For Prairie Grove Mayor David Faulk, building community doesn’t happen behind a desk. It happens when people get out, meet one another and spend time together. That same idea is shaping how Prairie Grove thinks about parks, trails and the places that create more opportunities for neighbors to cross paths.

From the smallest streams to the vast ocean, water connects us all. Healthy rivers, lakes and wetlands sustain wildlife, strengthen communities, create economic opportunity and help protect people from a changing climate. By investing in nature-based solutions to care for these vital places, we can build more resilient communities, create jobs and help protect our neighborhoods. When nature thrives, so do we.

For decades, the Price River ran through Helper City, Utah, but the community had largely lost access to it. Working together, residents and partners like Trout Unlimited used nature-based solutions to help restore the river.

In the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, land is more than a place to farm. It can be a livelihood, a family legacy and a connection to the natural world. Through nature-based solutions like restoring wetlands and replanting native forests, local partners are helping landowners conserve frequently flooded farmland while keeping their land in the family.

For generations, fishing communities on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula have depended on the sea for their livelihoods and way of life. But as once-abundant fish populations declined, local fishers came together to give the ocean time and space to recover. Through nature-based solutions like fish refuges, communities are protecting critical areas from fishing while helping monitor the health of local fisheries.

The work to restore the Colorado River starts where the river begins. In a fire-scarred valley at its headwaters, a dedicated team is using nature-based solutions to bring lost wetlands back and rebuild resilience — helping restore the place that sustains the West.

Across Iowa, farmers are rediscovering an old idea: keeping living roots in the ground for more of the year. Nature-based solutions like relay cropping can help soil hold more water, reduce erosion and lower flood risk for communities downstream. Now, farmers and researchers are gathering new data on these benefits — while passing generations of knowledge on to the farmers who will carry the work forward.

For farmers, adopting conservation practices can mean upfront costs and benefits that take years to develop. In Iowa, an innovative financing model is helping expand the support available to farmers making that transition.

The fourth annual Walton Family Foundation and Gallup Voices of Gen Z Study finds that students are more likely to enjoy school when learning feels meaningful, they have strong relationships with adults and they feel a sense of belonging. For students Ruiee and Jonathan, meaningful learning means having the freedom to follow their interests and imagine what's possible.

A strong region is built in the neighborhoods, parks and main streets where everyday life unfolds. Across Northwest Arkansas' smaller communities, residents are shaping places that are welcoming, connected and uniquely their own. From Farmington and Centerton, to Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove and Siloam Springs, the Walton Family Foundation is supporting their efforts to build a future where growth is intentional, community voices guide decisions, and towns work together to create places where people can live, connect and thrive.

Ahoy, it’s Raindrop, here to shower you with knowledge about the ocean! You’ve seen it changing—rising seas, fewer fish, coastlines under pressure. But don’t be salty. In this latest episode (voiced by actor and nature enthusiast Rainn Wilson) I bring good tidings, exploring how natural solutions can protect water and help the ocean heal itself.

Hear from teachers about what helps them meet students’ needs and why support, materials and collaboration matter. The Walton Family Foundation’s classroom investments are part of its broader 2030 education strategy to support thriving youth by strengthening schools, classrooms and systems. The strategy builds on the foundation’s longstanding support for charter schools while also expanding pathways for young people, investing in leadership and advancing policy and narrative change.

What does it take to build a region where growth strengthens communities and opportunity reaches everyone? Across our Home Region, we know that opportunities grow when people learn, earn and thrive together in the communities they call home. We invite you to learn more about Strategy 2030, our ongoing commitment to Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta.

It’s me, Raindrop, here to drop some knowledge on how each of us can protect communities and the planet using our very own superpower… the Power of Nature! Voiced by actor and nature enthusiast Rainn Wilson, Raindrop is shares how natural solutions can be a smart, simple and powerful way to protect water so people and nature can thrive together. Restoring wetlands and forests, using cover crops, and even working with beavers (yes, beavers!) can help communities and nature thrive together.

Meet Raindrop! Voiced by actor and nature enthusiast Rainn Wilson, Raindrop is here to explain the ways that climate change is making waves across our water systems. In Episode 1 of this Walton Family Foundation video series, Raindrop wades into how water change is climate change—and how those changes in water impact everything from droughts to floods to a warming ocean. The good news? By working with the power of nature, we can protect water and the climate. Ready to get your feet wet? Let’s dive deeper!

The Community Compass is a new measurement tool designed to help communities better understand how public spaces and programs support connection, belonging and trust. In this video, Home Region Program Officer Ana Aguayo explains how the Community Compass works and why it matters for communities.

What happens when teachers don’t have paid parental leave? Too often, they leave the classroom—or never enter it at all. In Arkansas and Delaware, teachers receive 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave, with states covering the cost of long-term substitutes. Educators and state leaders share how these policies support families, strengthen financial stability, and help schools retain great teachers.

The 2025 Voices of Gen Z study from Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation finds student engagement at a three-year high. Half of high schoolers now say school lets them do what they do best, up from 40 percent in 2023.