The beach towns of North Carolina’s Outer Banks have an allure that brings in droves of vacationers from around the world.
They come to enjoy the sandy beaches with family and friends, surf the rising ocean swells, fish in the Atlantic or sound-side waters or marvel at the wild horses whose predecessors arrived centuries ago.
The Outer Banks are changing, not only because of all the new houses and development occurring on the barrier island that juts some 30 miles out into the ocean. Sea levels are rising. Beach erosion is changing shorelines. Hurricanes and megastorms are walloping communities.
North Carolina Health News and Narrative Arts/Coastal Youth Media held a workshop this spring to give young people from the Outer Banks a greater voice in the debate over climate change.
With generous financial support from North Carolina Sea Grant through the Community Collaborative Research Program and a huge assist from Aranzazu Lascurain, assistant university director of the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center at N.C. State University, NC Health News founder and editor Rose Hoban, NC Health News reporter Anne Blythe and Sarah Sloan, media producer at Narrative Arts, worked with a half dozen students to help them develop podcasts and essays.
They explored whether there will even be an Outer Banks several decades from now and what they produced in just days is eye-opening and definitely a spark for many conversations that should be had about climate change. We’ve compiled their essays and podcasts with hopes that their important voices will lend a new perception to an issue that will have a great impact on their lives and the generations that come behind them.
Youth Climate Stories – Protecting tourism and the homes of Outer Banks residents
By London Halloran What would you do if you were told your home is slowly, but surely disappearing? As we look into the future, there may not be a place called the Outer Banks. It may only be a memory, or a show on Netflix. The Outer Banks is home to many, including myself, as…
Youth Climate Stories – How climate change and Outer Banks development affect the Corolla horses
By Whitney Salazar-Gutierrez Once when I was small, there was a festival at my elementary school. My favorite part that I remember was riding a pony. Ever since that day, I have been interested in horses. I have something in common with Meg Puckett. She’s the herd manager of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund. “Very…
Youth Climate Stories – The changing shoreline of the NC Outer Banks’ sound side
By Jakub Skultety Have you ever been sitting in class one day, dreaming of going to the beach? Well, soon the beach you dream of visiting might be underwater. The question is: How soon? I live in the Outer Banks. Recently, I had the chance to ask a climate scientist this very question. The answer…
Youth Climate Stories – Dr. Seuss has a lesson about the environment
By Daisy Morales Bravo “I speak for the trees,” said the Lorax. I heard this phrase in elementary school. Almost every single one of us did. But many of us were too young to realize that in this line, Dr. Seuss was going beyond just making a children’s book. He was trying to expose a…
Youth Climate Stories – Sea levels rise while houses fall in the Outer Banks’ waters
By Emmy Benton Could you ever imagine your house falling into the ocean? It’s become an increasing occurrence on the Outer Banks that leaves many to wonder: What can be done to prevent this unfortunate sight? The beach is disappearing at alarmingly fast rates, in part because of sea level rise. The 2022 Sea Level…