We Need Your Support to Protect Clean Water

L. Rider, 2022 – White Oak River, North Carolina

“We are your boots-on-the-ground for water quality in

coastal North Carolina and we need your support to continue our mission.”

– Riley Lewis, White Oak Waterkeeper

CCRW work is funded by your donations and accomplished by local water quality advocates, top-of-their field scientific and research advisors, local government and industry community stakeholders, pro-bono attorney groups, captains and pilots, university partners, local sustainable businesses, and you.

We fill gaps in services that protect water quality in communities throughout the White Oak River Basin (Carteret, Onslow, and beyond).

We are grateful for community, clean water, and your support of our mission to protect the quality of water and quality of life in coastal NC!

In order to continue our services throughout 2023, we need your support today.

Katie Tomberlin, CCRW Board President

A message from our Board President…

Dear Fellow Water Quality Advocates,

Hi, my name is Katie Tomberlin and my journey with Coastal Carolina Riverwatch began in 2018. My direct involvement, at the time, was to support the battle to keep offshore drilling and seismic blasting off our coast. I continue to be an advocate for protecting the quality of water and quality of life today and I encourage you to support this work that fills important gaps in service that protects all coastal NC communities.

I began as a volunteer, helped at cleanups, attended rallies, and providing public comment at various meetings around the State. Protecting water quality is a passion of mine, and I brought my family along to support this work while growing their love and sense of responsibility for protecting our community environment.

After the moratorium on seismic testing, I began to take an interest in CAFOs, or commercial agricultural feeding operations and assisted the Waterkeeper on flight investigations to help spot and report violations that impact water quality in the White Oak River Basin. I also have taken part in boots-on-the-ground bacteria monitoring and DNA source tracking in waters downstream of CAFOs.

Being a part of CCRW has been an extreme value for my learning experience relative to water quality impacts and solutions. Working with the team at CCRW has afforded me the incredible experience of networking with researchers, advocates, and policy makers that are working together to solve important problems impacting us all.

One of the things that I enjoy most about CCRW is working collaboratively with my fellow coastal citizens in an effort to prioritize efforts that will protect water quality. Together, we develop strategic programming that solves some of the most important questions that we have today about water quality impacts to our health and the health of our communities.

I am proud of CCRW and the work that we do to bring awareness to environmental racism in eastern NC. Issues such as plastic pollution, stormwater and agricultural runoff, PFAS, and more are just some of the things we do here at CCRW. I have learned so much over my years here at Riverwatch, and I am honored to be a part of this great group of staff, board, and volunteers.

My journey is just beginning, and I would love to carry you all along with me as we grow as an organization.

Please consider becoming a member, a business member, or a volunteer with us here at CCRW. We would love to have you join our family. We can’t do what we do without YOU!

Katie Tomberlin and Sterling Gillikin, CCRW Board of Directors

Supporting Local and Sustainable Food Sources

Help Protect Water Quality and

the Quality of Community Life

in Coastal NC

From farm or waters-to-table, coastal NC has everything you could possibly need to sustain an adventurously flavorful seasonal (and sustainable) dish variety.

“The ability to successfully and sustainably farm and fish is an indicator of water quality and quality of community. We all play a role in keeping local sustainable farming and fishing a part of our coastal community heritage.” – Lisa Rider, CCRW Executive Director

Four years ago, CCRW made a commitment to getting-the-word-out about local sustainable food choices “as a tool, in our tool box, for helping improve water quality while also protecting the quality of life here in coastal NC.”

Since 2019, CCRW has supported over 15 (and growing) local farms, farmers, and farmer’s markets in the White Oak River Basin by featuring their sustainable work on a permanent basis on our website and through weekly features (#FarmFriday).

In 2022, CCRW held a Pure Farms, Pure Waters Sustainable BBQ, with partners 34 North, featuring local (Newport, NC) and sustainably-raised pork BBQ and vegan BBQ supporting NC products and farmers. The event supported several coastal farms and farmers and reached hundreds of folks with outreach materials regarding sustainable farming and how to protect the quality of water through sustainable agriculture advocacy.

Local coastal consumers are the glue that holds a sustainably-sourced food-web available to a community. “If you do not support it, it will not be around forever.” In addition, it has been showcased many times, here in the CCRW newsletter, how industrialized agriculture and factory farming practices can and have-had significant impacts on our coastal water quality. As consumers, we play a big role in “voting with our wallet” support for where our money goes relative to whether or not something is made or grown sustainably, locally, and with water quality in mind.

The staff at CCRW go a step above “the talk” about sustainable farming and fisheries. “We personally support these farms and farmers.” At CCRW, the staff and board members support local farms, markets, fishers, and local artisans. “Supporting our local sustainable farms and fishers in our daily lives, for the food we eat and materials we need, is just a part of how we are committed to community and water quality.” It is important that we “walk it like we talk it.”

We are grateful for access to local and sustainable foods in coastal NC. If you would like to learn more about impacts of industrial agriculture and factory farming on water quality, please check out our Pure Farms, Pure Waters Program and Water Quality for Fisheries Program.

Check out our social media program #FarmFriday, highlighting a different coastal farm or market each week and click here for more information. For local fish markets, please click here.

Click here to Support CCRW Programming in 2023.

PHOTO: Jan Farmer, Ocean Fest, and Ryan Bethea, Oysters Carolina, both CCRW Board Members, harvesting oysters for post-cleanup with fellow board members in Harkers Island, NC.

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