Working Strategy for BHI Conservancy

Johnston Center for Coastal Sustainability

Pat and Dick Johnston Graduate Fellowship in Coastal Sustainability at the Bald Head Island Conservancy

2026–27 Fellowship Cycle

Fellowship Details
The Bald Head Island Conservancy is now accepting applications for the 2026-27 Johnston Graduate Fellowship in Coastal Sustainability. The Fellowship provides support for a graduate student to pursue a coastal sustainability project on Bald Head Island in collaboration with Bald Head Island Conservancy staff and the Center for Coastal Sustainability. Projects should be directly related to the sustainability of Bald Head Island and other southeastern US barrier islands. Topics of special interest for the Johnston Coastal Sustainability Fellowship include landscape ecology, land preservation, habitat restoration ecology, coastal processes/engineering, coastal management, sustainability practices, and resource economics. See below for a list of current priority research topics. The Fellow is expected to collaborate closely with Conservancy staff, give a public presentation on the results of the project at the Annual Coastal Sustainability Symposium in April 2027, and provide a 2-page final summary report within 3 months of the funding period ending.

About the Bald Head Island Conservancy
The Bald Head Island Conservancy is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1983 on Bald Head Island, North Carolina. Our mission statement is “We Discover, Learn, Conserve, and Preserve”, and in pursuit of this mission, we conduct barrier island conservation science and research activities and lead a variety of environmental education programs for visitors, scouts, and local schools. Our science and research work falls under three major categories: 40-year Sea Turtle Protection Program; Environmental Services Contract work for the Village of BHI; and collaborative research focusing on barrier island sustainability science and conservation biology. The Conservancy’s campus has 4 primary buildings including the Barrier Island Study Center with laboratory and office spaces, Fleming Education Building with exhibits and dedicated classroom space, Turtle Central gift shop, and a dormitory to house interns and visiting scientists/educators. Visit bhic.org to learn more.

Fellowship Funds
Total Award = $20,000
Funding Period = June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027 unless extension approved by BHI Conservancy. Funds can be used for stipend, tuition, materials, and travel costs and will be distributed directly to the student after a request for payment with university documentation has been made to the Conservancy’s finance team. Institutional indirect costs and equipment purchases >$500 are not eligible through this award. The Conservancy will hold $1000 in escrow until the final project report has been submitted. Additional funds may be made available to former Fellows after the project ends to support travel to a scientific conference to present project results.

Eligibility Requirements
Must be enrolled in an M.S. or Ph.D. program at an accredited university and be prepared to start the project when the fellowship begins in summer 2026.

Required Application Materials
All applicants are required to discuss their project idea and logistics/feasibility with BHI Conservancy staff prior to application submission. Please set up a brief meeting with Beth Darrow (darrow@bhic.org) prior to January 30, 2026. Applications are due February 15, 2026.

Project Description (4-page limit in 12-point font and 1-inch margins not including references)
- a. descriptive title and name of applicant
- b. scientific background, including relevant references
- c. need for proposed project and objective(s)
- d. research questions and hypotheses
- e. materials/methods and plans for working on BHI
- f. project timeline
- g. how the project and student will integrate with BHIC staff and existing work
- h. how the project will incorporate environmental education or public outreach
Budget Description* brief summary of how funds will support student stipend, tuition, materials, and/or travel fees
Project Budget using the linked template*
Letter of Support from Graduate Advisor*
Current CV*

* not included in Project Description page limit

Review Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following:

Relevance of project to Bald Head Island Conservancy & Center for Coastal Sustainability research & sustainability priorities
Potential scientific impact of project
Broader impacts of project, including management implications or education/outreach
Integration with BHIC staff
Project feasibility & appropriateness of budget
Quality and clarity of proposal as written
Academic qualifications of applicant

Review Process
Application Due Date: February 15, 2026
Finalists Notification Date: March 1, 2026
Fellow Selection Notification March 15, 2026
Funding Period: June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027

How to Submit Application
Applications should be submitted as a single pdf (file name format: Lastname_Sustainability) to Director of Science Dr. Beth Darrow at darrow@bhic.org. Finalists will be interviewed by the selection panel in February 2026 and may be asked for further details at this time.

2026 Research Priorities
Bald Head Island Conservancy & Johnston Center for Coastal Sustainability

Sand movement on the east end of Bald Head Island / Frying Pan Shoals - assessment of patterns, predictions, recommendations that can be used to aid shoreline management
Maritime forest succession, vegetation changes through time - assessment of current status compared to historical data
Establishment of baseline data or model on salt marsh health, erosion/accretion
Analysis / modeling of Bald Head Creek water quality data to investigate links to Cape Fear River water quality
Real estate valuation in response to sea level rise / future storms
Social / community responses to environmental perturbations such as sea level rise; how community deals with uncertainty

Mission Statement

To promote the conservation and preservation of coastal resources for future generations in response to climate and other anthropogenic change in a manner that balances environmental, economic, and social factors.

Objectives

Background

Advisory Panel

Symposium

Issues of Concern

Graduate Fellowships

Dick & Pat Johnston

Seek knowledge about impacts of changing climate/sea level rise on coastal areas and evaluate the stability of BHI as it responds to these changes now and in the future.
Advance stewardship of coastal ecosystems through promotion of sustainability initiatives, land preservation, and increased accountability for environmental resources among municipal government, local businesses, and individuals.
Better understand the economic impacts and incentives for conserving and preserving coastal resources.

The Bald Head Island Conservancy has established a Center for Coastal Sustainability to serve as a research partnership and education hub for sustainability-related initiatives on Bald Head Island (BHI), North Carolina. We intend for the Center to eventually serve as a beacon for coastal sustainability initiatives throughout the southeastern United States in pursuit of enhanced environmentally sustainable living and development. By incorporating experts from across disciplines including coastal science, engineering, management, economics, land use planning, and human social dynamics, the Center will promote strategies that allow BHI and coastal communities to adapt to and/or mitigate threats at the land-sea interface including flooding, land-use change, and coastal pollution.

BHI is a planned community that has had “living in harmony with nature” at the heart of its development perspective since the 1960s when the Save Bald Head movement challenged developers who had disregarded the ecological integrity of the environment. The legacy of environmental awareness was amplified by the Mitchell family (Bald Head Island Limited) who purchased the island in 1983 and helped found the Conservancy in this same year. Because of BHI’s sense of community pride, synergistic relationships among the municipal government, businesses, and nonprofit organizations (Conservancy and Old Baldy Foundation), BHI is an ideal location for establishing a Center for Coastal Sustainability. In 2022, seed funding for the Center was provided by Dick and Pat Johnston, long-time BHI residents and Conservancy supporters.

An important first step in the creation of the Center was defining the term ‘sustainability’ as it relates to coastal environments. Coastal systems in their natural steady state are dynamic across a wide range of time and spatial scales, yet remain stable in that they are resilient to both episodic and chronic stressors. Most modern human interventions that drastically alter natural dynamics on populated coastlines have caused a disruption to the previously stable, steady state long-term behavior of the coastal system. For the purpose of the Center, coastal sustainability will be defined as a characteristic whereby the actions of humans promote stable long-term behavior of the entire coastal system as storms, sea level rise, and other climatic factors change. It is expected that the Center will principally serve Bald Head Island, but will eventually expand to assist other southeastern United States coastal communities.

The Advisory Panel consists of the Conservancy’s scientific leadership team (3-4) and 6-8 academic/management experts (total 9-12 people) whose primary roles are:

Provide expert advice to and collaborate with Conservancy staff on mission-related coastal
sustainability research/education initiatives.
Interact with and provide advice to Village leadership on natural and anthropogenic impacts
to Bald Head Island’s natural systems
Participate in the annual Coastal Sustainability Symposium
Attend regular Advisory Panel meetings held twice per year including once after the spring
Symposium and once in late fall.

The scope of panel expertise aims to include coastal management/land use planning, environmental economics, coastal and landscape ecology, shoreline processes, social/political evaluations, public education and community engagement, coastal and structural engineering. It is expected that panelists will serve a minimum of 2 years.

Dr. Molly Mitchell

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Chris McCall

Village Manager Bald Head Island

Jim Brown

Smith Island Land Trust

Dr. David Gessner

UNC Wilmington Creative Writing Department

Dr. Dylan McNamara

UNC Wilmington Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography

Dr. Joe Long

UNC Wilmington Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences

Director Coastal Engineering Program

Dr. Samantha Mosier
East Carolina University

A key facet of the Center is an annual symposium to bring experts from across coastal sustainability disciplines to Bald Head Island for public discussions and interactions with Conservancy staff. On April 4-5, 2022, the Conservancy hosted the inaugural Johnston Coastal Sustainability Symposium with specific goals to: 1) network with experts across the coastal sustainability research and education fields 2) share current knowledge regarding coastal environmental/climate science with the public, and 3) create a BHIC Sustainability Advisory Panel that will assist in the development of the Center’s purpose and to define initial pilot activities/projects.

Watch the First Annual Coastal Sustainability Symposium Here

Watch the Second Annual Coastal Sustainability Symposium: Morning Session and Evening Session

Watch the Third Annual Coastal Sustainability Symposium Here

Watch the Fourth Annual Coastal Sustainability Symposium Here

BHIC's comments to the Division of Coastal Management on the Wilmington Harbor 403 Draft Environmental Impact Statement

BHIC’s Statement on Terminal Groin near Frying Pan Shoals

Port Expansion Impact 2024

Past Fellowship Final Reports

The Johnston Center for Coastal Sustainability was conceived by our wonderful benefactors and long-time Conservancy supporters Dick and Pat Johnston. The Johnstons’ strong desire to protect the island’s ecosystem for their grandchildren is at the core of their sustainability mindset. From leading the effort to build the environmentally friendly Barrier Island Study Center building on the Conservancy campus to creating the Center for Coastal Sustainability, Dick and Pat have have been leaders of sustainable living on Bald Head Island for more than two decades.

Action Items and Outcomes

Research Projects

Land Preservation

Community Outreach

Partnerships

Research Projects

Land Preservation

Community Outreach

Partnerships

Johnston Center for Coastal Sustainability