Florence Announces The First Meeting Of The Florence Sustainability And Resilience Advisory Committee

The city of Florence announced the first meeting of the Florence Sustainability and Resilience Advisory Committee held February 10, 202. This committee was formed at the recommendation of New Alpha Community Development Corporation and the Whitney M. Slater Foundation.

Recommendations that the city form with the Sustainability and Resiliency committee so that issues of climate change can be addressed and that federal funding and state funding be utilized to present the city as a leader in adaptation, mitigation, and resilience. The Florence Sustainability and Resilience Advisory Committee will work with the city of Florence redevelopment corporation, which currently has a budget of over $1 million dollars. The first meeting with the Florence Sustainability and Resilience Advisory Commission will be preceded by a tree-planting ceremony led by New Alpha Community Development Corporation. The tree planting began on February 5, 2022.

New Alpha Community Development Corporation in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation and the South Carolina Wildlife Federation will be partnering with the city of Florence to plant 100 trees in communities that are heat islands and also have persistent flooding. New Alpha Community Development Corporation and its partners will be in Brittons Neck, South Carolina where a four- six-week tree planting project will begin. The purpose of the tree planting project is to plant 1000 trees that are both indigenous and have the capacity to absorb and store large amounts of water. This planting project began with 30 volunteers and we hope to have more as the project continues the remaining Saturday in February. These trees will be planted in areas that have been identified as the source where flooding begins and the locations where flooding is the worst. The Brittons Neck community is a historical community formed in 1739, its residents have had to be evacuated three times in the past six years during the 2015 Thousand-Year Flood, Hurricane Matthew, and Hurricane Florence. New Alpha Community Development and The Whitney M. Slater Foundation are working consistently to expand the concept of the city of Florence Sustainability and Resiliency Advisory Committee to other locations. Recommendations to the county council of Darlington and the city council of Darlington, South Carolina have already begun and similar efforts have begun in Marion, South Carolina, and Lake City South Carolina. We are currently still accepting volunteers for the tree planting event for Brittons Neck. We ask anyone who would like to volunteer to please click here to register.

Both Rev. Leo Woodberry, Executive Director of New Alpha Community Development Corporation, and former Mayor of North Carolina Jennifer Roberts, have developed a consulting service which includes training for climate leaders, city and county council members, key city and council staff, and others. For additional information please email us at info@newalphacdc.com.