Roots of Resilience: Community Voices in Action
Ready, Set, Resilience thrives because it is built with and for the community. After hurricanes and storms left deep marks on Eastern North Carolina, teachers asked for something different: a way to help students process change, connect with nature, and strengthen their own voices. From those conversations, RSR grew into a program where local students, educators, and community partners come together to co-create stories of resilience.
This kind of engagement doesn’t stop at school walls. Events like the Durham Museum of Life and Science community day bring families, teachers, and young people together to celebrate resilience through storytelling and performance. When middle school students performed shadow-puppet shows for the public, they were not only sharing what they learned, but also inspiring their community to see resilience as something everyone can build together.
Students from Broad Creek Middle School in coastal Carteret County, North Carolina presenting the show: “It’s a story called Teddy and the Trash Monster” at the Durham Museum of Life and Science, March 2025.
These photos show just a glimpse of this engagement. Middle school students illustrated fables like Gilbert the Grouper and Sandy the Snail, connecting ecological lessons to themes of self-awareness, adaptation, and strength. Teachers integrated these stories into classrooms, sparking both art and reflection. The student-made finger puppets and colorful drawings are more than creative projects—they are expressions of how young people see themselves as resilient leaders in their own communities.
Student artwork from Gilbert the Grouper fables, connecting fish characters to themes like resilience, self-awareness, and adaptation. Handmade Sandy the Snail finger puppets, crafted by ESL students at Carrington Middle School, bringing resilience stories to life in vibrant colors.
Community members also play a role. At public showcases, neighbors were invited to leave notes of encouragement for student artists, turning classrooms into community galleries. Messages like “Fantastic work, I can tell you worked really hard on these projects!” and “Your finger puppets are beautiful, thank you for sharing them with us” remind students that their creativity is valued beyond the classroom.
Community members leave encouraging notes for student artists, celebrating their creativity and storytelling. Feedback wall with messages like “Fantastic work!” and “The finger puppets are beautiful!” reminding students their art makes an impact.
Ready, Set, Resilience is about connection, between people, stories, and place. Each drawing, puppet, and performance is a reminder that resilience grows stronger when it is rooted in community.
