Cate Calson Announces Campaign for New Hanover Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors
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PRESS RELEASE
WILMINGTON, N.C. — August 20, 2026
Cate Calson has announced her candidacy for the New Hanover Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors, bringing decades of experience in communications, community engagement, sustainability and environmental advocacy to the 2026 election.
Calson is running on a straightforward platform: clean water, responsible growth and practical conservation that protects New Hanover County’s natural resources and beauty that is incorporated into a growing and thriving New Hanover.
“Our coastal wetlands, forests and working lands are not obstacles to growth; they are part of the infrastructure that makes New Hanover County a beautiful place to live,” said Calson. “We can grow and develop while protecting the natural systems that protect us from flooding, filter our water and sustain our coastal communities. We need practical conservation that works for people.”
CLEAN WATER. RESPONSIBLE GROWTH. PRACTICAL CONSERVATION.
Calson has made clean drinking water the central focus of her campaign, including continued attention to PFAS and other contaminants affecting the Cape Fear River watershed.
“People should not have to choose between a growing economy and clean water,” Calson said. “We need to protect our drinking water at the source, hold polluters accountable and make smart investments in the land and water systems that protect our communities.”
The New Hanover Soil & Water Conservation District works directly with residents, landowners, farmers, educators and community organizations on conservation, stormwater management, environmental education and protection of open land. The District also participates in broader watershed and conservation efforts throughout the county.
Calson sees the District as an important but often overlooked resource for residents navigating the challenges of rapid development, stormwater, flooding, water quality and land conservation.
Her campaign priorities include:
Clean Water: Support efforts to protect local waterways and drinking-water sources, address PFAS and other pollutants, and strengthen community understanding of water quality in our own backyards.
Smart, Responsible Growth: Development practices that work with the natural infrastructures rather than removing them: this is the most cost effective way to reduce flooding, erosion and stormwater pollution in the long run.
Protect Natural Environment: Parks, trails, educational installations to attract tourism, wetlands, forests, open spaces, healthy soils and other natural systems provide real value to the community.
More Community Outreach: More emphasis on sharing what Soil & Water resources are available for residents, neighborhoods, schools and community organizations.
Practical Conservation: Focus on current solutions and future opportunities that residents, property owners, farmers, developers and local governments can actually implement to improve our way of life.
New Hanover County works alongside Soil & Water as a partner in rain-barrel programs, stormwater education, PFAS education, water-quality efforts, source-water protection, habitat restoration and conservation initiatives.
The District has also focuses on protection of crucial Natural infrastructures in our coastal area through partnerships, restoration, protections, land acquisitions and creation of parks and educational spaces. Such as the Pages Creek Watershed Restoration Plan, which identifies green-infrastructure opportunities including living shorelines and bioretention areas to reduce erosion and improve water quality. And the current project of Eagle Island Water educational and recreational area.
A BACKGROUND IN DESIGN, CLIMATE AND COMMUNITY ADVOCACY
Calson brings more than 25 years of experience in communications, design, marketing and community engagement. Her professional work has included helping businesses and nonprofit organizations educate and engage their audiences.
Community advocacy leadership experience; Chair of The Reusable Oakland where they successfully passed an ordinance to reduce single use plastic trash, saving the city money in trash services and reducing the load on the city land fill. Co-Chair at the County level Climate Reality Project.
Climate fellowship Certification from Terra.do — interdisciplinary climate training intensive.
That experience has given Calson a firsthand understanding of the environmental challenges facing a rapidly growing coastal community—and the importance of bringing residents, conservation organizations, businesses and local governments together around practical sustainable solutions.
Her environmental work locally includes volunteering with environmental organizations; Cape Fear River Watch, Plastic Ocean Project, Cape Fear Sierra Club, Alliance for Cape Fear Trees and the American Red Cross. Calson focuses on clean water, watershed protection, reducing plastic pollution, balanced tree canopy and strengthening communities for future resilience.
Her work has consistently focused on turning environmental goals into practical programs that communities can understand, participate in and can realistically be implemented.
Calson was raised on a 100-acre farm in Oregon where conservation was a way of life. Educated on the connection between healthy soil, water and the land. That experience, combined with her professional background in communications and more recent climate training, informs her approach to conservation.
“I've spent my career helping people understand complicated things and bringing people together around solutions,” she said. “That is exactly what I want to bring to Soil & Water: listening to residents, sharing what is available to help them in their own back yard, explaining what is possible, and helping turn good conservation into action.”
The New Hanover Soil & Water Conservation District is a governmental subdivision of the State of North Carolina. Its mission is to protect and enhance the soil and water of New Hanover County, and its Board of Supervisors oversees the District's conservation program. The Soil & Water supervisor election is nonpartisan.
Calson's name appears on the official 2026 New Hanover County candidate list for New Hanover Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor.
To learn more, be sure to attend Creatives for Clean Water on September 8 at Tempo 33. Hear from local artists and musicians and meet Cate Calson.
ABOUT CATE CALSON
Cate Calson is a communications professional, environmental advocate and community volunteer running for the New Hanover Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors. Her background spans design, communications, project development, community engagement, climate advocacy and environmental education. She holds a B.A. in Communication Design from California State University, Chico, is a graduate of, Terra.do — interdisciplinary climate training intensive, and an active Climate Reality Leadership Corps.
Her campaign is focused on clean water, practical conservation, responsible growth and a stronger connection between Soil & Water and the people it serves.
Media Contact:
Cate CalsonCandidate for New Hanover Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors
Wilmington, North Carolina
