How a Town of 200 Is Rewriting the Rules of Climate Resilience
On the surface, Creswell, North Carolina, might seem like a town too small to make headlines. With a population of just 200, it is nestled quietly in the northeastern corner of the state, the kind of place where neighbors know each other by name, and the local infrastructure was built decades ago for a very different climate reality.
But Creswell is doing something extraordinary. With support from Climate Ready America’s Southeast Demonstration Project, led by Geos Institute and supported by the Walmart Foundation, this tiny town is showing what happens when small communities are given access to big tools. This work is helping define a new approach to climate resilience that will eventually be anchored in statewide Climate Innovation Centers, where Navigators, trained climate experts, like Helene Wetherington, will be closely connected to long-term support networks.
“They started off being able to receive funding to do a resilience strategy … to fix the problem of their water, which is the color of ginger ale,” explained Helene Wetherington, North Carolina’s Climate Ready America Navigator, hosted by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. “And to start taking a look at why they cannot flush their toilets when it rains.”
That vivid image is not an exaggeration. Like many small towns with aging infrastructure, Creswell has long struggled with outdated water and sewer systems. But unlike many others, it now has the support and visibility needed to tackle those challenges head-on. This is not just an isolated repair job, but is part of a larger, long-term climate resilience strategy.
One major turning point came when university researchers, including teams from Duke University and NC State’s Coastal Dynamics Design Lab, began working alongside the town. “Duke University … NC State through our Coastal Dynamics Design Lab … are building this comprehensive picture for this little town of 200,” Helene said.
That picture is not just theoretical. It is informed by data modeling, field assessments, and local input. Duke’s recent flood simulation work showed that a heavy rainfall event could inundate nearly half the town, with some areas under eight or more feet of water. That level of risk is more than an academic concern. It is a daily reality for residents trying to live, work, and stay safe.
But the breakthrough came not just in the data, but in how state agencies responded. According to Helene, “Partners said, ‘You know what, we are actually interested in using Creswell as a pilot … to change the guidance on how we do [asset inventory and assessments] not just for Creswell, but probably throughout the entire coastal region.'”
That is no small shift. What began as a local effort to patch up pipes and plan for flood risk has become a catalyst for changing how the state approaches infrastructure evaluation. This illustrates what moving from reactive, piecemeal fixes to holistic, proactive planning looks like, and the role of the Navigator has been key to making that happen.
Helene’s job is to connect dots that often remain disconnected: local governments that need help, academic researchers with tools and insights, and state agencies capable of funding or scaling up what works. In Creswell, those dots are now forming a map for long-term transformation.
Part of that transformation involves difficult conversations, including the possibility of community-led relocation. “We are gently going into the conversation … that could inevitably lead us down the road of community-led relocation, maybe not all of the town,” Helene said. “But it is something we have to talk about.”
That kind of planning—honest, community-centered, and data-informed—is exactly what Climate Ready America was built to support. Creswell is proving that even the smallest towns can lead the way.
“It is not just affecting one community,” Helene emphasized. “We are changing the way that state agencies are coming to the table and evaluating their own processes.”
In a town of 200, every voice counts. And in Creswell, those voices are now shaping something much bigger than a local project. They are helping redefine what climate resilience looks like and who gets to lead it.
Robert Macnee, Ph.D. is Deputy Director of Resilience Services at Climate Resilience Consulting, where he helps governments, institutions, and communities reduce climate risk in equitable and practical ways. He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Management focused on climate change impacts on health and communities, and brings over a decade of experience spanning economic development, resilience planning, and implementation.
Samantha Medlock is President of Climate Risk Advisors, helping communities and organizations advance equity, sustainability, and resilience. Her career began chasing floods as a local official in Texas Flash Flood Alley—a hands-on experience that still shapes her approach to climate and disaster risk management.
Arsum is the Senior Adaptation and Coastal Resilience Specialist for the National Wildlife Federation’s Southcentral Region. In this role, she advances climate adaptation efforts, with a focus on nature-based approaches to address the impacts of climate change and extreme events across the Gulf region. She has authored and co-authored numerous publications on climate impact assessments and adaptation solutions. Additionally, she regularly participates in state-based coastal resilience and hazard mitigation planning across the Gulf, collaborating with regional and local stakeholders.
Jim is a multilingual world traveler. Based in Bavaria during the 1970s, Jim spent most of this period in India, Afghanistan and Nepal, where he founded and operated a charitable medical clinic serving Tibetan Refugees. He settled in Oregon in 1983 on a forested ranch in the Umpqua National Forest.
Dr. Micah Hahn is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health in the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. She received her joint PhD in Epidemiology / Environment and Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MPH in Global Environmental Health from Emory University. Subsequently, she was a postdoctoral fellow for the CDC Climate and Health Program, and in this position worked collaboratively with the CDC Division of Vector-borne Diseases and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Her research focuses on understanding the health impacts of climate change and working with communities to develop locally-relevant adaptation and resilience-building strategies. Dr. Hahn is also on the Management Team of the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center.
Michael is a former Founding Principal of Resilient Cities Catalyst, a global non-profit helping cities and their partners tackle their toughest challenges. He is currently the Executive Director of Climate Resilience Academy at the University of Miami.
Dr. Quintus Jett is a consultant, educator, and strategist for public causes. He has a doctorate in Organizations & Management from Stanford University, and a two-decade faculty career which spans schools, departments, and programs of business, engineering, liberal studies, divinity, and public and nonprofit management. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Dr. Jett launched a volunteer project in New Orleans, which enlisted residents, students from over a dozen colleges and universities, and hundreds of others to field map the city’s Gentilly district, Lower Ninth Ward, and New Orleans East. Dr. Jett is an innovator in higher education, bridging the divide between academic research and the other priorities of the modern university, including student access and diversity, community engagement, and providing foundations for life-long learning in today’s rapidly changing world.
Scott is Monfort Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. He has written about 100 publications in the peer-reviewed climate literature, is a former editor of the Journal of Climate, and served for five years as founding Science Chair of the North American Carbon Program.
Linda has many years of experience in disaster preparedness and resilience. She has been an elected official on the Linn County Iowa Board of Supervisors, Chair of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the East Central Iowa Council of Governments, the statewide Mental Health Developmental Disability and the Linn County Board of Health. Langston is a former president of the National Association of Counties (2013-2014).
Ken works with families and organizations as a mediator, organizational consultant, trainer and facilitator. Along with his passion for helping people prepare for and reduce climate change, Ken also volunteers as a mediator through Mediation Works and is passionate about supporting youth through mentoring with Boys to Men of Southern Oregon.
Matthew is a retired high school teacher who was once honored as Oregon High School Social Studies Teacher of the Year. Before his teaching career he was in the restaurant business in Portland. He is also a lawyer who has been a member of the Oregon State Bar Association since 1980.
Andrea is the Resilience Policy Advisor for the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. She works across state agencies and with local governments to increase the state’s resilience to the impacts of climate change.