Monteagle and Soddy Daisy, Tennessee selected for the Resilient Communities program

Monteagle and Soddy Daisy, TN join the Resilient Communities program, an initiative that helps communities plan for environmental challenges. 

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As floods, droughts, and other severe weather conditions increase across the Southeast, under-resourced neighborhoods and cities—being more vulnerable—face greater challenges and costs in recovery, especially as inflation and construction material prices continue to rise.

In the Resilient Communities program, residents of Monteagle and Soddy Daisy, Tennessee will work with Thrive and OSI to understand and address local environmental challenges. Together, OSI and Thrive aim to equip the communities with natural solutions that can be used to protect against environmental challenges such as fast-moving floodwaters, heat islands or droughts, and erosion.

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"Addressing extreme weather is challenging because it lies beyond our control. But, as community decision-makers, we do have some control over how we can prepare for uncertainty ahead. At Thrive, we are committed to collaborating with residents in our region to explore how we— as people, citizens, and neighbors—can partner with nature to create solutions that serve our communities today and in the future."
Bridgett Massengill, President/CEO of Thrive Regional Partnership

Helping communities anticipate and address the impacts of environmental challenges and extreme weather is a core part of the Open Space Institute’s work. Supporting groups as they dig into local challenges and develop new, sustainable approaches like strategic land protection is so important. We’re proud to work with our partners at Thrive, and the residents of Monteagle and Soddy Daisy, on the next chapter of this vital program.
Joel Houser, Director of Capital Grants, Open Space Institute

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Especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, communities that face severe environmental conditions understand the need for “resilience,” defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. The Resilient Communities program meets communities where they are, enabling municipalities and counties —as well as the neighborhoods, schools, and businesses within them —to anticipate and plan for environmental impacts with sustainable, nature-based solutions. 

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Throughout the Resilient Communities program, participants receive support from experts in civic engagement, environmental science, and data analysis. By the end of the program, participants will have created a resilience plan unique to their community. They will be eligible to receive seed funding of $20,000 to implement their resilience strategy and leverage for additional investment. 

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Structured in a cohort model, the program will encourage communities to learn from each other, as well as the communities who have completed the pilot program and are currently implementing their resilience plans: Dalton, Georgia, and Spring City, South Pittsburg, and the Emma Wheeler Homes neighborhood in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Resilient Communities program builds upon Thrive’s Cradle of Southern Appalachia collaborative landscape conservation initiative, by connecting people in the tri-state region to its natural treasures, as well as the value they provide to local communities. The Cradle of Southern Appalachia conservation effort is also a focal point of OSI’s $18 million Appalachian Landscape Protection Fund, which harnesses the role of forests in addressing environmental hazards and adds to OSI’s rich legacy of land protection in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.

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The program is supported in part by a $2.87 million federal grant awarded to Thrive Regional Partnership by the Appalachian Regional Commission under the Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) which  drives large-scale, regional economic transformation through collaborative projects. 

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