Anjali Boyd
Soil & Water Districts are broadly tasked with enhancing, protecting, and improving soil and water resources throughout the state. Establishing local soil and water conservation priorities based on county needs means the responsibilities of the position have direct health and economic implications for a range of communities.
If elected, what is your first action?
On my first day in office, I'll be compiling a contact list of all soil & Water staff, local farmers in Durham, DPS teachers and administrators, and other local stakeholders. During the first 6 months in office, I will be focused on introducing myself and learn more about the issues that are most important to those stakeholders. It is my intention to establish a direct line of contact between me and the community I will be serving, while also gaining a better understanding of the issues they care about most. This information will assist me as I work, in conjunction with our Board of Supervisors and Staff, to develop innovative science-based community-centered solutions to pressing environmental issues.
How do we keep water safe from plastic and other contaminates?
Our district has an active role in safeguarding our county's water resources, and as District Supervisor, I will ensure this continues. The majority of our District's programs are designed to improve water quality throughout the county and the state of North Carolina. Our district’s cost-share programs are our strongest asset in decreasing pollution/runoff and accomplishing our goals of protecting, enhancing, and conserving our natural resources. These programs enable us to create buffers in our watersheds and local farms, and assist us in reducing nitrogen, phosphorus, and stormwater runoff that flows into our waterways.
One way our district can work to reduce plastic and styrofoam pollution is by expanding our cost-share programs. Our district could offer financial incentives for local businesses to transition from plastic and styrofoam to eco-friendly/biodegradable products. Similar to our Agriculture Cost Share Program, which provides technical and financial assistance to landowners for the installation of best management practices. Offering local businesses the same assistance for moving away from plastic and styrofoam products would make a transition more feasible for many businesses, while also assisting the district in protecting and preserving our water resources.
How can Durham city corporations reduce their carbon footprint?
Investing in clean and renewable energy alternatives is one of the best ways for corporations to reduce their carbon footprint. However, for many small and local businesses, this is not financially feasible. This is where our District, along with help and support from the local government, should and must step in and provide technical and financial assistance to interested businesses and corporations. As District Supervisor, I will work to create state-wide programs focused on increasing renewable energy and decreasing methane emissions from farms. Being that agribusiness and agriculture is the #1 industry in North Carolina and that our state has a large farming economy, we need to do more to support and increase solar and wind farms throughout the county and the state. I will advocate for the development and implementation of cost-share programs geared towards renewable energy. The program’s goal will be to increase renewable energy throughout the county and state, by lowering the barrier of entry for individuals interested in starting renewable energy farms. The cost-share program will also assist businesses and corporations with the installation of solar panels, and other renewable energy alternatives.
Why District Supervisor?
I am deeply passionate about Durham and invested in the success of Durham County, as it is my home and has been my family's home for generations.
As a marine and environmental scientist, I have intensively studied these topics of water quality, natural resource management, and environmental conservation full-time for the last six years.
My candidacy for Durham County Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor is about bringing scientists, like myself, into policy and decision-making processes. It's also about increasing representation for people of color and Black Women in environmental conservation fields. And it is about bringing new perspectives to address the world's most pressing human health and environmental issues to create sustainable and equitable conservation strategies.
Why is environmentalism something we can all agree on?
It’s simple: protecting, conserving, and enhancing our natural environment is essential for human survival.
Everything we rely on comes from the natural environment, in some shape or form. Additionally, the health of our natural environment has direct health and economic implications for every person, city, state, and country. By protecting our natural environment, we ensure future generations have ample resources to sustain themselves and their loved ones, that businesses have sufficient resources to create their products. We ensure communities have clean food and water, and we ensure the longevity of our society.
Everyone benefits from protecting, conserving, and enhancing our natural environment, and everyone and everything is jeopardized when we neglect, degrade, and destroy our natural environment.