As a citizen of Union County, North Carolina, the United States, and the world, we have a responsibility to steward and preserve the environment. This can be achieved through conservation, which is the idea of protecting, maintaining, and restoring the environment. Conservation can be achieved through a variety of areas, such as energy use, forestry, pollution, wildlife management, and more. Join me as I highlight local conservation organizations, highlight my conservation actions, and give some tips on how you can act in a conservation-focused manner.
Organizations
There are many environmental-focused organizations in North Carolina, many of which serve the entire state. Likewise, you can discover land and water conservancy for specific areas of our state. For this article, I will only highlight a few organizations, but you can find a list of all North Carolina Environmental Organizations using the attached link.
Catawba Lands Conservancy
The Catawba Lands Conservancy (CLC) is a land trust which conserves and manages land in the Southern Piedmont of North Carolina. CLC protects over 190 properties which are located across Catawba, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, and Union counties. The Conservancy is dedicated to improving and protecting nature while Charlotte and other communities continue to grow and develop properties. If you wish to support CLC, they host many volunteer events all year, such as workdays to develop the Carolina Thread Trail.
Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation
The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation (CRF) is a community-based organization that preserves, protects, and restores the Catawba-Wateree River. CRF works to maintain water quality through personal effort and public awareness. The Foundation is dedicated to preserving this river for the benefit of its inhabitants and future generations with the help of the community and local organizations. If you wish to support CRF, you can volunteer with river cleanups and other specialized projects.
Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina
The Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina is a land trust which protects and conserves the natural land and water in Western North Carolina. The Foothills Conservancy currently serves eight counties and three river basins in our state. The Conservancy is focused on creating regions of clean waters and healthy forests, and communities that value conservation. If you wish to support the Foothills Conservancy, you can volunteer at one of their workdays or outreach events, though the distance may be far from Union County.
My Conservation Actions
Over the last year in Boy Scouts, I have been working to achieve the Distinguished
Conservation Service Award. To complete the BSA DCSA, a Scout must complete two conversation-focused projects based on a selection of environmental topics. With the guidance and assistance of the Foothills Conservancy, which you can read about above, I completed projects on one of their properties in Morganton, North Carolina.
Forestry Conservation Project
For the first project, we decide to focus on forestry to restore part of the natural forest which used to thrive on this property. The project started with clearing the agricultural field on the property, removing all dead crops, and plowing the soil in preparation for the saplings. Then, we planted a total of 300 saplings, which included 200 Piedmont Alluvials and 100 blight-resistance American Chestnuts. This was only possible with the support of over forty volunteers, who came together to support the Foothills Conservancy and benefit the local community and environment.
Soil Conservation Project
For the second project, we decide to focus on soil erosion and address two major soil issues found on the property. First, we placed livestakes on the riverbank of the property which serves as an access point to the Henry Fork River. We placed 400 of these livestakes to establish a root system on the riverbank. Second, we constructed a berm with the help of a local vendor. We built this berm to block the runoff water from the field, which was creating a large gully. Together, these efforts will preserve the property for visitors for years to come.
Through these two projects and the BSA DCSA, I have learned much about conservation and how to protect, preserve, and improve the environment. I hope my efforts will inspire others to seek out the Foothills Conservancy and similar organizations to advocate for or lead similar projects like mine.
What You Can Do?
In everyday life, it is of course not always possible to complete a project such as the ones I stated before. However, you can implement changes in your habits to make your life more conservation-minded. Please read some tips below to discover simple ways to achieve this goal. Also, please check out a previous article that highlights simple and effective ways to help our planet.
Avoid Disposable Products: Understand what you are purchasing and seek reusable and recyclable alternatives.
Compost: Create a composting garden for your leftovers instead of throwing them away.
Donate: Give away possessions you no longer need.
Recycle: Make sure to check what materials can be recycled or not before throwing them away.
Reduce Your Waste: Do not buy more than what you need and plan your purchases ahead.
Reuse: Before throwing possessions away, find a new use for them or consider if a replacement is necessary if applicable.
Save Energy: Turn off your lights when you leave a room and turn off your devices when you are no longer using them.
Save Water: Turn off your faucets when you are finished using the water and monitor water-related activities, such as showering.
Steward Your Resources: Use what you have wisely as your actions could impact ecosystems across the globe.
Volunteer: Seek out environmental organizations such as the Catawba Land Conservancy to serve and benefit the community.
Though it may seem overwhelming at first, it is good to understand how to be sustainable and who is working to impact our world. I hoped you learned about conservation and how as a community in North Carolina we are working to protect, maintain, and restore the environment. Whenever you can, try and benefit to this goal by living conservation-minded as well.
Comments