The Walton Family Foundation recently launched a multimedia series around environmental issue case studies titled "Human Nature."
The series focuses on real-world cases of environmental distress that are being remedied through the use of nature-based solutions. NOAA defines nature-based solutions as fixes to environmental issues that "intentionally use natural and nature-based habitats" like marshes, human-made oyster reefs, river currents, coral reefs, human-made dunes, and barrier islands or salt marshes with sediment." Nature-based solutions are important, NOAA said, because infrastructure projects that utilize them have the ability to reduce environmental risk while also positively benefiting relevant communities and ecosystems.
Examples in the series include Arkansas Delta wetlands, Iowa farm fields, and Mexico's fishing communities, which are all areas facing issues such as flood risk, poor water quality, or vulnerability to climate change.
“When we take care of nature and work with natural systems, we are also taking care of people,” Walton Family Foundation Environmental Program Director Moira McDonald said in a release. “These nature-based solutions are already helping farmers keep more topsoil and profit on their land, helping fishing communities rebuild the stocks their livelihoods depend on, and helping people hold on to land that's been in their families for generations. We know these approaches can work. Now, the challenge is helping more communities put them to work by bringing together local leadership, investment, and policies that make proven solutions easier to adopt and sustain.”
Regarding fisheries, the series highlighted Mexico's Baja Peninsula, where nonprofit Niparajá and Comunidad y Biodiversidad (COBI) have aided in the establishment of community-run fish refuges for 15 years now. The organizations have also helped rebuild fish populations, trained local fishers as scientific monitors, and supported research into additional refuge developments in 2026.
The series is part of the Walton Family Foundation's environment program strategy that aims to pair on-the-ground work with securing policies and financing.
