Topics Related to Common Ground

A couple of weeks ago I was hiking my favorite trail in Umstead State Park – the Company Mill Trail. It’s shaped like a balloon on a string, 6 miles total. I’d gone 5 miles and had gotten to my favorite spot – big rock slabs along Crabtree Creek where you can sit and watch and listen to the water burble over submerged rocks. Think big thoughts. Or think nothing at all. Just settle into the surroundings.No one else was there. I was completely enjoying the tranquility and beauty.

More than 200,000 acres of land have been preserved or restored. Over 28 million metric tons of greenhouse gases were removed from the air and $421 million in funding.Sounds like a huge deal, right? It is, and those are just the topline numbers.

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and I kicked it off by visiting Rockingham Early College High School, located in Wentworth, NC, where I spent time with Ms. Valencia Abbott, a history and civics teacher at the school.

A few years ago, there was a news headline that read, “Kudzu Spreading Like, Well, Kudzu.”While kudzu might be the most visible example of a non-native plant species, it’s not alone. Think mimosa, privet, nandina, or Bradford pear trees. Many non-native plants are invasive and can cause harm because they spread rapidly, displacing native plants and decreasing habitat diversity for wildlife.

Back in 2021, a state law designated 2023 as the Year of the Trail in North Carolina.

To borrow from pop culture, science is “everything, everywhere, all at once.”Science explains how we humans are able to think and breathe, how plants turn sunlight into oxygen, how the Earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around, and how dinosaur fossils we see in museums today were part of living creatures millions of years ago.

Governor Roy Cooper introduced his 2023-25 budget proposal on March 15. His First in Opportunity budget notes that with a $3 billion surplus and historic investments in our communities and economy, North Carolina has real momentum. Now is the time, he says, to invest in our students, workforce and families so that every corner of our state can thrive.

In North Carolina, 2023 is officially the Year of the Trail. They passed a law that says so. Really.

But for me, every year is the Year of the Trail. My body and mind need me to hike and bike in natural outdoor spaces. There’s something about breathing in the fresh air, taking in natural beauty, soaking up the smells of the earth and the sound of wind in the trees, and elevating the heart rate that nourishes every part of me. I feel great during it, and even better afterward.

Our department’s 50th anniversary year is coming to a close.  We have been celebrating throughout the year, across the state.  While it’s nice to celebrate an impressive past, I view this year as a springboard to an even more dynamic future. 

We’ve got so much work to do in the years ahead to engage more North Carolinians in our state’s remarkable natural areas, our rich history, and our diverse arts, and culture.

On the night of January 18, 1954, the Ku Klux Klan planned to hold a rally in the Robeson County town of Maxton.  The local Lumbee tribal community had a different idea.  Hundreds of Lumbee men and women gathered in opposition to the planned rally.  In a skirmish covered by LIFE magazine, the Lumbee and KKK engaged in a gunfight, and the roughly 50 Klansmen turned and fled.  The Lumbee had emphatically said “NO” to racism, bigotry, and hatred.