Visioning Eagles Island as a nature park – StarNewsOnline.com

Lloyd Singleton| Director, N.C. Cooperative Extension New Hanover County Center at the Arboretum

Change is inevitable, and I find helping to manage change a worthy endeavor. In Cooperative Extension, this work often falls under the broad program area known as community development, a planned effort to build the capacity of residents to improve their quality of life.

In this Journal of Extension article, the current priorities for Extensions community development work are discussed. Growing vibrant, resilient communities includes exploring avenues to help communities build and expand on their unique assets; in New Hanover County, this includes promoting eco-tourism.

Renewing civic engagement of local people, institutions, and organizations helps gain support for the tough choices that communities must make today. A task force of multiple organizations and interested citizens can put feet to this work. Enhancing community decision-making and governance plays out with Extension introducing sound data and analysis to assess alternatives and guide local decision-making. This includes the implementation of strategies that promote sustainability: economic, social, environmental, and cultural in nature. Engaging the resources of our University communities, both faculty and students, provides sound analysis.

More: What the history of Eagles Island and Wilmington's 'west bank' tells us about its future

More: 'So many red flags': West bank development sees pushback from Wilmington residents

This week, Im presenting a workshop for the North Carolina Association of Community Development Extension Professionals right here in Wilmington. This annual conference seeks to bring together Extension professionals from across the state to share resources, programs, information, and experiences relating all program areas to community development. Titled Sharing Our Stories, Connecting Communities, the story Im telling is that of visioning an Eagles Island Nature Park on the 3,100 acres at the confluence of the Cape Fear and Brunswick rivers. The idea started well over a decade ago as a highest and best use of the compound flood plain across from downtown Wilmington, a patchwork of property owners and uses mostly south of the revered USS North Carolina battleship. A cochair, Evan Folds of New Hanover Soil and Water Conservation District and I have led a task force of many interested parties over the past two years, working with the resource of the incredibly talented team leading NC State Universitys Coastal Dynamics Design Lab. The visioning process has led to an inspiring vision book, available for download at http://eaglesislandnaturepark.org/.

The next step with the Coastal Dynamics Design Labwas a student cohort lab for the spring semester this year of further project visioning and planning. These 25 wide-eyed, curious, out-of-the-box thinkers (architecture and landscape architecture students) formed five teams to offer final projects that addressed the task forces goal of a park for conservation, recreation and education. The Gullah Geechee cultural heritage of rice production, the early ship-building and rich naval stores history, the ecosystem services of the land including a home for several rare species, and the recreational potential of the area were all treated in such respectful and creative ways. Concise videos of the NC State Coastal Dynamics Design Lab final student projects are worth the watch, inspiring views of what the west bank of the Cape Fear River could best become in the light of changing climate and land use.

Its hard to say where it goes from here. There is plenty of attention currently on what may happen on the other side of the river with development proposals and zoning change requests. Im pleased as an Extension Agent to help bring a community development perspective, a planned effort to build the capacity of residents to improve the quality of their life. If youre interested to know more, please download the vision book and well capture your email information to include you in future communications.

Lloyd Singleton is director, N.C. Cooperative Extension New Hanover County Center at the Arboretum. The Arboretum gardens are free and open daily from 8 a.m.5 p.m. Singleton can be reached at 910-798-7660 or preferably by email to lsingleton@nhcgov.com.

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Visioning Eagles Island as a nature park - StarNewsOnline.com