Adapt
Conserve
Flourish
Photo Credit: Sue Mangan
Mission
Wetlands Watch is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Norfolk, Virginia. Our mission is to enhance natural resilience, bolster community adaptation efforts, and protect and restore wetlands throughout Virginia. We advance climate adaptation by working collaboratively with a wide variety of stakeholders, and by implementing solution-focused strategies that unify and connect.
Initiatives
Wetlands & Public Policy Initiative
Wetlands Watch advances equitable, science-based climate adaptation policy across federal, state, regional, and local levels, with sustained attention to the environmental and social conditions of Virginia’s diverse regions. The Initiative helps shape laws, regulations, funding criteria, and practical adaptation tools while also connecting policy design to policy use through education, implementation support, and feedback from the field.
Communities Initiative
The Communities Initiative helps Virginia’s localities, especially those with limited capacity, strengthen flood resilience through technical assistance, funding guidance, peer learning, and long-range adaptation support. Wetlands Watch works with local government staff to improve floodplain management, advance nature-based strategies, and equip communities with practical tools for planning before disaster strikes.
Neighborhoods Initiative
The Neighborhoods Initiative builds flood resilience at the neighborhood scale by bringing residents, local partners, and university teams into a shared process of research, design, and problem-solving. Through the Collaboratory, Wetlands Watch works with underserved neighborhoods and academic teams to develop place-based, nature-based responses to flooding that reflect local priorities and result in actionable designs and adaptation plans.
Living Infrastructure Initiative
The Living Infrastructure Initiative strengthens Virginia’s resilience by advancing nature-based approaches to stormwater management, shoreline protection, habitat restoration, and environmental education. Through training, certification, technical support, and public engagement, it helps expand both the practice of resilient landscape design and the professional capacity needed to implement these approaches at scale across Virginia.
Catch the King
Catch the King–our Guinness World Record-holding event–advances flood science and adaptation planning by mobilizing volunteers to document flooding during king tide season. The Initiative generates locally sourced data that strengthens flood modeling and planning while giving residents, students, and civic groups a direct role in understanding climate impacts in their own communities.
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Our Partners
We are deeply grateful for our incredible partners who inspire and teach us constantly. Together, we’re tackling the fundamental challenge of our time—building resilience and protecting our environment. By collaborating across so many sectors and communities, we’re creating innovative and impactful solutions that shape a more sustainable future. It’s an honor to work alongside you in this vital mission!