corps North Carolina, were hired to build rain gardens and a Heritage Trail that connects the elementary school to the Princeville History Museum.
“We could not have imagined more inspiring community partners, especially in the midst of a pandemic,” CTNC Executive Director Chris Canfield says. “From the mayor and town manager to the principal and teachers — they all rolled up their sleeves to help. This is only the first of many collaborations to come.”