We are thrilled for our partners, the Turner Station Conservation Teams (TSCT) who were selected as a finalist for the Thriving Cities Challenge sponsored by the Salazar Center for North American Conservation. Many thanks to all of TSCT’s collaborators including the Greater Baltimore wilderness Coalition, Baltimore County, and the Maryland Port Administration for their contributions to the submission!

The Thriving Cities Challenge supports “ideas that advance climate resilience and racial equity through nature-based solutions in their communities.” Finalists, including TSCT were able to exhibit that their projects are place-based, community led, innovative, building capacity, and have scaling impact. All finalist teams will participate in a series of capacity building webinars this summer culminating in a pitch event during which 4-5 teams will be selected to receive $100,000 to advance their projects.

TSCT’s finalist proposal, Witness Trees, expands on their community-led restoration and resiliency efforts aiming to pilot a climate corps program including planting trees and collecting oral histories of Turner Station’s climate change experience. The oral histories will be curated and publicly displayed alongside the tree plantings to highlight the connections between community, climate change, and collective action. Mahan Rykiel has been collaborating with TSCT since 2017 when it launched the Design with Dredge program, a partnership exploring the challenges and opportunities of regional sediment management, climate adaptation, and community benefits.