Ultimate Ice Cream makes donations from flavor of the month to Ebola crisis

From a press release: Local ice cream shop Ultimate Ice Cream is contributing to the Ebola response through the flavor of the month donation program in November. All proceeds will go to Partners In Health, an international non-profit that is helping to provide care to communities in rural West Africa hard hit by the Ebola […]

Mining and Energy Commission looks at public fracking comments, Nov. 6-7

From a press release: The MEC will discuss the 217,000 public comments about draft rules for the new fracking law at 9 a.m. on Nov. 6 and 7 in the Ground Floor Hearing Room of the Archdale Building, 512 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh. The public  can also comment at these meetings, with up to 10 speakers per meeting, […]

VET FEST 2014 benefits veterans services, Nov. 9

From a press release: Sunday, November 9th, from 2-6pm – Highland Brewing will host VET FEST 2014, a concert celebration honoring two local non-profit organizations serving disabled Veterans in Western North Carolina–Helios Warriors, offering alternative holistic healing therapies, and Heart of Horse Sense, providing equine-assisted therapies. Both organizations offer their services at low to no […]

Fundraiser for local child with leukemia on Nov. 2

From a press release: A fundraiser for Jacob Vanlandingham, who has been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, will be held at the Millroom at Asheville Brewing Company, 66 Asheland Ave., on Sunday, Nov. 2 from noon to 7 p.m. The fundraiser is hosted by the Underdog Crew, a youth breakdancing troupe based in Asheville that has […]

Duke Energy submits plans for groundwater assessment at coal ash facilities

  From a press release: Duke Energy has provided state officials with its plans for assessing groundwater quality at the utility’s 14 coal-fired power plants in North Carolina. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources required Duke Energy to submit Groundwater Assessment Plans as part of the effort to cleanup or mitigate groundwater contamination […]

Radio interview with Men’s Wisdom Works founder on Oct. 4

From a press release: Men’s Wisdom Works founder Chuck Fink will be interviewed live on WRHI’s Radio 4 the Ages program Saturday, Oct. 4 at 10:20 a.m. The program will be available online at wrhi.com.With ten groups operating out of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville and one at Givens Estates, Men’s Wisdom Works […]

Keeping the beat

On a Friday night in early spring, a low rumbling can be heard throughout downtown Asheville. The contagious rhythm grows louder as people are drawn into the vortex of reverberating beats in Pritchard Park. The Friday night drum circle has emerged from winter hibernation, becoming once again the heartbeat of Asheville. For some, the weekly event is simply another one of Asheville’s quirks. For others, the drumming provides a source of therapy and healing.

Drum therapy

Therapeutic recreation program wins state award Randy Shaw, director of therapeutic recreation at the Asheville Parks and Recreation Department, was not a drummer. Even so, he believed that drumming had the potential to help people with disabilities. “A light bulb turned on for me when … I started to facilitate drum groups and I saw […]

Wilderness works

Wilderness therapy “gave me my son back — and better,” says Stephen Mace. His son, Christian, age 15, participated in the wilderness program at SUWS of the Carolinas in Old Fort last year. SUWS is one of several local and regional organizations that use wilderness therapy. Sarah “Salli” Lewis, an Asheville-based clinical scientist, has conducted several […]

A new kind of CSA: Community Supported Apothecary

As cold and flu season lingers on, herbal medicine is “definitely a frontline treatment,” says Ceara Foley, director of the Appalachia School of Holistic Herbalism (ASHH). Jamie Sparks, owner and director of Herban Farmacy, agrees, and shares what she has been offering customers in her herbal CSA. Both women tout the healing powers of herbs for winter wellness and offer different suggestions for herbal remedies.

Reconnect

Even in a nature-rich area, residents can lose touch with the environment. “I've been fretting over the disconnection between people and nature for most of my adult life,” says Chuck Marsh, co-founder and co-designer of Earthaven Ecovillage in Black Mountain. This disconnect has a name — nature-deficit disorder — and Marsh and other local educators […]