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.
