About
Are you looking to implement conservation practices on your farm that generate income while supporting biodiversity? Our team at Croatan Institute is ready to help enroll producers across North Carolina in conservation programs that improve the resilience of their farms, benefit aquatic systems, improve soil health, and increase biodiversity.
With support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) Southeast Aquatics Program, Croatan Institute is collaborating with farmers and land stewards in North Carolina to draft farm conservation plans, assist with enrollment in conservation programs (federal, state, local, and private), and provide technical assistance for management practices that benefit aquatic health.
Target Practices: Conservation Tillage, Cover Cropping, Prescribed Burning, Native Grassland Establishment, Managed Grazing
Why should you join?
- Access additional public and private funding for conservation practices
- Improve the resilience of your farm and business
- Talk with conservation experts and food system advocates across the state
What can we offer?
- Listening: our team can meet with you virtually or visit your farm to learn about your goals and assess how we can help.
- Planning: with your input, we will begin conservation planning efforts, including GIS analysis of your farm, to identify the most aligned practices to pursue.
- Implementation: once targets have been identified, we will work with you to find funding and programs to support implementation.
Meet the NC Soil Wealth Areas Team
Zara Aspenson
Senior Associate
Zara is the coordinator of the NC Soil Wealth Areas. She helps manage partner relationships, assist with project development, and implement the NC Soil Wealth Area Equitable Governance Model.
James Smith
Associate
James helps support conservation technical assistance for county, state, and federal programs for the NC Soil Wealth Area, manage producer relationships, and liaise between the Soil Wealth Areas and Croatan's Financial Health Investment Project.
John Fenderson
Senior Fellow
John is in the process of becoming a certified forester and has expertise in a range of USDA programs. John meets with producers in the NC Soil Wealth Area network to help establish conservation practices on their land.
Josh Humphreys
President, Senior Fellow
Josh directs the Institute's Soil Wealth program and advises farmers, landowners, and place-based partners on conservation finance and resilient investing strategies. He also operates Pont Reading Farm, a regenerative agroforestry farm in Oaks, NC.
Sponsors and Partners
