CAPE CARTERET – A third-grade teacher in Carteret County, Dana Edgren instills a respect for nature in her students while teaching them about science.

Edgren, a teacher at White Oak Elementary School in Cape Carteret and a mother of three children herself, has a great love and respect for the natural world. Her desire and ability to pass that respect to the next generation has earned her a Pelican Award this year from the N.C. Coastal Federation. She received the award at a luncheon Aug. 3 at the Duke University Marine Laboratory near Beaufort.

Edgren was nominated by Sarah Phillips, one of the federation’s educators. “When I was thinking of an ideal educator whom I work with, she was the one I first thought of,” Phillip aid of Edgren. “She is great to work with; she takes what she learns and runs with it, which is ideal for a partner teacher.”

Dana Edgren and her third graders at the school’s greenhouse.

With money from Walmart, the federation worked with Edgren to build a greenhouse at the school. Edgren uses the greenhouse more than any teacher, Phillip said. “She’s out there weekly with her kids, composting, planting, doing seed experiments,” she said. “She got the other teachers involved, too. She is so interested in everything the federation does – she wants to be educated just like she educates her kids at school. “

Phillips began working with Edgren a few years ago on way to maintain a rain garden on the school property. The federation helped the school create the rain garden near the front entrance a few years earlier to help with water overflow from the parking lot and the front of the building.

The initial plants were planted by fifth graders, who had formed the White Oak Garden Club.

Members of the club were to plant new plantings each spring, but costs and drought soon made it difficult to replace the plants. Phillips and Edgren, who was teaching fifth grade at the time, brainstormed to come up with a solution to the problem.

Edgren, whose father owns several greenhouse businesses, instilled in her a love for plants and taught her how things grow within her. With a grant from Walmart and a new third-grade science curriculum that included greenhouses, Edgren and volunteers got to work building a greenhouse where the third graders could grow their own plants and learn a lot more about plants and the environment in the process. “They learn about the soil, composting, rain water collection and solar energy through this project,” Edgren said.

The greenhouse project was an Edgren family project once it began because there was a lot of manual labor involved, and the Edgren family along with some of the other parents completed the construction of the greenhouse and walkway. In order to keep from spending school money on the rain garden, the rain barrels were incorporated into the project to supply water for the garden.

“Our greenhouse was a great success this spring. We ended up with over 650 plants from seeds and roots,” she noted. Once Edgren and her class got the project going, all the third graders at White Oak became involved in working in and around the greenhouse. The Rain Garden Club that was initially only for fifth graders now includes kids of all grades. “I spent a lot of time in the garden for a while but now there is more involvement by other kids and their families,” Edgren said.

The students, Edgren said, planted about 450 plants in the rain garden and they sold the rest. The money was set aside to pay to maintain the garden and for supplies for the greenhouse.

“Everyone at White Oak Elementary was very supportive and the third graders had a great time planting some garden plants and a few flowers from seeds,” Edgren said. “The garden has been in bloom all summer and it looks just great. We have some new projects for this year including water conservation, drainage and possibly an edible garden at White Oak.”

Phillips added that Edgren isn’t only teaching the kids what is required by the state. “They are learning how to appreciate the things given to them, they are learning how to take care of their environment, and they are learning to teach others about the importance of working together,” Phillips explained. “They have learned about native plants by planting them in soil they made from compost. They learn about types of rain gardens and plants because they do rain garden tours for their peers. Kids that have Dana in their lives are lucky because they are learning in more ways than one.”

MOREHEAD CITY — Abigail Poray has always loved nature and she always knew that wanted to pursue a career in the natural sciences. She became smitten with the ocean while studying in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The idea of turning her vocation into something pretty came to her soon after.

It was 2008, and Poray was at California State University in Northridge working on a master’s degree in the study of all seaweed, including algae. She realized that not only was algae interesting, it was also colorful and should be more than something pressed between two microscope slides and then thrown in a binder. It could be turned into jewelry.

In no time it became a passion. Poray began expressing her appreciation of the organisms in the form of beautiful one-of-a-kind jewelry.

Abigail Poray turned her vocation into art.

“In grad school we had to take a class in the study of algae. I loved the layout, color and forms and wanted to preserve them and use them. I wanted to blend science with art,” she said. “I saw someone use resin to cast wildflowers and thought ‘why can’t I do that with algae?’”

On her website she describes why she loves the algae so much, “Algae create beautiful and ecologically healthy underwater gardens, full of life and grace. Through my work I hope to open up a world unknown to most people and help develop a greater appreciation for what nature can create.”

Algae from California, Japan and North Carolina can be found in her various pieces of jewelry and come in various shades of brown, green and red. But most of the material she works with is collected off the coast of North Carolina, from shallow intertidal areas to deep offshore habitats.

“The browns and greens are found inshore, but I have to dive for the reds,” Poray explained.

Many of her friends give her algae that they have collected throughout the world. It can come in the form of a piece wrapped in a paper towel or they may give it to her already pressed, but she likes to ensure that each piece is identified as to species and where it was harvested.

Her desire is for everyone who gets her jewelry can also learn to appreciate algae for its beauty and not just associate it with the slimy, gooey stuff that grows on the insides of aquariums. She attaches each piece to a card with the identification information.

The earrings are made from a species of gelidium, an algae found in shallow estuaries around the world. Photo: Abigail Poray

This pendant is made from a species of egregia, a family of kelp.

“I feel like that is a really neat thing about it, but occasionally I’ll get a customer who tears the tag right off and hands it to me to throw away or reuse,” she said.

Poray says she has improved quite a bit since she cast her first pieces of algae jewelry.  She currently casts pendants and earrings and is working to create a bangle or cuff bracelet that will also convert algae into wearable art. She is also considering making notecards with prints of her unique collection of algae.

The process to make the jewelry involves collecting and making pressings of the various algae and then searching her files for the perfect pieces to incorporate into her jewelry. After she chooses the piece of algae, she lays a thin layer of resin in the bottom of the mold. The algae are placed on top of that and then another layer of clear or pigmented resin is laid on top of the algae. The jewelry is sanded and put back into the mold to add more resin to seal the edges and keep the air and water from getting to the piece of algae. She said she learned from her earlier pieces that if she didn’t add the last layer of resin, the algae would not hold up as well. She also uses silver with each of her pieces and pendants can be purchased with coil wire, omega chains or cords.

The pendants and earrings really have to be seen to be appreciated. Some of the pieces of algae look like miniature coral while others look like a miniature scene with giant trees and tiny people. Poray says part of the fun is looking at each piece of algae and imagining how it will look as a piece of art jewelry.

Each piece of unique algae jewelry takes about an hour and a half to produce—not including the drying time. They range in price from $35-$60. “I want people to wear these so I want them to be affordable, but at the same time I want it to be worth my time. I would really like this (business) to eventually be something that can support me.

Poray also works as lab manager for the Fisheries Ecology Lab at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City.

Poray sells her jewelry at Handscapes Gallery in Beaufort and on her web site. She hopes to someday be able to sell it in more stores, but because it is so labor intensive she can’t keep up with the demand by herself. She also works on consignment and is completing jewelry for two upcoming weddings.

“The brides are friends who appreciate my work,” she said.

That is also an important factor in selling the pieces. “Not everyone appreciates that these are one-of-a-kind pieces of art and not just jewelry,” Poray said.

However, the people who see it in person find it unique and interesting, according to owner Alison Brooks at Handscapes Gallery. “People are very impressed with Abigail’s jewelry because it is unusual for one reason,” she said. “No one has ever seen algae jewelry before. Also it is locally collected and is a beautiful presentation, so it is unique, local and representative of the area.”

ATLANTIC BEACH — A special group of seven high school students from the N.C. School for the Deaf in Morganton got to spend several hours last week enjoying and learning about the coastal wetlands at Hoop Pole Creek, the N.C. Coastal Federation’s preserve.

“The kids really enjoy it,” said Jana Lollis, the students’ science and biology teacher. “Hands on learning is good for all kids but I think it is especially for these kids. Many of the kids’ parents can’t sign and one of the students is from Honduras and at first couldn’t speak English or sign.”

Sarah Phillips, a federation educator, led the tour that began with some basics about Hoop Pole Creek, wetlands and the various habitats at the preserve. With the aid of a white board and markers, Phillips was able to depict Bogue Banks, the Atlantic Ocean, the sound, maritime forest and the importance of caring for the wetlands.

“I have never taught a class of hearing-impaired kids before, though I have helped with this type of class before when I was in the Peace Corps in Slovakia,” Phillips said later. “My cousin is also hearing impaired so I knew what types of things they may or may not be able to do. I really wasn’t sure how to prepare, but really didn’t do much that I would not have done with any other group of students. The translation to sign language and back to spoken word added a little bit of time to the lesson, but overall it was pretty much the same as it would have been with any high school class.”

Sarah Phillips, far left, talks about the ecology of maritime forests to students at the N.C. School for the Deaf. Photo: April Clarke

Lollis is also hearing impaired but reads lips and signs. She and two chaperones from the school helped to translate, and the result was the students learned about the maritime forest, the special adaptations the trees must adopt to survive the salty coast. The students also got the opportunity to do various tests in the creek.  They checked the clarity or turbidity, salinity, oxygen, nitrates and pH using the equipment Phillips brought. The kids particularly enjoyed finding and playing with the fiddler crabs and wanted to take home some oysters and mussels to taste for dinner.

Phillips said she was glad Lollis emailed her and gave her the opportunity to conduct this particular class. “Since this school is from Morganton and most of the kids are from the western part of the state, giving them the opportunity to explore a little bit worked well,” Phillips said. “We walked around in the salt marsh and caught fiddler crabs and looked at oysters and talked about birds that were swooping down into the water catching fish. Anytime they found something new or different or interesting, they’d wave me over and we’d figure it out.”

Lollis said some of the students have never been to the beach before. On the three-day trip, they also visited the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort and camped one night at the Cedar Point Recreation Area in the Croatan National Forest and two nights at Cape Hatteras.

Audrey Garvin, director of the school, doesn’t consider the trip to be days out of the classroom. “The opportunity to explore coastal North Carolina is not time out of the classroom—it is real world learning at its best,” she said. “(The school) looks forward to providing a great curriculum for great kids and teachers in natural settings.”

She said experiential learning is the best type of education. “Being led by strong, deaf teachers, the in-depth communication in a real world setting has benefits that translate into stronger conceptual development,” she explained. “Using texts does not produce the same English comprehension and does not result in higher achievement.”

Ann Aldridge, secretary of the N.C. School for the Deaf in Morganton Foundation and retired school administrator added “utilizing all senses to enhance learning is especially important for students who have hearing losses. Being able to actually experience the lessons taught in the classroom through hands-on ‘real life’ interactions raises the comprehension and cognitive levels significantly.”

The foundation, a volunteer organization, provided the money for the trip.

The school was started in 1891 in Morganton, about a five-hour drive from the coast. It is a day and residential school whose mission is to educate children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The little greenhouse provides a classroom to teach children at White Oak Elementary School about plants, soil and solar power. Third-grade teacher Dana Edgren makes sure her kids take advantage of it. Photos: Sam Bland

CAPE CARTERET— White Oak Elementary School has something most grade schools along the coast don’t. It’s a little greenhouse that sits at the end of a concrete walkway at the back of the school’s campus.

But If Sarah Phillips had her way more elementary school would have their own greenhouses.

Phillips is one of the educators at the N.C. Coastal Federation, and she has worked with teachers at White Oak Elementary in Carteret County since 2007. Their first project was a rain garden near the school’s front entrance that was created to help absorb stormwater from the parking lot and the front of the building. The garden was initially planted by fifth graders, and fifth-grade classes were from then on responsible for maintaining the garden, which meant periodic re-plantings.

Cost, though, became an issue, as did two droughts. Phillips and Dana Edgren, who was then the fifth-grade teacher in charge of the project, needed a cheaper way to maintain the garden that was not so prone to the vagaries of the weather.

“We like to plant new plants each spring but funding was a problem, so I mentioned to Dana that we could get a grant from Walmart for the greenhouse and she was very interested,” Phillips explained.

By then, Edgren had moved to the third grade. That was an even better grade, she decided, to get students interested in learning about plants and the coastal environment. “They are beginning to integrate the lessons into their everyday thoughts, not just learning it and forgetting it,” Phillips added.

“The third grade got a new curriculum and we were studying everything to do with the greenhouse in science, so it went together perfectly,” Edgren said. “They are learning about the soil, composting, rain water collection and solar energy all through this project.”

Walmart provided the initial grant money. But many other people, groups and businesses were involved. Lowe’s Home Improvement Center, which has a store near the school, donated wood. Newton Construction built the railing, and the Coast Guard donated the solar panels. Edgren’s husband and son donated an enormous amount of time along with some of the other parents, and the federation provided two rain barrels.

“We like to avoid having to spend any of the school’s money for this, so we decided if they had the rain barrels they would have free water and could incorporate that into their lessons,” Phillips added. “The composter and solar panels were all Dana’s idea. It’s been cool for me because sometimes I run out of new ideas, so when a teacher comes up with all of this I see it can be done and it helps me write grants for other schools. It’s important when you do projects to have an interested teacher. She is super excited, and her parents were farmers, so she grew up around plants and is really interested in having the kids learn this way.”

Students pot plants in the greenhouse at White Oak Elementary School. Photo: Dana Edgren

The fact that the science lesson on plants, solar energy and soil went from the fifth graders to third graders is a plus as far as Phillips and Edgren are concerned because third graders are old enough to learn the ideas and young enough to still be excited about what they are learning.

“I think it fits better along with the third-grade curriculum because a lot of times kids that age don’t even know where food comes from. They just think it comes from a store,” Phillips said. “It’s a good age; they are really excited about learning.

It’s not only Edgren’s class that is participating, but all the third graders are involved in working in and around the greenhouse. A Garden Club that includes all grades now works on the rain garden.

“I was spending a lot of time in the garden last year, but now I’m seeing more involvement. It’s something I want the kids and parents to do together,” Edgren said.

There are 400 perennials in the greenhouse—all North Carolina native plants, another lesson for the students in the benefits of planting and using natives. Eydan Giesbrecht and Elliot Simonette, both students of Edgren’s, say they have enjoyed learning about the plants and hope to have gardens of their own at home now that they see how it can be done.

“We’ve been coming here a couple of times,” Simonette said. “She has about two or three of us come out here at a time. We got to fill pots with dirt and plant the plants.”

Giesbrecht explained how the composter works. “We’ve gotten a bucket at lunch, we put fruits and vegetables in there and turn it and it turns into dirt,” she said.

Not only have all the White Oak students gotten involved, along with Lowes and Walmart, the Croatan High School agriculture students spent an afternoon helping to “spruce up” the greenhouse.

According to Phillips, Edgren is not opposed to asking for and getting help with the greenhouse project or any project for that matter. In fact, she’s planned a couple of ways the community and parents can get involved with the school project. She is planning a parents and students campus clean-up on March 4 and is encouraging people access a registry at Lowe’s where parents or members of the community can buy items that have been designated as being needed for the school. On March 26, the school will have a Beautification Day where students, parents or anyone interested in helping can come and help beautify the campus.

For more information visit the White Oak Elementary Web site.

OCEAN — Ted Miller always encouraged people to live life to its fullest and to take care of their minds and bodies through exercise and nutrition. He was a living example of that philosophy until his death last summer at the age of 98.

His children hope their father’s legacy will live on by donating his Earth-Wise Farm to the N.C. Coastal Federation, the conservation nonprofit group that one of those children, Todd, started more than 30 years ago. The federation hasn’t decided yet how to put the farm to a use.

The federation will find a use that honors his father’s memory and life’s work, said Todd Miller, now the organization’s executive director. “He really wanted the property to contribute something lasting to future generations and society, and not be sold off for development,” Miller said of the 3.5-acre tract of prime waterfront property off N.C. 24 in this small community in Carteret County.

Ted Miller wanted his farm to benefit future generations. Photo: Jennifer Miller

In his 2003 book, Wildegeest! A Search for Last Places- Sequel, Ted wrote, “When we returned to the ‘home place’ in North Carolina, the beautiful farm I had purchased long ago from Mr. Ken Parker had recently been used to grow cotton and was reeking of chemicals. Intolerable! Development and land purchases were closing in, demolishing the farmers. It was time to hold the line and clean up the soil, demonstrate pesticide-free growing of vegetables, fruits and grains.”

In the book, Ted remembers the home gardens that sustained people during the Depression and the Victory Gardens of last century’s world wars. “When I was a boy, people shopped for ‘staples’—a raw material, or commodity, grown or manufactured nearby. There wasn’t much variety, but we enjoyed satisfying meals. Diseases and obesity, that are now epidemic due to overabundance, were not much in evidence during the Great Depression of the ‘30s, or World War II rationing. Much could be gained if people with unused land, regardless of size, would reinvent ‘Victory Gardens’ as a way to add clean, fresh, nutritious vegetables and herbs to their daily food supply, and as a long-term continuing project.”

So, in the early 2000s, Ted started Earth-Wise Farm, banned all pesticides and herbicides and successfully grew fruits, grains and vegetables.

In addition to his advocacy of food grown free from chemicals, Ted recognized early in his life the health benefits of fish oil. A chemist, he moved to Morehead City in 1948 where he directed research and quality control at Wallace Fisheries Co.’s menhaden plants in North Carolina, Florida and Louisiana. He was experimenting on feed that would help accelerate the growth of chickens. No one at the time knew that menhaden oil was an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.

In the 1950s Ted prepared and circulated a technical bulletin “Fish Oil – A Material with a Thousand Uses.” Soon afterward he was recruited by the Rockefeller Institute to help produce five gallons of menhaden body oil to be used in a landmark study on the human health effects of eating fish oil.

Ted  continued to work with Wallace Fisheries and others in the fishing industry when he opened his own laboratory called Marine Chemurgics in the mid-1950s in his backyard in Ocean. He closed the lab in 1972, and spent five years as a food science seafood extension specialist for the N.C. State University’s Seafood Laboratory.  He then reopened his lab in 1977, and worked until 1991 on projects sponsored jointly by the federal government and private industry. The research centered on finding ways to make omega-3 fatty acids acceptable, beneficial and safe for human consumption.

When Ted’s beloved wife, Sylvia, died after 40 years of marriage, Ted said he came to what he termed a “somewhat uncomfortable” place in his life. He stopped his work with Marine Chemurgics Laboratory and at the age of 76 set out on a series of travel odysseys with his family dog. He chronicled his travels in an online book and discussed his 15,000-mile trek up to and through Canada and another trip to Newfoundland, where he fell in love with the area and bought property.

Ted became more focused on aging and character development in the elderly and wrote extensively on how to survive the loss of a spouse and how older people can remain productive and independent.

The federation is still trying to find the best uses for Ted Miller’s EarthWise Farm on Bogue Sound. Photo: Todd Miller

During his last year, Ted tried diligently to find a couple willing to take over management of Wildegeest Foundation, which he started to address healthful lifestyles and appreciation for the aged. However, his search proved fruitless. After he died, his children had to decide what to do with his property. “His interests were related to the work of the N.C. Coastal Federation, but if we could have found someone to carry on his work on fish oils, prudent diets and aging, that would have been best,” Todd Miller said. “He searched for such a person for many years, and was not successful in finding the right match. After his death, the family decided that that the federation was best situated to manage the land in a way that would benefit the public, given the family connections and the close proximity of our office to the property.”

Miller operated the federation from the family home until around 1987, Todd said.

The family decided to donate the Earth-Wise Farm portion of Ted’s approximately 15-acre property to the  federation, Todd explained, with the goal of supporting the organization’s work while still allowing the farm to continue to be productive.

The property recently appraised for $220,000 and includes one main residence building and two buildings used for equipment and gardening support. In addition to the cultivated portion, it is home to a variety of pecan, pear and mulberry trees and blackberry, raspberry and grape vines.

Sam Bland of the federation is responsible for the management of the property and says he is still in the early stages of starting to care for the farm and develop programming that is consistent with the mission of the federation.

Possible uses, said Todd, include the site of the federation’s annual Native Plant Sale, a native plant farm, retreat and workshop location, field trip launch, dormitory for interns, community garden, clamming or oyster farm, satellite federation office and lodging for board members or donors. There are some restrictions related to the donation as well — the property cannot be subdivided, there can be no building on the waterfront portion of the property and the land must be used by a non-profit for educational  or conservation purposes.

Regardless of the uses of the farm, it will doubtlessly impact the area positively and be an asset to the efforts of the N.C. Coastal Federation, according to Bland. “The EarthWise farm will allow us the opportunity to explore other options to support our restoration, education and internship programs,” he said. “We are also evaluating ideas on ways to use the farm that will get people involved and engaged with the Coastal Federation to promote awareness of the federation and the coastal issues we are working to address. The donation of the farm is a reflection on the entire Miller family and their sincere commitment to preserve and protect our fragile coastal environment and to ensure that we a have healthy ecosystem to support all of the recreational, commercial and aesthetic values for generations to come.”

Christians, says Penny Hooper, often don’t put their beliefs to work protecting God’s creation.  They just need to know how, she says.

Interfaith Power & Light, Hooper hopes, is one way.

This national coalition that describes itself as “a religious response to global warming” and believes that Christians and environmentalists aren’t necessarily very different and that they can work together to solve the greatest environmental threat.

Interfaith Power & Light believes that the Christian response to global warming is good stewardship – in this case, promoting energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.

“This organization works from our moral commitment to Creation Care and specifically for advocacy and education about climate change within faith-based communities,” said Hooper, Carteret County resident. “Alternative energy gives the churches more money to use in other ways.”

Penny Hooper helps her husband, Mark, in the crab shack of their seafood business in Smyrna in Carteret County. Photo: NOAA

Hooper serves as the secretary of the steering committee of the N.C. chapter of Interfaith and is the sole representative from coastal North Carolina. She organizes events and demonstrations in the coastal region and monitors such issues as offshore wind development and offshore drilling.

“I work on offshore wind as an alternative to offshore drilling. [We are] not in favor of that,” she said.

Hooper taught for 16 years at Carteret Community College, where she chaired the sustainability committee. She also chaired the Green Team at her church. That’s where she first heard of Interfaith Power & Light.

“I decided when I retired, rather than work from the ‘head’ I wanted to work from the ‘heart’. The scientists aren’t getting it done, she said. “One is a moral responsibility and the other is ‘scientifically’.”

Interfaith has its roots in Episcopal Power & Light, which was formed in 1998 by the Episcopal Cathedral of the Diocese of California. The group expanded its reach two years later and brought in partners from other faiths, becoming California Interfaith Power & Light.

That group was instrumental in the passage of many of California’s climate and clean energy laws. Since then, 38 states have followed this model, and IPL is working to bring similar programs to every state.

To become an affiliate groups must be faith-based and include multiple faith traditions; have a steering committee or board of directors that includes ordained religious leaders; advocate for clean energy, conservation and responsible stewardship in response to global warming; and have a written work plan and timeline that provides a description of a strategy for taking action and raising funds.

North Carolina became the 16th state to join Interfaith Power and Light in 2005 as the organization then known as Climate Connection: Eco-Justice Network, which represented Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims. The name was changed to North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light (NCIPL) in January 2007.

The state group accomplishes its educational goals by working through churches and synagogues and by holding educational classes and workshops.

The group’s empowered program offers churches free energy audits, which helps churches identify ways to reduce their carbon footprint and  save energy and money. The program also helps churches discover ways to finance the installation of solar energy and other forms of renewable energy at their buildings.

N.C. Interfaith Power & Light helped stage a protest against a coal-fired power plant in Asheville. Photo: French Broad Riverkeeper

The N.C. group also offers Earth Sabbath Celebrations, interfaith, Earth-based hour-long services in Chapel Hill, Asheville, Durham and Raleigh.

According to Hooper, members of the steering committee are always happy to give presentations to congregations about ways they can support the transition to alternative energy sources.

“It’s never too late,” she adds.

Even if a building is complete there are still ways the congregation can implement green changes. Hooper is willing to meet with building committees, pastors and Bible studies to share her knowledge of ways to better care for the earth that God created for our enjoyment.

In addition to education, policy advocacy is part of the core mission of the state group. It provides information and opportunities for communities and congregations to get involved in policy-making activities related to efficient use of energy. Hydraulic fracking natural gas and proposed electricity rate hikes are just two of the issues it is currently working on.

“The Preach-In is a big event from our religious leaders who want to talk about creation care and climate care. Afterwards everyone sends a Valentine to our representatives and senators telling them to love the earth and treat it like their mothers,” Hooper added.

This year’s Preach-In will take place Feb. 8-10 in various locations across the United States.

SWANSBORO – April Clark knows all about stress and 70-hour workweeks. She also knows about tranquility and peaceful paddles along the White Oak River.

Clark left the stressful life to open Second Wind Eco Tours & Yoga Studio in this small coastal town by the river, and she’s used her business to introduce people to the natural wonders that the White Oak has to offer while devoting some of her free time volunteering with the N.C. Coastal Federation and advising the group as to how best protect the river’s natural resources.

The federation recognized that commitment to the coastal environment by awarding a Clark its 2012 Business Pelican Award.

April Clark receives her Pelican Award from Dick Bierly. the federation’s vice president.

“I worked in the corporate world. I was very high up in the wireless service management field for 16 years,” she said. “I was in sales and there was high pressure and high stress. I worked between 60 to 70 hours a week and life was very hectic.”

Although she was working all those hours, the thought of a business such as Second Wind came to her during a seminar when she was asked what she would be doing if she wasn’t working in her current job. Her answer was that she wanted to do something where she could spend time kayaking — something she really enjoyed. Clark soon got her chance.

After being laid off, Clark started Second Wind, which has been evolving ever since.

Clark says she was always the tomboy in her family of three girls and gives her father all the credit for her joy of adventure and love of the outdoors. “He’s the source of my outdoors persona, “she said. “I was the first girl in Onslow County to play Little League Baseball. He was a Marine with three girls — I was his boy. We have camped, hiked, been to Africa. He even took me skydiving for my 40^th birthday.”

She began Second Wind as a kayaking adventure business but soon realized she couldn’t sustain a business on kayaking alone, so she added yoga and massage therapy with her sister and friend Cheryl LeClair, a masseuse and yoga instructor.

In addition to kayaking, yoga and massage, Second Wind offers bicycling tours with a goal of bettering the environment. While in graduate school at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Clark took an environmental ethics class and wrote her thesis on progress and preservation in a seaside town with the help of the federation.

Clark has continued her partnership with the federation. She currently serves as a very involved member one of the group’s advisory committee. Clark also sponsors special events for the federation and represents it at festivals and workshops. She is also very hands on in whatever volunteer task is needed.

Because of her interest in Jones Island in the White Oak River during her thesis research, Clark began popular kayak and yoga trips to the island that give participants a chance to experience and learn about the federation’s education and restoration center there.

The White Oak New River Keeper Alliance also benefits from Second Wind as a portion of the proceeds from many of her events goes to that organization. The business also serves as a drop off for a local organic farmer to make it easier for him to get his produce to consumers who are interested in eating more healthfully.

Clark also helps active duty and combat veterans with yoga and meditation on Thursday evenings. They are free classes that are designed to address the mental stress from combat.

A simple visit to the Second Wind studio is a respite in itself. You can’t help but relax just walking in the door. Located in the town’s old post office building, the storefront also serves as a local art gallery, featuring paintings and jewelry, and the yoga studio is spacious and dimly lit with flowing white cloth and peaceful lighting. Second Wind is Clark’s opportunity to get her “second wind” and she is using it to give others the same opportunity.

BEAUFORT — Walt Disney once said, “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Such is the case as well with East Carolina Community Development Inc. (ECCDI). For the non-profit that develops affordable housing, curiosity resulted in a first-of-its-kind affordable housing development in eastern North Carolina that incorporates an enhanced stormwater management plan and a rainwater collection system. New paths, so to speak.

Going down that path earned the company a 2012 Pelican Award from the N.C. Coastal Federation, which gives out the annual awards to recognize exemplary efforts to protect and preserve the coastal environment.

Mark McCloskey, vice president for planning and development for the company, said he was introduced to low-impact development, or LID, at a federation workshop in 2006. He started working for ECCDI that year and since then has assisted with the development of nine multi-family developments in Onslow and Carteret counties.

McCloskey is typically involved in a wide range of activities from land acquisition to conceptual layout and permitting. He also serves as a liaison for architects and engineers. He has helped develop 478 units of affordable housing, some of which are for low- and moderate-income elderly tenants and others for low- and moderate-income families. Glenstal in Jacksonville is one of the elderly housing developments.

“Glenstal Apartments is really our first development that we made a concerted effort to incorporate green components,” McCloskey said. “I became interested in LID and rainwater harvesting through attending a variety of workshops, mostly hosted by or somewhat related to NCCF or N.C. Sea Grant and N.C. State, and became curious to see if these were features that could be integrated into the construction of affordable housing.”

The 56-unit affordable housing complex for residents 55 and older was completed December 2011. The aesthetically pleasing development was built and certified to the Energy Star 2.0 standard and incorporates an enhanced or “hybrid” stormwater management plan and rainwater harvesting for use at the community gardens.

McCloskey explained that the stormwater management plan is considered enhanced because it was permitted as a conventional stormwater plan but the LID components went above and beyond what was required. For instance, vegetated depressions, called bio-cells, capture some of the runoff and allow it to soak into the ground.

“Stormwater is conveyed to ponds through a combination of some piping and grassy swales that connect bio-cells, which help treat the water as it passes through,” he said. “One objective was to minimize the amount of piping that would be needed to carry stormwater to the retention pond.”

There is only one run of pipe beneath the parking lot with a bio-cell with a catch basin that drains to the pipe. The stormwater is carried to the pond by swales, bio-cells or other overland flow. McCloskey said the use of the cells rather than pipes in effect decentralizes the stormwater collection and gives more points of treatment and increased storage capacity.

To help with the landscape, McCloskey hired landscape architect Heather Burkert of HBC whom he met at one of the federation workshops. Native plantings were used to the extent possible.

“Basically, instead of spending money on pipes, we spent money on planting,” he said. “We had over 2,500 plantings on this project when we would usually only have between four and five hundred.”

The non-profit received a small grant for the rainwater harvesting which consists of two 1,100-gallon cisterns that collect 30 percent of the rainwater from the clubhouse roof. The water is used to irrigate the nine raised garden beds in which residents can plant vegetables and flowers. Each of the beds is 24 inches high to make them handicap-accessible and easy on the back. The harvested rainwater can also be used for power washing as needed. McCloskey said Mitch Woodard from N.C. State University was instrumental in the design and construction of the rainwater collection system.

Some of the challenges in doing this type of development were the soils and shallow, seasonally high water table, McCloskey said, but the results were worth the extra effort.

“We worked around them in order to design a hybrid LID system,” he said. “It is very rewarding just to know that we were able to incorporate these additional features into the development of an affordable housing development and that for the most part they enhance the overall livability of the community.”

He adds that while the use of the stormwater management system wasn’t a requirement, they were interested in seeing if it was feasible. “We also wanted to determine if using just LID could actually help reduce costs typically associated with conventional stormwater management infrastructure,” he said. “Unfortunately, since we ended up using a combination of LID and conventional systems we were not able to realize a significant savings. We were however, determined to at least include some LID if for no other reason just the aesthetics and for good stewardship of the land. I think the final product speaks for itself on both accounts.”

JACKSONVILLE – The N.C. Coastal Federation received an award from Onslow County schools for helping an elementary school in Swansboro build a rain garden to control flooding and to teach students about stormwater pollution.

The school system gave the federation its annual Businesses Assisting Schools in Educating Students Award at a reception at Northside High School in Jacksonville yesterday.

During the 2010-2011 school year, Queens Creek Elementary School was experiencing serious flooding on its campus. Brandon Beard, a third-grade teacher at the time, began working with Sarah Phillips, a federation educator, on a rain garden project to address the flooding problem and to teach the students about stormwater and rain gardens.

“Mr. Beard’s class worked in the gardens and he also took volunteer classrooms that wanted to help. I would say about 100 some kids worked on the gardens that year,” said Rebecca Harris, a second-grade teacher at Queens Creek.

Beard has since moved away, so Harris took over the rain garden project.

The school rain program at started in 2006 at Manteo Middle School. The federation helped the school apply for grants to plant two large retention basins. Middle school students, teachers and volunteers initially planted over 600 native species of trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses.

Sarah Phillips explains the wonders of wonders of rain gardens to White Oak Elementary students.

Another school that successfully partnered with the federation is White Oak Elementary School in Cape Carteret in Carteret County. In 2009, that school installed three rain gardens that helped keep their parking area free from standing water, which had been an issue at the school for years. Since the gardens were installed, the school has had a year-round “Rain Garden Club” to learn about and maintain the gardens after school hours.

Additional schools that have partnered with the federation include Annunciation Catholic School and Arthur W. Edwards Elementary School in Craven County, Chocowinity Middle School in Beaufort County, Smyrna Elementary School and Tiller School in Carteret County, Swansboro Elementary School in Onslow County, Bradley Creek Elementary School in New Hanover County and First Flight elementary and middle schools in Dare County.

During a rain garden project, students learn about stormwater runoff, native plants and local wildlife.

“Last year after the runoff lesson with Sarah, Mrs. Reid’s third-grade class worked on adding plants to the small rain garden and my second- grade class added plants to the larger rain garden. The federation donated some of the plants and Queens Creek Elementary bought some,” Harris said.

She added that she plans to have Phillips back for the runoff pollution lesson and is encouraging other classes to take advantage of having her visit their classrooms.

Students carefully planting.

In addition to Phillips’ time at Queens Creek, the federation was also instrumental in securing a grant to help pay for the project, according to Debbie Harper of the Onslow County Schools.

“We have 37 schools in our district; the schools provide the information to me. We ask them to give us the names of organizations and businesses that have donated time and or money to their school,” she added.  “I then compile all the schools’ reports together.  There are no judges; it is based on what your company contributes that school year.”

Some of the ways businesses and organizations can help at local schools are: tutoring students, serving as mentors for at-risk students and resource speakers, assisting teachers and staff, financing mini-grants of $250 or more for individual schools or teachers, sponsoring teacher scholarships for  training and serving as a volunteer at field day, career day and other special projects.

Lexia Weaver, coastal scientist for the federation, adds that “the goal of our schoolyard rain garden project is to teach the students about stormwater runoff and its negative effect on the water quality of our coastal waters. At the same time, we engage them in hands-on environmental restoration as they help to plant the rain garden, and they also learn about ways to reduce stormwater runoff in their own neighborhoods and yards.

“The N.C. Coastal Federation is very happy to be working with our local schools and educating the next generation of environmental stewards.”

Schools interested in partnering with the federation on a rain garden project or in learning more about the other educational opportunities for students can contact one of its educational coordinators: Phillips along the central coast, Sara Jean Hallas along the northern coast or Ted Wilgis along the southern coast.

The N.C. History Center circulates much of the stormwater generated on the site through restored wetlands instead of dumping it directly into the Trent River. Photo: N.C.History Center

NEW BERN — A once-prosperous boat-building yard that became a toxic-laden Superfund site is now the home of an award-winning brick and glass waterfront showpiece that serves as a model in “green design.”

That design and innovative methods to control polluted runoff won The N.C. History Center a Pelican Award from the N.C Coastal Federation this year.

The center’s gleaming glass rose from the site of the old Barbour Boat Works. Founded in 1932 on the north bank of the Trent River, the boatyard produced all types of ships, from private yachts to tugboats and minesweepers. However, when it closed in the mid-1980s, it had become polluted with dangerous toxic chemicals that were contaminating the river.

A variety of ships were built at the the Barbour Boat Works during its more than 50 years of operation.

A ship glides down the rail ways at the Barbour Boat Works in 1943. Photos: Digital Collections, Joyner Library, East Carolina University.

The state bought the property in 1997 because of its proximity to Tryon Palace, the reconstructed 1790s’ governor’s mansion. The state intended the old boatyard to eventually become a visitors’ gateway to the palace and a museum that uses modern information technologies to tell the story of colonial coastal North Carolina.

The site presented several challenges, however. A marsh in colonial times, the location had become a Superfund site after decades of industrial use had contaminated the soil with PCBs, asbestos, mercury and heavy metals, not to mention vast quantities of coal tars left over from the 1800s.

The soft riverfront soil presented the project’s engineers with another set of challenges and acquiring the $60 million that would eventually be needed from private and public sources required a deft, sustained fundraising effort.

Philippe Lafargue, acting director for Tryon Palace, said that one of the project’s top priorities was to demonstrate good stewardship of the land and to promote innovative site-development methods.

“It was our only way of connecting one of our properties directly with the water. In the 18^th century Tryon Palace was connected to the river,” he explained. “In the 1950s, a road was put between the river and the property. It was important to reconnect to the water—that’s why New Bern got developed. This (construction) was kind and good for the river as well as practical and to be used as a teaching tool not only for history, but in wetland construction.”

To pay for the new wetlands, Tyron Palace received a grant for $1 million from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund and $75,000 for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lafargue said. “We then hired an engineering firm, then a wetlands consultant and started designing the wetlands,” he added.

BJAC, an architectural firm in Raleigh, designed the stunning building. “One of the biggest challenges in the design of the museum was most certainly the magnitude of the project and the 11-year duration,” said Jennifer Amster, who headed the project team for the company. “We had a number of unique issues, such as having to handle the site remediation requirements to convert a brownfield into a sustainable waterfront and museum. But in the big picture, we were tasked with merging 300 years of history with today’s technology into a space designed to be in use and still sustainable 100 years from now for the New Bern community and its visitors. It was a massive undertaking.”

Ground was finally broken in 2008 and the center opened in October 2010 — just in time for New Bern’s 300-year anniversary. The resulting museum was well worth the wait. The two-story building was designed to reflect the earlier use of the property as a boatyard and to complement the adjacent Tryon Palace.

Jennifer Amster

Stormwater from both the History Center roof and the surrounding neighborhood now drains into a 35,000-gallon underground cistern that catches the runoff and uses a majority of it to irrigate the grounds. The remainder is sent through a series of pools that filter out sediment and pollutants before flowing into the river.

The strategically-selected and -placed native plants also reduce flooding by absorbing excess water. The plants were chosen for their suitability to natural light, moisture and soil conditions. Natives are also less labor intensive and cheaper to maintain than other types of plants because they require less fertilizing and fewer herbicides. They also provide habitat to wildlife.

The 600,000-square-foot building was built using 30 percent recycled materials, such as concrete, steel, metal doors, carpet fibers and linoleum. Using materials within a 500-mile radius of the center also reduced the transportation costs. Construction waste was reduced by 75 percent.

The interior of the museum also benefitted from the design and use of green materials. The paint, carpet and construction adhesives were selected for their minimal off-gassing properties. The air handling system uses higher levels of outside air and also increases the amount of air circulated throughout the building. The building is energy efficient with modulating electric lighting, occupancy sensors, increased building insulation and the use of premium energy-efficient HVAC equipment. Low-flow faucets, showers and urinals conserve water, and the permeable pavement in the parking lot reduced stormwater runoff.

Numerous recycled materials were used inside the center, Photo: N.C. History Center.

Aside from getting the federation’ Pelican Award, the museum is the first certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design museum in North Carolina and the first such building in New Bern. The construction has received the 2011 Star Award for a new construction over $20 million from the Construction Professionals Network of North Carolina.

“It took great vision, commitment and dedication by Tryon Palace and partners to complete the lengthy project of transforming the once polluted shipyard that contained asbestos, PCBs and other toxic chemicals into a public museum site that showcases environmentally friendly development and stormwater techniques,” said Lauren Kolodj, deputy director for the federation.

Amster added: “It was an incredible and challenging experience. It’s rewarding to visit the museum and reflect back on our accomplishments. We created a place that will enrich the public through education and bolster the local economic footing for the future.”

Campers spend time in the water around Jones Island looking for critters.

SWANSBORO — For most kids, summer means a break from school and a focus on fun and games, but for those who attend days camps on Jones Island in the White Oak River learning and fun are one and the same.

The camps are sponsored by the N.C. Coastal Federation and Hammocks Beach State Park, which owns most of the 17-acre, undeveloped island. Sarah Phillips, coastal education coordinator for the federation, said the camps started last year and have been so successful that she has doubled the number of camps offered this summer.

“The camps were so popular last year that we doubled them and divided the age groups up differently,” she said. “The day is packed full of activities, so we actually added an hour from last year. We are still making adjustments to see what works best for everyone.”

The camps can accommodate up to 22 kids a day.

The most recent day camp in late June was for rising 6th and 7th graders. A few of them had attended one of the camps last year, but were glad to be back.

The children meet at the park visitors’ center by 9 a.m.  A park boat takes them on the 10-minute run to the island and returns them at 3 p.m.

The kids rarely get to see a blue crab this close.

The campers spend the day learning about coastal ecosystems and ecology, Native American influences and critters through hands-on activities like the “Oh Deer” game. The game helps the kids learn what can happen when various scenarios like drought and fire affect the habitat of the deer population on Jones Island. After a few rounds of the game where the “deer” must find water, shelter or food or disappear, Park Ranger Renee Tomczak and an assistant show the kids a graph depicting several years of deer numbers and how those natural and unnatural disasters can affect the population.

For another activity, teams of campers are given a map and assigned an animal or bird and have to locate food, shelter or water for that particular critter. After they have located at least two of each they regroup and discuss the ease or difficulty of finding the habitat for that bird or animal and perhaps why that animal chooses to live at Jones Island.

Hunter Armstrong from Cape Carteret said he learned a lot about local deer—how they can swim across the White Oak River to get back and forth from the island and how they have a special tube that allows them to drink the brackish water. His grandparents were looking for things for him to do this summer when they came across the day camp. “I know a lot of friends who have come to the camp,” he added.

Phillips said the day is packed full of information such about  pollution, local culture, forestry, ecology, camouflage, animals, plants, water quality and anything else that may come up throughout the day-long activities and dialogue.

Sarah Phillips help the campers identify marine creatures.

“At the end of the day we want them to be able to make some environmental decisions on their own and figure out what they can do at home to help out the environment,” Phillips said. “They can also get a Hammocks Beach Junior Ranger Badge at the end of the day.”

Day camper Elena Gonzalez of Jacksonville said she enjoyed the day camp and by noon had already learned a lot. “One thing I’ve learned is why the trees aren’t so tall and why sometimes the shells we find have holes in them.”

She was even wearing a nice shell necklace she made herself.

“My mom was looking online (for camps) and found this one for me,” she said.

Gonzalez said she was glad she attended the camp and would love to come back again.

When it’s not hosting camper, Jones Island serves as an active restoration site. Hundreds of volunteer have worked over the year to build oyster reefs around the island and restore its eroding shorelines.  There are several picnic tables on the island but no other facilities open unless the park rangers are there. During the day camps the bathrooms are open and an education building is available that at one time served as a bath house for the previous owners.

The cost of the day camp is $30 a child. Participants must bring their own lunch but snacks and water are provided. Participants should wear or bring clothes that will get wet, closed-toe shoes, which are required, a towel and a hat or sunscreen.

The next scheduled day camp is Wednesday and will be for rising third through fifth graders. The rain date will be July 12. The final camp is on July 25 and will also be for the same age group.

Check out the federation web site for more information and to register or call 252-393-8185.

By Annita Best

Sam Bland talks about the natural and human histories of the White Oak marshes.

SWANSBORO — No matter what, it’s sometimes hard to find an activity that everyone will enjoy even in a beautiful coastal community such as this one. That’s just one of the many reasons to cruise the marshes of the White Oak River this summer with the N.C. Coastal Federation and Hammocks Beach State Park.

Each cruise is different because you never know what you’ll see on any given day, and they’re perfect for vacationers and locals. 

Sam Bland narrates the cruises. He’s a retired state park ranger and park superintendent, who spent most of his 30 years with the park division at Hammocks Beach. His specialties were resource management and environmental education. Needless to say, he knows these marshes like the back of his hand. He provides a history of the Swansboro area and barrier islands, he discusses the landscape and ways to preserve it and can identify almost any species of local wildlife and vegetation.

Karen and Tom Naftzger moved to Emerald Isle three years ago from Ohio where they lived on Lake Erie. They’re retired and now spend most of their time volunteering for various organizations such as the N.C. Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort. They recently attended one of the cruises and said they’d definitely be back.

“I really enjoyed it,” said Karen. “It’s nice to get the background (of the area). I’d do it again.”

Tom also found the cruise informative and appreciated the perspective of the ferry, where you are able to get a different view of the islands.

The cruises begin at 11 a.m. from the state park in Swansboro, but try to get there 15 minutes early. The covered ferry winds its way through the estuaries in and around the White Oak River and Bogue Sound, where Bland begins by discussing issues that affect the local water quality, such as stormwater runoff, fertilizer use, roads, parking lots and manmade bulkheads.

He also uses the opportunity to discuss what can be done to help. “There is good news,” he said. “There are things you can do.”

One of the stops along the cruise is the site of a joint venture between the park and the federation, in which 40 percent of the impervious surfaces were removed and replaced with “rain gardens,” resulting in a large decrease in stormwater runoff from one of the park’s parking areas.

The cruise continues with a history lesson about the Native Americans who first lived along the river and left remnants of their pottery along its shores.

“The first person to actually own the land here was Tobias Knight, who was friends with Blackbeard the Pirate,” Bland adds. “Tobias worked for the government and was also the harbor master in Bath.”

The discussion goes on to include subsequent owners and uses of the islands such as a whale processing area and a Confederate fort during the Civil War and submarine lookouts during both World Wars.

“Bear Island and all the islands are constantly changing and moving. There are sand dunes as tall as 60 feet that show dynamic movement due to storm affects,” Bland said. “Every plant and animal here has adapted to the salt and salt spray, wind and temperatures.”

He also talk about  many of the various animals, birds and insects you may see along the islands, such as the rare butterfly the Crystal Skipper, which can only be found in two locations in the world—Bear Island, which is part of the state park, and Bogue Banks. Also, the beautiful painted bunting makes its home in the area and can be seen during a particularly fortuitous trip.

A final stop is Huggins Island, which is now part of part of Hammocks Beach. The island was farmed in the 1930s, Bland explains, because of its frost-free winters. It’s now a maritime preserve that attracts ospreys and bald eagles among many other creatures. There is also the site of an earthen Civil War fort—Fort Huggins—that Confederates built on the island to defend Bogue Inlet Swansboro.

The marsh cruise program runs every two weeks— the next one is June 15. The cost is $5 a person for the ferry. Though all ages are welcome, the program is geared towards older children and adults. Space is limited and the cruises tend to fill early, so make sure and register as soon as possible. Additional cruise dates are June 29 (already full); July 13 and 27 and August 10.

Visit the federation’s Events Calendar to sign up or call 252-393-8185 for more information.

Bottlenose dolphin are not uncommon visitors to the marshes of the White Oak River. Photo: Sam Bland

OCEAN — A keen interest in kayaking brought her into the N.C. Coastal Federation office one day almost 10 years ago, and her energy and love for the coast has kept Beth Moulton coming back every Monday afternoon to help keep things moving smoothly at the busy organization.

Beth and her husband, Rick, were offered an early retirement package from a phone company where they both worked in Connecticut. They knew they wanted to live near the coast.

Beth Moulton answers the phone and does a little bit of everything for the federation.

“When we thought about retiring, we made a trip down here to the Outer Banks,” she said. “We both like the water and the beach so we moved into a community very near the (federation) office. I had heard they (federation) were having kayak trips so I came into the office.”

Someone asked Moulton if she would like to volunteer. She’s been coming back ever since.

Though she uses the term “in the front office” to describe where she works, it’s a loose description because many of her volunteer hours are spent outside. She usually has news articles to clip and file, but she can also be found manning a booth at a local festival, helping with kayak tours or with plantings. She recalled that one of her most interesting volunteer days included a road trip.

“Someone donated a pickup truck, so they asked if I would drive to Snow Hill to pick it up,” she said. “I never know what the day will hold.

“It’s fun for me. They don’t get upset if I’m late or leave early…the pay is always the same,” added Moulton, who won the federation’s Volunteer of the Year Pelican Award in 2008. “I just show up and they tell me what they need me to do. It’s not the same thing any two days. There’s always something to do here.”

Volunteers are a crucial to the success of the federation. The federation currently enjoys having more than 675 volunteers on the rolls. These volunteers receive notices of scheduled volunteer events and may help in any number of ways, which could include planting a marsh or building an oyster reef, office work, attending public meetings, sprucing up nature trails or assisting with outreach events, said Rachael Carlyle, the federation’s director of operations.

“The numbers of volunteers that we rely on every year is dependent on the current grants that we are working on, but for the most part, I think an average of 1,200 is an accurate estimate of the number of volunteers that the federation relies on every year,” Carlyle said. “Beth volunteers over 200 hours every year to the federation. The staff is very thankful to her for making such a large commitment to the federation.

Moulton is one of the federation’s most reliable volunteers, Carlyle said. Though she’s scheduled to work on Mondays, Moulton comes in whenever the federation needs help, Carlyle added.  She noted that Beth began volunteering as a receptionist but became very knowledgeable about the federation and has been able to help with even more administrative and outreach projects.

“She is cheerful and humorous. Her presence at the office always lightens everyone’s spirits,” Carlyle said. “The federation staff has developed a true camaraderie with Beth. We all look forward to her smiling face on Monday afternoons.”

Beth Moulton

Carlyle says in 2011 volunteers donated 13,239 hours valued at an about $288,500. If you add in students who assisted with restoration projects, the total would be 3,061 volunteers donating 17,021 hours at a value of almost $371,000. “The monetary value associated with in-kind match from volunteers is extremely important in helping us meet the required goals and match value for federal, state and private foundation grants,” she said.

However, the actual value of volunteers to the federation goes way beyond a monetary value, Carlyle said. “The sheer numbers of volunteers and the hours they have committed to our projects and efforts have allowed us to accomplish our goals every year, which would be an impossible feat for just our staff of 20,” she noted. ”Many of these volunteers have become our friends and we look forward to working with them every year.  And as we all know, it is impossible to put a monetary value on friendship.”

“My life would be horrible if Beth didn’t come in on Monday afternoons,” added Rose Rundell, an administrative assistant. “And if the weather is bad she can be convinced to come in more often.”

When Moulton isn’t volunteering at the federation office or doing plantings or picking up pickup trucks, she can be found doing what retired people do when they live in beautiful coastal Carolina.

“I volunteer once a week for Meals on Wheels in the Swansboro area, but the rest of the time I do a lot of beaching and kayaking with a friend,” she said. “In fact, I just finished a moonlight kayak with a friend. It was just beautiful. I guess I do the regular stuff retired people do, gardening and a lot of sitting around, but always looking for something do to.”

Moulton and her husband do some traveling to visit family in Connecticut, Vermont and Florida, but mostly spend their vacation time right at home. “When people ask if I’m going on vacation I have to ask them ‘Why? I am always on vacation here.’ Occasionally we’ll travel but you can’t quite beat it here,” she said.

SWANSBORO – A six-year legal wrangle over the fate of almost 300 acres of valuable waterfront property that could become part of Hammock Beach State Park is still no closer to being settled and may take several more months or even years to decide.

“This is a very complicated case,” said David Pearson, a local historian and the president of Friends of the Hammocks and Hammock Beach State Park. “Depending on the result of the (current) appeal, it could keep getting appealed.”

It’s also a convoluted tale that involves a beautiful piece of undeveloped property along Queens Creek that its original owner called a “peninsular wonderland.” It involves lawsuits and appeals that have twisted through two state courts. It’s peppered with heirs and descendants, charges and counter claims.

And it all began with an unusual friendship that defied Southern social norms of the time.

A Colorblind Friendship

Dr. William Sharpe and John Hurst

Dr. William Sharpe, a wealthy neurosurgeon from New York, fell in love with the marshes of Onslow County during annual hunting and fishing trips in the early 1900s. He bought about 4,600 acres along Queens Creek known as The Hammocks in 1917 and hired his old guide and friend John L. Hurst and Hurst’s wife, Gertrude, to manage and live on the property. Sharpe’s Swansboro estate, which included the nearby barrier island Bear Island, would eventually grow to about 10,000 acres.

“John was the son of a slave, and his formal education in a backwoods school was meager, to say the most,” Sharpe wrote in his 1953 autobiography, Brain Surgeon. “Yet John can do anything in the rugged outdoor life, and do it well.”

Choosing the Hursts as caretakers, though, stirred quite a bit of local resentment. Anonymous letters were sent threatening trouble. Sharpe refused to be intimidated, though, and placed an ad in local newspapers offering a $5,000 reward for arrest and conviction of anyone damaging the The Hammocks or injuring the Hursts. “There was no further trouble,” Dr. Sharpe wrote.

Peace prevailed for the next 20 years, and Sharpe enjoyed and protected his paradise with frequent and lengthy visits. Controversy was once again ignited, in 1937, when North Carolina announced plans to build a road across Sharpe’s isolated property. His appeals to Raleigh brought no relief. Sharpe then sought the advice of a colleague, who also happened to be the personal physician of President Franklin Roosevelt. Sharpe had a three-minute meeting with Roosevelt. Within days, he wrote, “work on the road had ceased.”

A Resort for Blacks

Sharpe intended to give the property to the Hursts when he died. Gertrude Hurst, a former teacher, related what happened next in a newspaper article in 1979. “Dr. Sharpe offered the estate to me and my husband, and we’d have been glad to take it, but then he made another suggestion, because we wouldn’t have been able to do anything with it,” she says in the article. “He put the question before me, ‘How about turning it over to the teachers?’ knowing that there was an organization that would stick together, I guess. So, it just went like that.”

“In 1949 we transferred the acres constituting The Hammocks to the eight thousand Negro schoolteachers of North Carolina under an arrangement whereby we may share it with them so long as we live, as may John and Gertrude Hurst while they live,” Sharpe wrote in his book, “and we agreed to match every dollar they themselves raised for improving it. So vigorous and successful have they been in raising funds that it’s going to cost us a tidy sum of money, but nothing that we have ever done in our lives has given us more happiness.”The N.C. Teachers Association, an association for black teachers, created the Hammocks Beach Corp. to manage the land for the use and benefit of its members, effectively creating a segregated resort complex. Sharpe deeded the property to the corporation.

Black teachers and their families embraced the vacation spot during segregation. Following a successful fundraising campaign that raised $99,000, two group campsites were built and a third site was developed for use by individuals and families.

A second effort fell short to raise money for a bridge to Bear Island from the mainland. The corporation then donated the island and marshlands to the state in 1959, and Hammock Beach State Park opened two years later for blacks only. A few years later, the corporation sold another 30 acres on the mainland to the state for a park headquarters and ferry service to Bear Island.

Black teachers, students and families continued their vacations on the remaining mainland property to swim, fish, camp and enjoy the coastal landscape, just as Sharpe had imagined. But the crowds began to thin after 1964, when the federal Civil Rights Act ended racial segregation.

The Lawsuits Begin

Trouble began in the 1970s after the black and white teachers’ association merged to form the N.C. Association of Educators. After the merger, many black teachers no longer paid dues to the Hammocks Beach Corp. The lack of money coupled with the Sharpes’ and Hursts’ lifetime right to the land created problems.

“Sometime in the late 1970s there became some disagreement between the Sharpes, the Hursts and the Hammocks Beach Corporation,” according to Pearson. “Hammocks Beach Corporation filed a suit against the Sharpes and Hursts to ‘quiet the title’ to the property in 1986. They couldn’t sell or mortgage the property. As a result, there was an agreement referred to as the ‘consent judgment’ in October 1987.”

The Hammocks Beach Corp. gave Bear Island to the state in 1959 to be used as a state park for blacks. Photo: Sam Bland

One result was that all the land, except for 289 acres, was divided between the Sharpe and Hurst families and eventually developed.

The Hammocks Beach Corp. controlled the remaining land. Members of the 4-H, Future Farmers of America and Boy Scouts were allowed to use the camps there.

John Henry Hurst and Harriett Hurst Turner, the grandchildren of John and Gertrude Hurst, filed a lawsuit in 2006 to remove the corporation as trustee of the deed, claiming it had failed to properly administer the trust.

The deed and an agreement between the Sharpes, the Hursts and the corporation provided that if it became impossible or impractical for the corporation to manage the property as originally planned, the corporation could transfer the property to the N.C. State Board of Education to manage as specified in the agreement. The deed further provided that if the board turned down the property, it would go to the heirs of the Sharpe and Hurst families.

On that the Hursts have hung their challenge. When seeking ownership of the remaining 289 acres, the Hurst’s lawyer, Charles Francis said the board had previously rejected the conveyance so the property should go to the heirs.

In a ruling handed down on Oct. 26, 2010, by Wake County Superior Court Judge Carl Fox, Hammocks Beach Corporation was removed as trustee, contingent on the formal appointment of the State Board of Education as successor trustee to administer the trust according to the 1950 deed. This time, the board of education chose to accept the appointment.

The Hursts have appealed that ruling to the state Court of Appeals, which also granted a stay while the appeal goes forward. Both sides have submitted briefs to the court, but no date has been scheduled for oral arguments.

According to Katie Cornetto, attorney for the state board of education, the board is defending the court’s decision to name it successor trustee for the property and if it becomes the trustee they would “seek to manage the property in accordance with the grantor’s wishes that it be maintained for the public for recreational and educational interests.”

That would presumably mean that the land would be added to the state park.

In the meantime, while the legal wheels turn slowly, the camping areas and meeting halls remain silent except for the peaceful sound of waves lapping the shore and the seagulls crying in the distance—disguising the turmoil that lies behind the future of the beautiful and tranquil property.

Katie MacLellan, left, and Carissa McHone of Wingate University pull a seine net near an oyster reef in Stump Sound as part of ongoing monitoring of these created reefs.

By Ladd Bayliss and Skip Maloney

NAGS HEAD — When most college students envision spring break, rarely do ideas of filling and schlepping oyster bags around a desolate sand dune in North Carolina dance through their minds. They dream of Cancun and Fort Lauderdale, frosty cocktails and sun-drenched beaches. The goal is to return to campus with just the right amount of tan that begs the question: “Where did you go for spring break?”

That’s what most college kids do. Not these college kids from Austin Peay State, Wingate and East Carolina universities. They decided to give back instead.

Shannon Fennimore of Wingate University works with third graders at Alderman Elementary School in Wilmington.

Thirteen students from Austin Peay in Clarksville, Ten., spent a week recently volunteering to help restore the Bodie Island Lighthouse and teaming up with Jockey’s Ridge State Park and the N.C. Coastal Federation on a living shoreline project at the park.

While the Austin Peay students worked at Jockey’s Ridge, nine students from Wingate, which is near Charlotte, pitched in at the federation’s Clean Water Preserve at Morris Landing on Stump Sound in Onslow County and monitored oyster reefs near Surf City. Meanwhile, students from East Carolina were shoveling oyster shells into mesh bags to create reefs near Jones Island in the White Oak River.

More and more students are foregoing the usual vacations in the sun for these types of “alternate spring breaks,” notes Ted Wilgis, one of the federation’s coastal education coordinators. More colleges are offering students the alternative and more groups like the federation are providing them with meaningful things to do, he said.

“I’ve been impressed by the students’ knowledge and awareness of the greater world around them,” he said.  “It’s exciting to see them becoming aware of a whole suite of issues and trying to become active in them.”

The Austin Peay students first heard about the trip late last fall, when Alexandra Wills, the assistant director for service and civic engagement, began pasting the school hallways with flyers. A native of Southern Pines, Wills was excited about the prospect of designing a service trip on the Outer Banks.

“My grandfather is from Ocracoke, and I have always loved this place,” she said. “Finally, I had the chance to pick a trip destination where I would know where we were going without a GPS – there’s only one road in and one road out.”

Austin Peay State University students bagged oyster shells at Jockey’s Ridge State Park.

Once interest about the trip was sparked among the student body at the university, students went through an intense application and interview process. Although the 10-day trip mostly consists of manual labor and defined schedules, students were only required to pay a $60 fee to go on the trip. The school was able to pitch in on several other expenses, including a hang-gliding trip for a few of the trip participants.

“I love volunteering,” said Lyddia Claire Wilson Lyles, an Austin Peay senior. “Being able to meet and work with different types of people from my school, who all come from all different regions and walks of life – that’s pretty special.”

At universities like Wingate, there is a faith-based component to these alternative break programs. Founded in 1896 by the Baptist Associations of Union County in North Carolina, and Chesterfield County in South Carolina, Wingate has a strong history of service to its surrounding communities, which, though the university is no longer affiliated with the Baptist Association, continues to this day.

For Alex Yarborough, a sophomore in the school’s pre-pharmacy program, the service that she and her classmates provided for the federation was an extension of her upbringing. “Most of us are involved with student ministries on campus,” she explained. “We all have strong family backgrounds, and most are involved in our churches at home.”

Wilgis kept the Wingate kids busy while they were in Wilmington. “We always have a range of tasks to do,” he said, “and we’ll normally organize a particular volunteer day around certain tasks, initiatives or projects. What we did with this group was to combine or condense several projects into a week-long time frame; took a bunch of different things and put them all into this one week to make it work.”

The students cleaned up at Morris Landing and then helped third graders at Alderman Elementary School in Wilmington maintain their rain garden. They bagged oyster shells and marl at Waterway Park in Oak Island and looked for signs of life at oyster reefs the federation has built.

Sitting in the grass at Sound Side Park in Surf City, the students compiled data from four artificial reef samples that Wilgis had labeled and brought in from Spicer Bay and Old Settlers Canal. They were up to their elbows in dark, muddy water, pulling out algae, oyster shells and anything else they could find to record the growth of life on the artificial reef samples.

They counted and measured – live oysters, shrimp, and barnacles – and tallied their find on data sheets. Wilgis would use the information to measure the progress of the artificial reefs. When they were done, the students joined Wilgis on the Federation’s flat-bottom boat and returned the samples to their homes on the reefs.

Wingate University srudents bagged shells on Oak Island.

“I liked the fact that we were doing different things every day,” said Shannon Fennimore, also a pre-pharmacy student. “It was very educational.”

The Austin Peay students also kept busy. Although the weather wasn’t ideal at the start of their week, temperatures rose and the wind diminished to make the work more enjoyable. No matter the weather, though, it seemed the volunteers weren’t easily deterred, especially senior Keith Winn.

“I’ve lived in Clarksville all my life, and this was my first time swimming in the Atlantic Ocean,” said Winn, who studies accounting, finance and real estate. “I can’t explain to you how cold the water was, but it was worth every second.”

In Their Own Words

Here’s what some of the Wingate University students had to say about their week volunteering on the coast.

Shannon Fennimore: This was my first experience working with the North Carolina Coastal Federation. I am now well informed on the problems facing the preservation of our coasts and also the role we play as citizens to help fight for this cause… Some of these issues included pollution, mainly from stormwater, destruction of the wetlands, and possible degrading of the coastal environment as a whole…Not only did we learn a lot about our coast and the species that inhabit them.

Jordan Hartman on working at the Alderman Elementary rain garden: I learned that Wilmington’s coastal environment encompasses more than just the sand and water. Land and water on the coast and even hundreds of miles away can affect the well-being of the coast, which is the concept that we shared with the third graders. Mia, a 10-year-old lover of butterflies and flowers, lit up with joy as I handed her an Echinacea (Joe Pye Weed) plant to add to her school rain garden. “Plant, I give you birth and energy,” she proclaimed as she patted the surrounding dirt after planting it.

Wingate University students with Ted Wilgis, far right.

Katie MacLellan on bagging oyster shells:

Today we did a lot of hard work, cutting mesh bags and putting either marl or oyster shells in them. Although we were working hard, we also learned a lot. Ted (Wilgis) explained to us exactly how these bags will make a living shoreline to help prevent pollution and erosion. He also explained other interesting things, like how marl sometimes has fossils, and he even showed us a few.  He also found a jellyfish, and I got to hold it. Another thing I learned is how much work goes into all of this. Not only are the bags really heavy to carry and shovel, but the oyster shells are very difficult to even get in the shovel.

Alex Yarborough on oyster reef monitoring in Stump Sound Today was by far the most incredible day so far. We started off the day by learning about the life cycle of an oyster and the surrounding organisms that inhabit oyster beds. We learned that crabs, snails, different species of fish, and shrimp all coexist with the mollusks. Ted went out earlier that morning and collected four samples from the created reefs in local bays and canals… We found two mud crabs, shrimp, a couple of fish, a ton of worms and barnacles… Once lunch was finished, we all piled into the boat and headed to return the oysters to their natural habitat… Once complete, Ted took us to an open oyster bed and we, if we were brave, got to try raw, fresh oysters. I was extremely excited because they are my favorite food.

• Wingate student photos