Sustainable Sandhills is proud to be a part of a vibrant and diverse community with a long and rich history.
Our Mission Statement: Through education, demonstration and collaboration, Sustainable Sandhills strengthens communities by creating resilient environmental, economic and social resources for current and future generations in the Sandhills of North Carolina.
Our organization developed from a partnership between our neighboring Army post of Fort Bragg (the world’s largest military installation) and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
In 2000, Fort Bragg leadership embarked on an ambitious plan to ensure the long-term viability of the installation. By mid-2002, stakeholders in the installation’s newly formed initiative Sustainable Fort Bragg had identified the post’s environmental footprint and developed goals to reduce that footprint with programs in six focus areas: sustainable land use, energy efficiency and conservation, water efficiency and conservation, waste management, sustainable transportation and sustainable design and construction.
Realizing that environmental, economic, social and mission impacts affect communities beyond its fence line, Fort Bragg joined forces with the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources to convene stakeholders from the surrounding area to propose the idea of a new partnership: the Sustainable Sandhills initiative. In February 2003, the agencies established a steering committee to turn the idea into a plan and thus created Sustainable Sandhills. Its focus areas were modeled after those of Sustainable Fort Bragg, but on a regional scale.
Sustainable Sandhills is now a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that, officially, serves nine counties: Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond, Robeson and Scotland Counties. We also work in Bladen and Sampson Counties on our Building Resilience Against Climate Effects program in partnership with the NC Department of Health and Human Services.
Our future is our mission, and Sustainable Sandhills is striving to create resilient resources for our region – today, tomorrow and forever.