I want the world to be a better place when I leave it than it was when I came in. And it's a great project because we can think big. This is different, and I think people are starting to see that.

The Coastal Resilience Implementation Plan is actually a series of three plans that we're developing alongside stakeholders in the state. We're dividing the state into three different regions: the North Coast, the Central Coast and the South Coast. And we're inviting key environmental advocates, local governmental agencies, and cultural and community leaders to help us plan and identify the future of resilience projects in the state.

So these are going to be large-scale projects, over ten acres, and they're going to address a lot of flooding risks that we're currently seeing and experiencing in coastal communities. And all those communities flooded. Mom and daddy had like five feet of water in their yard. I care a lot about it because they lost everything twice. Anything that we can do to prevent that from happening again would be wonderful.

We as South Carolina are a very rapidly growing state. We're increasing in population. A big reason people want to come here is because of the landscape and the resources. So this conversation's really important right now because we're talking about how we have our growth and manage our growth in a way that keeps the reason why people want to be here.

We want to ensure that we're always engaging local communities, specifically those that have been historically underrepresented, in this work to ensure that these communities remain healthy and they thrive, especially on the coastal areas where we are seeing increasing risks from coastal hazards.

Climate change has major impacts because we are literally in the Atlantic Ocean. So we are the front line of when these waters rise, and we literally live from the waterways and the land here, but also our sacred burial areas are along these waterways. So if they continue to flood any road, then we lose that and we lose that connection with parts of our ancestry and sacred sites.

Things are changing quickly, so this project is important now because it not only identifies certain project opportunities, but it's going to give a roadmap or a pathway to implementation. This project is a great space to come together and to think big picture, to think innovative, to think about interventions that are happening in other places in the world.

You know, how could those help us here in coastal South Carolina? We can really dream big about all of the potential solutions, and this project helps us prioritize where those solutions can be placed. The Nature Conservancy does great work, but we are, you know, no one without our partners.

I'm glad that The Nature Conservancy is sort of taking the lead, that they're taking this on, and they seem to be having a very comprehensive approach to it all. So, yeah, I hope that if anything, just a greater understanding of what the possibilities are.

My main takeaway today was really the number of partners that are involved, and the plethora of people and agencies and organizations that are willing now to interact and work together. I believe that it's our responsibility to take care of these natural systems that we live in and rely on. And so to band together and plan for the future will ensure that not only we can live in a beautiful place like coastal South Carolina, but that future generations can also enjoy these wonderful resources. And so whether you're a tourist to our area, a resident, been here or coming here, then you should value this work because if it were not for this work, the land may not remain because the world is going to continue to do what it does, and Mother Nature has aimed it right at this land and our beautiful places.

So if we want more beauty to exist in the future, we all need to get involved, and that means everybody, because we all should value this place and say that our work and living was not in vain.