Policy and Preservation of our Region's Forests

Our Monthly Speaker Presentations are on the second Tuesday of each month. Doors open at 6:15p - presentation starts at 6:30. We have pizza and drinks. Free - donations accepted. Please RSVP (each person) for each event.

Speaker: Isabelle Shepherd, Executive Director of the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees

Topic: The growing role of policy in preserving our region’s forests.

As Executive Director of the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees, Isabelle leads efforts to protect and plant trees to combat canopy loss, mitigate climate change, and enhance community well-being. Before joining ACFT, Isabelle served for five years as Development Director and later interim Executive Director of the Historic Wilmington Foundation. Isabelle holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

The presentation will trace the Alliance’s evolution — from planting thousands of trees to confronting the deeper, structural drivers of canopy loss. She will share how ACFT is branching out into advocacy with their Code & Canopy policy guide for local governments and developers, pressing for land use policies that sustain our urban canopy and safeguard mature trees. Putting shovels in the ground is one level of tree preservation. But policy on paper — the development codes and zoning decisions that shape our built environment — is another. She will explore how these policies intersect with environmental justice, climate resilience, and community health. And also share practical ideas for how we, as residents and advocates, can speak up for trees and the people who need them most.