Lunchtime Discovery 11/13/19: The Pine Island Story

History, Heritage and Living Laboratory for Coastal North Carolina

Both the biologically diverse communities and human inhabitants of North Carolina’s Outer Banks must deal cope with a place in flux, one where the only constant is change. Ephemeral landscapes and ephemeral settlements abound here. So what does climate change and sea level rise mean in such a landscape? What interventions make sense? How do humans and wildlife adapt and thrive? At the Pine Island Audubon Sanctuary in the far northern Outer Banks, they are working to answer these questions through research, education and community collaborations. By preserving wild landscapes as well as the oldest standing Duck Club in Currituck County, Audubon safeguards the heritage of a community where the skies were historically blackened by waterfowl while simultaneously setting a course for a resilient future.