McAdams’ Post

🌳 A Green Revolution in West End 🌿 We are excited to share our latest project that's set to transform the West End into a vibrant urban food forest! This initiative is part of the City’s Neighborhood Partnership Grant program and reflects our commitment to sustainable urban development. Nestled in the Sulger subdivision, at 340 E. Busby Drive and 345 Sheila Lane, our urban food forest will grow on two City-owned lots. We’re rolling out this project in three phases: 1. Fencing: The first step is establishing a secure perimeter, and we’re making great progress. 2. Planning & Planting: Our efforts here are centered around rainwater harvesting, ecological balance, and planting diverse plant species. 3. Signage & Maintenance: We’ll install educational signage and have a solid plan for ongoing care. Echoing Hope Ranch, a Hereford-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has generously committed to maintaining the food forest for a decade. Together, we’re united in the mission to rejuvenate the Earth by implementing regenerative food systems! #JoinTheConversation Your input is invaluable to us. We invite you to a community meeting to discuss this exciting project: 📅 Saturday, March 2 ⏰ 10 a.m. 📍 Sierra Vista Food Co-op Let’s come together to cultivate not just a food forest, but a legacy of community and environmental well-being! #UrbanAgriculture #Sustainability #CommunityEngagement #FoodForest #ReapGoodness

Nils Peterson is another new board member for WakeUP. Nils has been in Wake County for almost 20 years and is currently a Wildlife Professor at NC State. His personal and professional work has been focused on ensuring North Carolina is a better place to live - using his expertise to focus on conservation of wildlife resources in our state while teaching the next generation of conservation students to carry this forward. If you were only allowed one sentence, what would you say about the importance of future planning? What else can we plan for? It's everything. What are Wake County's biggest opportunities/advantages when it comes to growth? Growth itself is an advantage because it allows change. I also think the current status of high tree cover and low density allows our county lots of flexibility when it comes to planning future transportation, conservation, and housing infrastructure. All those interstitial spaces can lead to great things. What is the connection between affordable housing, transportation, and land use as they relate to planning? A bright future requires affordability, and housing and transportation are the two primary and mandatory costs people face. Land use is tricky, because poor decisions can drive down housing costs by reducing desirability of a region. The trick is land use planning that creates desirable places to live paired with policy protecting affordable housing. What makes you hopeful about Wake County in the future? The people are ambitious, future oriented, highly skilled, and optimistic. The people. If you had a magic wand, what is one thing you would change about our community? I would create connectivity between greenways...green ones. #wakeupwakecounty #boardspotlight #wakecounty #thrivingcommunities #beapartofthesolution #sustainablegrowth #urbandevelopment #growwithus #climatechange #landuse #affordablehousing #equity #environment

Action for nature is already happening on the ground in Sussex but isn't always visible. 🌱 🐝 In recent meetings with farmer clusters across Sussex, the LNRS team have heard about interventions taken to improve habitats and support species, at the same time as running a business. That these aren't known more broadly or celebrated is because land managers are busy getting on with it. The purpose of #LocalNatureRecoveryStrategies for Sussex is to identify opportunities for nature's recovery, but to do that, it’s important we know where we're actually starting from. 🎯 If you're a farmer, community group, organisation or land manager use the voluntary tool to MapYourActions for nature. Whether they are large or small, in progress, implemented or planned, the Sussex LNRS team want to hear about them! Find out more and register to add your projects to the map: https://shorturl.at/GCcPF

Charlotte City Council Approves Revised Piper Glen Development CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Charlotte City Council has approved the development near Piper Glen after over a year of discussions and adjustments. The 53-acre property at Rea Road and Elm Lane will now feature over 560 homes, down from the originally proposed 640. Key Changes: - Single-family homes reduced from 91 to 51. - The 15 single-family detached homes requirement removed. - Total housing units halved since the initial proposal. Environmental Considerations: - 32% tree-save area maintained. - 75-foot tree-save area on Elm Lane and a 50-foot landscape buffer on the southern boundary. - 12-foot multi-use path along Rea Road designed to avoid tree removal. Traffic Improvements: - Enhancements for 1,100 units remain in place, benefiting the current 566-unit plan. Community Response: - Opposition focused on preserving the natural environment. - Bald eagle nest concerns addressed; state wildlife officials confirmed no protected zone. Council Members’ Views: - Councilman Ed Driggs called the result a good compromise. - Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera praised the collaborative effort. The development falls within the district for the new Ballantyne Ridge High School off Johnston Road. For more updates, stay tuned to our news page.

Each year in the United States, urban tree cover decreases by an estimated 36 million trees, or 175,000 acres. For perspective, New York City’s Central Park contains about 18,000 trees, meaning the U.S. loses 2,000 times the number of trees in Central Park each year to factors like urban development, industry, climate change impacts, and lack of tree maintenance. In 2021, tree equity studies confirmed that socially and economically disadvantaged communities are more likely to experience the negative effects of urban tree loss. On average, communities with high levels of poverty have approximately 41 percent fewer trees than their wealthier counterparts. To help combat this inequity, nonprofit environmental advocacy organization Faith in Place was awarded $1.99 million by the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program to increase urban tree canopies in the Great Lakes region. These funds will allow Faith in Place to facilitate tree planning and workforce development projects at faith institutions and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations serving disadvantaged communities throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. A million thanks to Rev. Brian Sauder for sitting down with me to talk about tree equity and environmental justice for this article for Healing Our Waters - Great Lakes Coalition. #treeequity #treeplaning #environmentalworkforcedevelopment #freelacewriter #greatlakesregion #climateimpacts #urbantreeloss #environmentaljournalism

Supporting the communities surrounding conservation areas is a crucial component of long-term conservation success, and we believe that providing ongoing employment is one of the most impactful ways to support our local community, where unemployment rates can reach up to 80%. Every additional income supports many additional family members and has a significant positive effect on the greater community. 🌱 One of our significant highlights of 2023 was being able to add the 15 members of our Green Mambas habitat restoration team to our full-time roster. We also added 3 full-time staff at the brand-new Wild Tomorrow Conservation Centre. Not only is the security of income from their employment so crucial for their families, but it presents an opportunity for our staff to reconnect with nature and realize the interdependence between natural ecosystems and human communities. The benefits to the environment are multiplied as this “trickles down” to their families and communities. 🌿 Working collaboratively with our communities is inextricably linked to our success in ensuring a wild tomorrow for all. 🦓🦒🦏 #WildTomorrow #community #communityupliftment #communitysupport #conservation #wildlife #wildlifeconservation

Board Spotlight: Rodney Swink WakeUP is excited to welcome Rodney Swink to our Board of Directors. Rodney is an NC State graduate with a BA in Economics and Masters in Landscape Architecture. He enjoys teaching, eating good food, and gardening and watching wildlife in his backyard. Rodney has lived in Wake County for over 50 years and continues to live and invest here because it is “a dynamic place with lots to do (and to be done)." Why is WakeUP's work important for the Triangle? Growing as fast as we are, we need an organization to help citizens understand the choices that are being made and how to influence those choices. People want smart growth but do not always know what that is or how to achieve it and WakeUP can be a voice for that and a source of valuable information. What is the connection between affordable housing, transportation, and land use on our future? It's clear that how we use land in Wake County - for housing, commerce, infrastructure, recreation, growth of any kind - is critical to our quality of life. We will grow. How we grow is the question. We can grow in a way that protects places we value, including the housing that is already affordable, and not diminish the desire of others to be here. The connection is planning; we must plan ahead for growth while also managing what is currently underway. What makes you hopeful about Wake County in the future? People are attracted here for many reasons and I believe long-timers and newcomers alike want to protect what makes this area special so I am hopeful that people will support the planning needed to protect as we grow. What ways do you hope to inspire Wake County residents to be engaged in our future? We need to stress the positive outcomes derived from working together, recognizing differences, but finding common ground on which to build our future. #wakeupwakecounty #boardspotlight #wakecounty #thrivingcommunities #beapartofthesolution #sustainablegrowth #urbandevelopment #growwithus #climatechange #landuse #affordablehousing #equity #environment

Action for nature is already happening on the ground in Sussex but isn't always visible. 🌱 🐝 In recent meetings with #FarmerClusters across Sussex, the Local Nature Recovery Strategy team have heard about interventions taken to improve habitats and support species, at the same time as running a business. That these aren't known more broadly or celebrated is because land managers are busy getting on with it. The purpose of #LocalNatureRecoveryStrategies for Sussex is to identify opportunities for nature's recovery, but to do that, it’s important we know where we're actually starting from. 🎯 If you're a farmer, community group, organisation or land manager use the tool to MapYourActions for nature. Whether they are large or small, in progress, implemented or planned, the Sussex LNRS team want to hear about them! Find out more and register to add your projects to the map: https://shorturl.at/GCcPF

Judy Laird-Gossman (pictured, right) is one of 140 leading advocates and Parks & Trails New York members who converged in Albany this week to win new state support for our #parks, trails and public lands. In 80+ meetings we connected with legislators as never before, making our case on equity, health and #conservation grounds. Our parks 🌲 are, of course, priceless. Yet as we seek a necessary increase in this year's state parks budget for vital capital improvements, we have to make this value more tangible: Thanks to the steady increases in state parks visitation in recent years (84.1 million visits in 2023), the state park system now rivals New York's agricultural sector (!) in terms of spending ($5.8b) , labor income ($2.5b) and contribution to state GDP ($3.7b). This, according to an upcoming report from Parks & Trails New York and the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) Special thanks to our partners at Open Space Institute for making this year's Park Advocacy Day so impactful! also: New York Outdoor Recreation Coalition Audubon New York Adirondack Council The Nature Conservancy South Bronx Unite WE ACT for Environmental Justice

🌳 Dive into how Atlanta is preserving its natural beauty and historic landmarks on ATL Wire. This article explores the city's initiatives to protect green spaces, restore historic buildings, and promote sustainable urban development. Learn about the key projects, community involvement, and the impact these efforts have on maintaining Atlanta's unique charm. Discover how local organizations and government agencies are working together to ensure the city's greener, more resilient future. #Conservation #SustainableAtlanta 🌱 https://lnkd.in/dcm5xcu5