Overview

Members of APNEP’s Engagement and Stewardship Action Team include representatives from universities, the NC Office of Environmental Education, NC Museum of Natural Sciences, NC Aquariums, NC State Parks, NC Sea Grant, local government, and conservation organizations including the NC Coastal Federation, Sound Rivers, and River Guardian Foundation. The team pursues collaborative initiatives aligned with the following APNEP Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) actions:

 1. Foster watershed stewardship

  • Communicate the importance of stewardship and offer opportunities for volunteerism to further APNEP’s mission. 

  • Provide and promote opportunities for outdoor experiences that connect individuals with the Albemarle-Pamlico ecosystem.

2. Conduct targeted environmental education efforts regarding estuarine habitats, water quality, and ecosystem services. 

  • Provide environmental education training opportunities for educators. 

  • Increase public understanding of the relationship between ecosystem health and human health advisories relating to water, fish, and game.

3. Provide tools and training to support ecosystem-based management

  • Develop and implement a strategy to improve decision-makers’ understanding of the return on investments in environmental protection, restoration, planning, and monitoring.

  • Enhance the coordination of targeted ecosystem management by federal, state, regional, and local governments, and communities by assisting with the incorporation of resilience, climate change and sea level rise considerations into planning processes. 

Engagement and Stewardship grant awards fund projects in the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine region. An independent review committee from the Engagement and Stewardship Team selected the projects through a competitive evaluation and ranking process. The selected projects support APNEP’s mission to identify, protect, and restore the significant resources of the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system, and specifically address multiple actions in the partnership’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Read more about the selected projects from the 2021 research funding proposals.

Please contact us at apnep@deq.nc.gov if you are interested in participating or have project ideas for the team.  

View all Engagement and Stewardship Action Team Meetings Materials

Team Members