Jane Gruenebaum is the coordinator of the Sussex Preservation Coalition. She resides in Rehoboth Beach.
The Sussex Preservation Coalition was formed over the summer of 2022 by individuals concerned about the many ways overdevelopment has altered the environment and increased the damaging effects of climate change.
In the past decade, Sussex County has been the epicenter of population growth in Delaware, while maintaining the most lax environmental protections in the state. Forests, critical to flood mitigation and wildlife habitat, have been razed at an alarming rate. Developments have placed heavy burdens on infrastructure, public spaces and services. With rising sea level and climate change, the excessive development has left Sussex County more vulnerable to flooding and devastation from storms.
Many community groups have formed to stop further development in fragile environments and to save forests, open spaces and wetlands. Citizens from across the county have been galvanized around actions to improve Sussex County ordinances and the codes that protect the environment and promote public safety.
Activists from these groups realized that their advocacy could be strengthened if they found an effective way to work together and leverage each other’s efforts. The Sussex Preservation Coalition brings together community groups, state chapters of national organizations and individuals around a shared mission: to increase the impact of organizations and individuals working in Sussex County to promote resiliency, sustainability and climate adaptation, and to preserve natural habitats.
The coalition has developed a “Campaign to Preserve Sussex” with three main pillars: save and protect our land; save and protect our water; and save and protect natural Sussex. Under each theme, the coalition has developed specific initiatives for changes to ordinances, codes and public funding at the county and state levels.
The coalition invites all concerned citizens to break the cycle of frustration by becoming actively engaged in workable solutions. Learn about the coalition determined to preserve Sussex County. Join the Sussex Preservation Coalition in its three-pronged approach: education, advocacy, policy.
Learn more about the Sussex Preservation Coalition at the Historic Lewes Farmers Market on Saturday, Oct. 8, from 9 a.m.-noon. Our website is under construction, so you can also email spcde.org@gmail.com.
