The new series focuses on the people making change in their communities and the material impacts of their efforts to strengthen our resilience to a changing climate.
The GCV Team joined members of the Kennedy family at HK Farms – a 1,000 acre homestead started in 1869 in Tatnall County, GA.
Where were you when you realized how much danger we’re in from a changing climate? Was it a book that “woke you up” to rising global temperatures? Did you grow up in an industrial zone and see how pollution impacts people? Did a documentary expose you to what many scientists are calling the Earth’s “sixth mass extinction event?”
When everything seems hopeless, we look to the “doers.” The people putting in work to make it a little better for them, their families, their communities, and by extension – all of us. Across Georgia, people are rising to the challenge of climate change, implementing solutions that protect lives, safeguard natural resources, and strengthen the state’s economy.
“Faces of Resilience: Highlighting Climate Wins Across Georgia” is a new series dedicated to telling these stories—stories that bring climate resilience down to the human level and demonstrate how people are making a difference. It will start as a blog, but we hope to bring these to every medium and platform in the future.
Understanding Climate Resilience
Climate resilience is defined as the ability of communities, ecosystems, and economies to withstand, adapt to, and recover from the impacts of climate change. This includes preparing for extreme weather events, ensuring sustainable access to resources, and fostering economic stability in the face of environmental shifts. In Georgia, resilience means projects like defending coastal communities against rising sea levels, protecting farmers from increasingly unpredictable weather patterns (and our economy from the fallout of that increased volatility), and designing cities that can endure heat waves and flooding.
Each action – to withstand, adapt to, and recover from – is a physical and political test. How much damage does a house take from hurricane winds before it stops withstanding the storm and is destroyed by it instead? What if a corporation responsible for your community’s food supply decides it’s too expensive to maintain a store near you? Their definition of sustainable access means not cutting off a branch to avoid losing the tree, but what if the branch is you? What if you find a way to make four hours a day of electricity work for you, but it permanently and negatively impacts your health? Is that really recovering?
Unlike “mitigation,” which focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to slow climate change, or “adaptability,” which is similar to resilience but can imply that we can fully adapt, “resilience” doesn’t run from the fact that it’s going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. It means we do what we can when we can and keep our focus there. And yes, that does include downsizing corporate f.
Fortunately, Georgia is home to remarkable individuals and initiatives leading the charge in climate resilience, and their stories deserve to be told.
Why Personal Stories Matter
Climate change can feel like an overwhelming, abstract crisis, often framed in terms of global temperatures, carbon parts per million, and distant timelines. However, when we zoom in and hear directly from those on the front lines of climate resilience, the issue becomes tangible and personal. The “Faces of Resilience” series aims to amplify the voices of those making a difference—from farmers adopting regenerative agriculture to city planners redesigning stormwater systems to community activists leading local sustainability projects.
Personal narratives help humanize climate issues, making them relatable and inspiring action. They remind us that behind every policy decision, environmental shift, and sustainability initiative are real people—our neighbors, colleagues, and friends—working tirelessly to build a better future. By sharing their triumphs, challenges, and solutions, we can foster a greater understanding of what resilience looks like in action and motivate others to participate in climate solutions.
In other words, it’s one thing to hear about rising sea levels. It’s another thing to meet and come to know the people whose homes flood with increasing frequence every year.
Join us on this Journey
Whether you’re new to this issue or doing everything you can to reduce your carbon footprint, we hope these stories bring you some food for thought and inspire you to take action with Georgia Conservation Voters or right in your backyard.
In our first story, we’ll visit the South Georgia town of Thomasville, where community and local government are coming together to strengthen climate resilience and give a historic site new life. After that, we’ll swing through Columbus, Georgia to learn more about how planting trees may be a city’s strongest defense against climate volatility. From Atlanta to Savannah, we plan to stop in every corner of the Peach State on this journey, and we hope you’ll come along for the ride.
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