Environmentally Speaking

Summer 2025 N.C. Coastal Reserve Interns

Interns in our Northern, Central, and Southern offices completed their internships this month. We asked them to reflect on their summer experiences. Keep reading to hear how their internship experiences shaped them, they've got some great stories to share!

In time for National Water Quality Month, NCDEQ highlights a key water quality protection tool

In certain waterways in North Carolina, the state requires residents and landowners to maintain riparian buffers or areas of vegetation. Specifically, there are six distinct areas with buffer protections in North Carolina: alongside the Catawba River and its mainstem lakes, in the Goose Creek watershed, in the Jordan Lake and Randleman Lake watersheds, and in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico River basins. 

Sustainable Development 101: Educators Learn Through Interactive Games

The afternoon on the second day of our Teachers on the Estuary workshop involved games and candy money. Our Training Coordinator, Whitney Jenkins, brought out her favorite game to teach folks about watershed management.  

The Marsh’s Sweet Spot: The elevation where marshes are the most productive

Read part 1 here.

Teachers on the Estuary

Playing games? Learning about science? And receiving a stipend for it? That’s what 13 North Carolina teachers got to do for two days in June at the Rachel Carson Reserve in Beaufort, N.C.  

Report identifies changes in plant life in North Carolina wetlands in the Coastal Plain

A report by North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality scientists and partners tracked changes in the types of plants growing in wetlands in the outer Coastal Plain of eastern North Carolina, finding gains in salt-tolerant species and losses of shrub and tree cover.

New mapping tool displays water quality data for Western North Carolina

A new mapping tool will help display water quality sampling findings collected through the Western N.C. Recreational Monitoring Program to help the public identify locations where E. coli levels are above and below recreational guidance values before swimming or boating.

Comparing oyster restoration methods and parasites as ecosystem indicators

Each year, North Carolina Sea Grant and the North Carolina Coastal Reserve & National Estuarine Research Reserve team up to award an NC graduate student the Coastal Research Fellowship. Grace Loonam, a Masters student with Drs. April Blakeslee and Rachel Gittman at East Carolina University, wrapped up her fellowship in May 2025 and shared her research and experience with us.

Explore North Carolina’s wetlands using free online tools

North Carolina has wetlands across the state – along the coast, in the mountains and in the Piedmont. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources has an interactive map showcasing 240 different publicly accessible wetlands across the state. Along with the online map, DWR has launched a printable Wetlands Passport to help the public locate those wetlands and learn more about them.

7th Grade Students Show Their Air Quality Smarts in AQ-IQ Contest

For 20 years, North Carolina 7th grade students have been showing off their air quality knowledge in the annual AQ-IQ contest.

Asthma Resource Guide: Tools for Monitoring Air Quality 

Air pollution can make asthma worse, so it's important to be air aware.

Smoke in the Air! How DAQ Shares Information with the Public about Wildfires

In this blog post, we explore how wildfires start, how smoke affects our health, and how the Division of Air Quality keeps residents informed and safe.

Community Science Month: How to Participate

So, you want to be a scientist? What if I said you can, and that it’s easy?! I’m talking about participating in community science, regardless of age, background, or experience. Anyone, including you, can be a community scientist. 

Tracking Water Quality Where Fresh and Saltwater Meet

Jill Paxson and the DWR Estuarine Monitoring Team travel approximately 300 nautical miles of waterways in a month as they travel up and down streams, rivers and other waterways across the region to conduct sampling. Their domain extends to where the Chowan River empties into the Albemarle Sound, as well as where the Neuse and Pamlico rivers empties into the Pamlico Sound. They respond to harmful algal blooms and fish kills, and recently, even, a clam kill.

DWR’s Asheville Regional Offices launches water quality monitoring after Hurricane Helene

A water quality sampling effort launched in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene helped NCDEQ Division of Water Resources staff identify potential sources of contamination.