Durham Environmental Coalition

Vision:

We are an equitable environmental movement, which recognizes the value of biodiversity and sustainability in natural and human communities and the importance of all being able to participate in decision-making that impacts their community.

Join Us:

We meet monthly on the second Monday at 11am-noon via Zoom for an hour of networking, peer presentations and discussion. Join our listserv to receive meeting notifications and participate in the conversation.

To be added to the meeting announcement listserv please email L.A. Davis-Durante at la@ellerbecreek.org. Please scroll to the bottom to see listserv FAQ.

Next meeting (2nd Monday, 11 am):

  • 4/8/24 - Preserve Rural Durham

  • 5/13/24 - (11am-1pm) In-Person Potluck Gathering at Merrick-Moore Park, roundtable with introductions and announcements

  • 6/10/24 - TBD

  • July - No Meeting, summer break

  • August - No Meeting, summer break

  • 9/9/24 - TBD

Past presentation topics and links:

Mission:

  • To address the lack of recognition of the work of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and their organizations in the environmental movement and the exclusion of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color from White-led activities and organizations, and to listen to and amplify voices of BIPOC led organizations and individuals;

  • To encourage and support collaboration with community stakeholders and institutions to create synergy and advocate for socially just environmental action, recognizing the critical importance of intersectionality;

  • To encourage and support the work of individual organizations in addressing equity, diversity, and inclusion within their organizations; and

  • To provide a space for connection and relationship building between environmental groups and the sharing of information.

Past Presenters and/or Topics:

  • Urban Community Agrinomics

  • Triangle Community Foundation

  • NC WARN

  • Keep Durham Beautiful

  • Durham Community Land Trustees

  • New Hope Audubon Society

  • Don’t Waste Durham

  • Bull City Trailblazers

  • Friends of Geer Cemetery

  • Durham Environmental Affairs Board

  • Dataworks NC

  • Circular Triangle

  • Slice 325

  • Triangle Land Conservancy

  • Bluestem Conservation Cemetery

Participating Organizations (Listerv and/or Meetings):

  • Bike Durham

  • Bluestem Conservation Cemetery

  • BOOST at Duke

  • Bragtown Community Association

  • Bull City Trailblazers

  • Burt's Bees Greater Good Foundation

  • Circular Triangle

  • Climate Reality Project - Durham Chapter

  • Don't Waste Durham

  • Duke University Diversity and Equity in Environmental Programs (DEEP)

  • Duke Gardens

  • Durham County Open Space 

  • Durham Environmental Affairs Board

  • Durham Parks and Recreation

  • Durham Parks Foundation

  • Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association

  • Eno River Association

  • Keep Durham Beautiful

  • Merrick-Moore Community Development Corporation

  • New Hope Audubon Society

  • Piedmont Wildlife Center

  • Reducing Waste in DPS/Don’t Waste Durham

  • Slice 325

  • Southern Coalition for Social Justice

  • Sunrise Movement Durham Hub

  • The Conservation Fund

  • Toxic Free NC

  • Trees Durham

  • Triangle Community Foundation

  • Triangle Land Conservancy

  • Urban Community AgriNomics (UCAN)

  • We Plant it Forward

Model: 

In order to ensure that a very diverse set of groups feels comfortable participating in the meetings, the DEC meetings focus on supplying opportunities for members to talk about issues of importance. Coming to meetings does not imply that any individual or organization agrees with the opinions expressed. We encourage members to work with one another to act on any issues that come up in the meetings that are important to those organizations.

Durham Environmental Coalition (DEC) Google Group Listserv FAQs:

  • Is the Google Group moderated? The owners of the group do not approve any messages before they are sent out to members. We want everyone to feel free to send messages to the group that relate to the environment, especially the environment and Durham. However, if anyone appears to be a spammer, is being rude or displaying hate (i.e. racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, etc.), we will remove them from the group without warning.

  • Who is in this Google Group? People who are interested in environmental and sustainability topics in Durham. This includes individuals, local nonprofit members, city and county staff members, and more.

  • What information can be shared? You can share articles, websites, events, webinars, conferences, any other information or questions about environmental topics (bonus points if they’re related to Durham.

  • What happens when I reply to a Google Group email? If you click “Reply All”, your message will be sent to all the members of the group. If you click “Reply”, your message will just be sent to the person who sent an email to the group. For some email applications, you may still need to delete the DEC email (durham-environmental-coalition@googlegroups.com) from the “To:” field.

  • What are my options for message frequency? To manage your subscription preferences, go to groups.google.com and choose whether you want your subscription to be Each email, Digest, Abridged, or No email.

  • Who should I contact if I have questions about the Google Group? Please send your questions to Jordan Thomas.

  • What does a typical meeting look like? We have 1-hour meetings every 4 weeks on Monday at 11 AM. During the first half of the meeting, a local organization will present on a topic related to sustainability, environmentalism, or environmental justice in Durham. The last half of the meeting we share updates on our organizations that include anything from upcoming events to job opportunities.