Newsletter | October 8, 2025
In this week’s Voices:
- We’re launching a new project on flooding in Atlanta
- Have you seen drainage or stormwater issues in your neighborhood? Take our survey!
- Hear from the Clarkston Fellows telling their community’s stories
Send your feedback about this newsletter to hello@canopyatlanta.org.
Photo by Hannah Palmer
When the Creeks Rise is a community journalism project documenting flooding in Atlanta—its causes, its consequences, and the residents fighting for solutions.
The name is a play on the old Southern saying “God willing and the creek don't rise.” For generations, that phrase has captured a simple truth: Even the best-laid plans can be upended by forces beyond our control. But in Atlanta today, when the creeks rise, it's not just an act of nature—and it's not always due to forces beyond our control. Often, flooding in our neighborhoods is the result of decades of policy decisions, rapid development, buried waterways that still shape where floodwaters flow, and a pattern of underinvestment that has left some homes more vulnerable to flooding than others.
This project—a partnership between Canopy Atlanta and the Partnership for Southern Equity—brings together rigorous reporting and historical context to shine a light on an issue that affects communities across the city.
We plan to start where we always do—by listening to and collecting information from community members. If you have experienced flooding in your neighborhood, please take five minutes to complete this form. We will use this information to create a comprehensive map of where flooding occurs in Atlanta.
This is more than a reporting project. It's a call to action and an invitation for you to share your story, stay informed, and make your voice heard.
Want to get involved or partner with us on this project?
Flooding in Atlanta neighborhoods
Our Clarkston Fellows are five community members with deep roots in the city and in their communities. Some of them were born in Clarkston; others have lived there for many years. They work in nonprofits and businesses in the community, and their stories will be deeply reported from places they know and love.
They have completed six weeks of training and now they are working on stories about youth and education, access to healthcare, and affordable housing. They are also working on maps and timelines that show the rich history of Clarkston and what it could be in ten years.
Click on the link below to hear them describe their work in their own words.
“I’m working on stories about Clarkston small businesses. How they are more than shops, but places where people connect and feel part of the community.”
—Lúcia F Stanislas, Clarkston Fellow
“I’ve been speaking with young people about education, safety, and opportunities, and I want to highlight their voices and experiences.”
—Meena Khodayar, Clarkston Fellow
“I’m a strong proponent of doing right by the people and advocating for immigrant communities.”
—Sofia Mohamed, Clarkston Fellow
By Genia Billingsley, Community Journalist
From Westside green spaces to the big screen, Canopy Atlanta’s community storytelling took center stage at the 2025 Peaberry Film Festival with the screening of Healing the Land.
The project began as a simple pitch to explore the stories hidden within Westside Atlanta’s green spaces but grew into something none of us could have fully imagined.
Sitting in the audience next to one of my neighbors, Dorothy Woods, I felt a deep mix of pride, gratitude, and awe. I thought back to my early interview with Donna Stephens, when I first shared my vision for documenting the stories of Westside green spaces and her insight shaping how we connect history, land, and memory. I remembered Kwame Kang’s drone footage, capturing the beauty and resilience of the places we fight to protect, and how Linda Duvoisin brought it all together, stitching it into a powerful story that allowed the land to speak in a way it hadn’t before.
Before the screening, we participated in a panel discussion with Festival Director Brent Lambert-Zaffino on the importance of community engagement and the Canopy Atlanta model of centering community voices.
We shared what it means to truly share narrative ownership—how residents can move from being subjects of stories to becoming the storytellers themselves. The conversation echoed the very heart of our mission: Local journalism, when rooted in trust and collaboration, can help communities see themselves more clearly and advocate more effectively for the future.
Want to catch up on the work Canopy Atlanta is doing and share what is happening in your neighborhood? Come out for a free cup of coffee this week.
Canopy Atlanta is popping up in coffee shops around Atlanta. We’ll share our location every week in the newsletter and on social media.
📅 Thursday, Oct. 9, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
📍 Ke’nekt Cooperative: 1492 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW, Suite A, Atlanta, GA 30310
📅 Friday, Oct. 10, 12 to 2 p.m.
📍Refuge Coffee: 4170 E Ponce de Leon Ave NE, Clarkston, GA 30021
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