About us
A conservancy rooted in this coast.
Since 2007, we've worked the same beaches, wetlands, and creeks — long enough to know them, and to measure how they heal.
Our history
It started with one stretch of shoreline.
Tidewater Coastal Conservancy was founded in 2007 by a small group of surfers, teachers, and biologists who were tired of watching trash wash up and wetlands shrink. What began as a monthly cleanup grew into a year-round program of restoration, water-quality monitoring, education, and advocacy.
Today we work alongside volunteers, schools, agencies, and partner groups across the region — but the spirit is the same: roll up your sleeves, gather the evidence, and keep showing up for the coast.
The place we protect
One connected system, from the hills to the surf.
The shoreline isn't a single place — it's a chain. What happens upstream shows up on the sand. We work across all three.
The beaches
Sandy and rocky shores where people swim, surf, and tide-pool — and where inland debris ends up.
The wetlands
Tidal marshes that filter runoff, buffer storms, and shelter birds, fish, and juvenile wildlife.
The watershed
The creeks and storm drains that carry water — and pollution — from neighborhoods to the sea.
Our approach
Restore, monitor, educate, advocate.
Each step feeds the next. Restoration creates something worth protecting; monitoring proves it works; education builds the stewards; advocacy locks in the gains.
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Restore
Replant native dunes and wetlands, remove invasives, and stabilize the habitats that buffer our coast.
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Monitor
Track water quality and restoration outcomes with a citizen-science network, so we know what is working.
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Educate
Bring students and families to the water through tide-pool walks and field programs that build stewardship.
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Advocate
Translate local evidence into clear testimony and action alerts when coastal decisions are on the table.
What guides us
Our values
Science we share openly
We collect real data and publish it in plain language. Trust is built on transparency, not slogans.
Community at the center
The coast belongs to everyone. Our work is led with — not just for — the neighbors who live beside it.
Restore, then protect
We heal habitat first, then defend it through monitoring, education, and policy so the gains hold.
Long horizon
Coastlines change over decades. We plan and measure for the generation that inherits this shore.
Leadership
Board & science advisors
Tidewater is guided by a volunteer board of directors and an independent science advisory panel that reviews our restoration and monitoring methods.
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Board of Directors
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Science Advisory Panel
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