who "People interact with nat ure 30 minutes a week have bet ter health outcomes and mental well-being than those who don’t."
A Let ter f rom the Executive Director
A s someone who cares deeply about nature, I t hin k about t he ways t hat urban nature helps heal our com munit y. T he resea rch increasingly shows t hat people who interact w it h nat ure 30 minutes a week have bet ter healt h outcomes a nd mental well-being t ha n t hose who don’t a nd t hat easy access to urba n na-borhoods outside of histor ically wealt hy a nd histor ically white neighborhoods, mea ning t hat ma ny residents don’t have ready access to explore nat ure on t heir ter ms.
We need urban nat ure, whet her it’s a lit tle pocket rain ga rden, a preser ve w it h a t rail, a big bioretention project w it h lots of native pollinator pla nts, or a w ild st rea m. We need a ny place t hat g ives us a lit tle respite from
t he craz y world we have found ourselves liv ing in. A nd we need to re- establi sh t hose con nections bet ween ourselves a nd t he nature in our back yards so t hat we can reap t he benefits t hat hav ing a solid relationship w it h nat ure a nd water prov ides.
T h is a n nua l repor t h ig h lig ht s ju st a few of t he ma ny EC WA-led projec t s t hat demon-teer s have accomplished over t he yea r to en su re t hat we protec t more u rba n nat u re, restore more la nd a nd w ater to it s nat u ra l pat ter n s, a nd en g age more people to appreciate a nd benefit f rom t he c reek a nd u rba n nat u re. A nd we ’ re excited to do more i n t he com i n g yea r s. A f ter a ll, we’re all in thi s c reek together.
Urban Nat ure
Ex pansion
ever yone. At EC WA , we’ve had to be creative a nd flex ible w it h our goals so t hat we can keep mov ing for wa rd as a n orga nization. O ver t he last yea r, we’ve still been able to complete acquisitions despite t he challenges, including acquisition of small, but integ ral additions to L ively a nd Veasey Nat ure Preser ves.
At t he Ev a M . L ively Nat u re P reser ve, we expanded the con ser ved land b y 1½ acres t h roug h la nd donat ion s. L ively is a pr iv ate preser ve located r ig ht nex t to t he bu s y Sout h Ellerbe g reenw ay t hat r u n s f rom dow ntow n t h roug h a shady corr idor of t rees a nd protec ted la nd. Foxes, coyotes, deer, a nd a n a ma zi n g v a r iet y of bi rd s depend on t he c reek a nd forest s of t h is v a lley. T he donated la nd protec t s a beaut if u l forested wet la nd a nd r ipa r ia n a rea s t hat a re i nteg ra l to w ater qua lit y a nd w ild life i n Sout h Ellerbe Creek . ECWA ha s protec ted almost 15 acres in thi s corr idor to date. Combi ned w it h la nd ow ned by t he Cit y a nd Cou nt y, t h is a rea cou ld one d ay be a pa r t of a 3 0 -acre g reenwa y park for D urham! I n December 2 021, we acqu i red t he 2-ac re Ha rr i n g ton proper t y. T h is i mpor t a nt piece of la nd not on ly ex pa nd s Vea sey Nat u re P reser ve, but a lso protec t s more than 1½ acres of floodplain t hat con nec t t he preser ve to t he Fa lls L a ke Shoreli nes a nd T r ibut a r ies Nat u ra l Her it age
A rea. T h is is a n essent ia l cor r idor for w ild life i n Ellerbe Creek a nd for EC WA a s it prov ides a to access.
In order to ensure t hat our la nd holdings a round Veasey ser ve t he needs of t he neighbor ing communities, EC WA w ill be for min g a steer in g commit tee of residents a round Lower Ellerbe Creek to st rateg ically pla n for t he f ut ure use of t he la nd in
Engagement Coordinator, L . A . Dav is-Dura nte.
Beaver Marsh Nature Preserve by Caroline Gilmore
Communit y Spotlight: Merrick-Moore and Bonita Green
If you have not yet had the oppor tunit y to meet Ms. Bonita Green, president of the Merrick-Moore Communit y Development Corporation ( Merrick-Moore CDC), you are missing out on someone special. Luck y for you, she ag reed to talk w ith ECWA about the histor y of the Merrick-Moore CDC and her work in Durham. ECWA and Merrick-Moore CDC have worked together on various initiatives over the last few years to preser ve urban nat ure in D urham.
Being able to work with organi zers like Green and g roups like the Merr ick-Moore CDC are impor tant for the f ut ure of ECWA and g reen space preser vation in Durham.
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ent lives a nd na mes. Or ig inally called t he Merr ick-Moore Com munit y Club in 1952, t he club sprouted out of t he Mer r ick Moore L adies Club. T his new club, led by Green’s fat her, focused on relationship building, social work, t rading sk ills, and f undraising w it hin t he com munit y. Many of t he club members at t he time were World Wa r II vetera ns a nd were able to help t heir neighbors w it h t rade sk ills like ca r pent r y a nd mason r y to build homes.
W hen Bonita Green ret ur ned to Mer r ick-Moore in 2012, she found t hat t he Mer r ick-Moore Communit y Club was no longer active. Being raised in t he Mer r ick-Moore com munit y a nd hav ing pa rents heav ily involved w it h t he com munit y club fostered a st rong sense of com munit y impor ta nce a nd con nection for her.
Wit h help from ot her com munit y members, a g roup of volunteers was able to get t he com munit y orga nization back up and r unnin g, a nd in 2017 t hey reorga nized a nd beca me t he Mer r ick Moore Com munit y Development Cor poration. Today, t he Mer r ick-Moore CDC st ill uphold s t hese sa me values of t he or ig inal com munit y club w it h t he pr ima r y focus being to add ress t he com munit y ’ s needs.
EC WA a nd t he Mer r ick-Moore CDC were connected dur ing a Brag tow n Com munit y A ssociation meeting to discuss protecting par t of t heir la nd from being developed. From t here, Keshi Sat ter white, EC WA’s for mer Com munit y Engagement Specialist, and Green worked toget her on projects including t he Pa rk s w it h P ur pose project in G oose Creek. In t he last yea r, Merr ick-Moore CDC has received multiple f unding oppor t unities to de velop a communit y garden and pre vent den se de velopment on t heir nat ural spaces. Being able to work w it h orga nizers like Green a nd g roups like t he Mer r ick-Moore CDC a re impor ta nt for t he f ut ure of EC WA a nd g reen space preser vation in Durha m.
Beaver Marsh Nature Preserve
L . A . D a vis-D urante
Born and raised in Durham, L . A. has deep roots within the Black and LGBTQ+ community in Durham. He g rew up in organizing spaces in large par t due to his mother’s involvement in the communit y. But L . A. got involved for himself in electoral organizing and getting out the vote during his time at U NC-Greensboro in 2014. T he majorit y of his life prepared him for relationship-building and communit y organizing, but when he returned to Durham after college, his work and education made him realize that he didn’t ha ve the same access to nature g rowing up as other people who g rew up in other areas in Durham did. No one came to his schools or communities to encourage them to go to nature preser ves or state parks.
Seeing the Beaver Marsh Nat ure P reser ve behind a large super market was intr ig uing to L . A . and embodied urban nat ure for him.
He also found t hat he was pr iced out of his hometow n a nd so now lives in Hillsborough. Despite being f ur t her away from t he cit y, L . A . has had a chance to explore t he nature in and sur rounding Durha m a nd, in t hat process, had his first interaction w it h EC WA at a walk at Beaver Marsh Preser ve last year. Seeing t he Beaver Ma rsh Nat ure Preser ve behind a la rge
super ma rket was int r ig uing to L . A . a nd embodied urban nat ure for him. A f ter t hat, he k new he could inspire ot her QT BIPOC (Queer and Trans Black, Indigenous, People of Color) to enjoy t he nat ure sur rounding t hem.
Although L . A. doesn’t have the formal land protection, urban planning, botany, or biolog y exper tise, he is connected to the environmental and social justice issues that Durham is facing. He understands the communities that
and knows that the reason they have higher home cooling costs is because no one gave their communities the proper tree coverage, which is an example of systemic environmental racism.
L . A . is look in g for ward to tellin g EC WA’s stor y i n a w ay t hat ack nowledges t he com mun it ies t hat have been overlook ed by or g a n izat ion s li ke EC WA a nd how t hat ha s i mpac ted t he public hea lt h of t hese neig hborhood s. B y sh if t i n g t he foc u s onto t hese a rea s, EC WA
ca n work to be a resou rce for t hese commun it ies by bu ild i n g relat ion sh ips w it h ou r pa r t ner s a nd com mun it y a ssociat ion s t hat w a nt to add ress issues li ke la nd protec t ion a nd flood i n g. We ca n’t w a it to con nec t w it h
t hese com mun it ies a nd get i nvolved w it h
t hei r goa ls a nd v ision s a nd for u rba n nat u re i n D u rha m w it h L . A . ’ s leader sh ip.
2 022 B ea ver
Q ueen Pageant
Wit h our business sponsorships, contesta nt votes, a nd judge br ibes combined, t he 2 022 B ea ver Q ueen Pa geant rai sed over $36 ,00 0 for EC WA! P ut your paws toget her for t he 2022 Beaver Queen, Tinder Beaver! We a re excited to use t he proceeds to protect more la nd, improve water qualit y, con nect people to nat ure, a nd of course prov ide more habitat for beavers (a nd ot her w ildlife) in dow ntow n Durha m.
A big shout out to a l l of t h is yea r ’ s wonder f u l volu nteer contes t a nt s! T h a n k you to ou r pa r tner s i n c r i me, t he B eaver L o dge L o c a l 150 4 , for once ag a i n put t i n g on a sp ec t ac u la r show. A nd , t h a n k s to each a nd e ver y one of you w ho sho ok you r t a i ls i n t he meadow, c a s t a vote, or br ib ed a judge. Be sure to mark your calendar s for June 3rd , 2 023 for the 19 th Annual Bea ver Q ueen Pa geant . Peace, L ove, Bea ver!
2 021 Re venue
Queen Pageant
Photo by Katie Rentzke
2022 Board of Directors
Tatia Ash
Dexter Blackwell
Treasurer
Rodney Butler
Vice President
John Dorney
Interim President
Kaitlin Grable
Sarah Musser
Secretary
Ian Pond
Rusty Painter
Kevin Primus
Katie Rentzke
Kelly Roth
Clayton Rugh
Chastan Swain
Roberto Valle Kinloch
Staff
Rachel Cohn
Associate Director
L. A. Davis-Durante
Engagement Coordinator
Chris Dreps
Land Protection Director
Megan McClaugherty
Creek Smart® & Stewardship Technician
Robert Meehan
Water Management
Specialist
Donna Myers
Stewardship Director
Laura Stroud
Water Management Program Coordinator
Jordan Thomas Communications and Outreach Coordinator
Joe Weitz, Creek Smart® Technician
Rickie White
Executive Director
