Topics Related to APNEP Projects
North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF) is the leader behind one of North Carolina’s newest environmental stewardship and restoration projects set to begin this fall. Partially funded by APNEP’s Engagement and Stewardship Grant, "Experiencing the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary: Fostering Watershed Stewardship" plans to engage multiple communities in native species plantings and a wetland restoration project in hopes to elevate collective environmental knowledge and appreciation among community members while reviving ecologically rich habitats.
Mapping North Carolina's underwater meadows from 11,000 feet in the air"If we can't document how things used to be and how they're changing, we're flying blind." This assertion from Dr. Dean Carpenter, APNEP’s Program Scientist, resonates on multiple levels when it comes to discussing North Carolina’s seagrass habitat. Because these underwater grasses need good water quality to thrive, we can better understand if the overall health of the estuary is improving or in decline by examining how high-salinity seagrasses in the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary change over time.
APNEP's Summer Intern Searches for Ways to Spread the Word about North Carolina's Aquatic Invasive SpeciesHello Soundings Blog readers!
Blog about protecting North Carolina's underwater meadows.
Standing by the sandy bank of the Neuse River just east of Raleigh, a 5th-grader holds out her small plastic cup, and at first glance it looks like there's nothing inside it but water..
North Carolina’s Natural Heritage Program (NCNHP) has been exploring the natural areas of the Albemarle-Pamlico region throughout most of its 40-year history. The northeastern corner of North Carolina was one of the first regions to be systematically surveyed by Natural Heritage Program biologists.
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, is that how it goes?” chuckles Jimmy Johnson, the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership’s (APNEP’s) Coastal Habitats Coordinator.
Teachers waded through the shallow water of Bogue Sound, laughing and shouting as they searched the estuary’s sandy bottom for signs of life. Behind them, gnarled maritime forest backed shoreline-fringing salt marshes. The group had canoed and kayaked here as a part of the 2017 ExPLORE NC Teacher Institute, an annual APNEP-funded professional development institute for North Carolina’s teachers.
The ebb and flow of water guides the rhythms of the natural world. Rivers and creeks swell with spring rainfall, life blooming along their banks. Small streams become inhospitable channels of rock and sand during the hot months of summer. Fall then brings the threat of hurricanes, which can turn waterways into raging torrents that sweep pollutants, sediment, and detritus far downstream.