Though the battles were fought half a world away, WWI had a profound and lasting impact on Western North Carolina. As the state gears up for a big centennial retrospective on North Carolina’s involvement in the Great War, local researchers have worked to bring WNC residents’ stories and experiences to contemporary audiences.
As the WNC Nature Center’s wildlife rehabilitation activities wind down, Appalachian Wild swoops in with plans for a center to accept animals needing care. The new Candler-based facility will open soon to serve as a triage facility where animals will be held and evaluated before being transported to licensed rehabilitators.
Like any good Southern city, Asheville’s history is steeped in the gothic and the paranormal. While the facts and claims behind these legends vary from story to story (and storyteller), Asheville’s “ghosts” play an often unheralded role in capturing and preserving the city’s past.
Learn considerations and best practices for building and using a composting toilet at a Living Web Farms workshop on Saturday, Oct. 29.
Using a vast array of artifacts, period newspapers and personal items from the time, combined with a series of lectures by military veterans and authorities, The WNC Military History Museum in Brevard hopes to educate a new generation on veterans’ contributions in an upcoming exhibit, “Operation Armed Forces,” which will open Saturday, Oct. 22, and run through Friday, Nov. 11, at the historic Aethelwold Hotel in downtown Brevard.
The Dakotas may be far from Asheville, but many WNC locals have traveled to the Standing Rock Sioux reservation since protests began there in late August over a disputed oil pipeline that crosses tribal lands. Others in Asheville have donated money or supplies to support the tribe’s efforts to block construction of the Dakota Access pipeline.
While growing food and other crops beneath the forest canopy isn’t new — it’s been practiced by indigenous and traditional cultures around the world for centuries — a new focus on forest farming is highlighting the possibilities of forest-based production of non-timber crops in Western North Carolina.
The third annual “Of Time and the River” art show and gala will be held at Zealandia Friday, Oct. 21 from 6-9 p.m. The event will benefit the nonprofit RiverLink, which promotes the environmental and economic vitality of the French Broad River and its watershed.
Citizen activists, members of Asheville’s Tree Commission and city officials are exploring the possibility of increased oversight on how trees are managed within the city limits. But with a lack of definition in key parts of the city’s policy, and obstacles at the state level impeding regulations on private property, updating Asheville’s tree ordinances is proving to be an uphill battle.
Sponsored by the Pisgah Conservancy, with support from trail clubs, businesses, nonprofits and individuals dedicated to maintaining the vitality of Pisgah National Forest, Pisgah Pride Day is a large-scale volunteer work project held in conjunction with National Public Lands Day on Saturday, Sept. 24.
San Diego-based yeast producer White Labs is now hiring for its Asheville facility, and local breweries focus on supporting environmental sustainability and conservation efforts.
Asheville’s rustic, arts-and-industry-dominated River Arts District is on the brink of a major transformation. From road realignment, sidewalk construction and expanded bike lanes to an ambitious network of greenways with the RAD as its central hub, substantial changes will be taking place over the next few years that will improve the way residents and visitors to the city access, explore and inhabit the area.
Residents commuting down Lyman Street and Riverside Drive have most likely noticed some serious changes to the tree line around 12 Bones. Work crews have been busy removing trees from the area, a project that is expected to continue through the fall. “I’ve been out of office almost 15 years, and I’ve gotten several calls […]
The Asheville Water Resources Department shared plans for a major improvement project at the city’s 60-year-old North Fork Reservoir in four public meetings held Aug. 22-25. The $30 million to $35 million project will increase the reservoir’s capacity and bolster the dam’s ability to handle extreme rain events safely.
On Sept. 4, hunt ginseng in the wild with medicinal plant authority Robert Eidus on his farm in Marshall. On Sept. 10, gather with farmers, gardeners and homesteaders for the third annual Harvest Conference, presented by the Organic Growers School on the campus of A-B Tech in Asheville.
While tractors and mechanized farm equipment have now largely replaced draft animals, a small but passionate contingent of farmers in Western North Carolina continues to rely on them to help with the daily work around their farms and as a source of extra income at times.
AB Community Pharmacy celebrated its opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug.11. The pharmacy’s business model is unique: using profits from a retail community pharmacy, the operation will support the work of Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry, which operates free health clinics staffed predominantly by volunteers that serve about half the county’s uninsured residents.
Asheville may be a top dream destination for many folks, but for an increasing number of newcomers and old-timers alike, the No. 1 dream destination may be just down the road a ways. With the challenges of urbanization besetting Asheville, newcomers and locals alike are turning to surrounding towns and communities in search of cheaper […]
This year’s Asheville Homebrewers Conference features a lineup of speakers that includes nationally known beer writers and local brewing experts. Also, Zebulon Artisan Ales and Twin Leaf Brewery collaborate to support expansion of Asheville’s greenways.
Heritage livestock breeds have a lot to offer WNC’s small farmers. Fiber animals that evolved on small farmsteads are hardier and easier to manage than breeds developed for high yields and consistent characteristics. WNC farmers are exploring the advantages these heritage breeds offer, protecting them from possible extinction along the way.
Natural gas will dethrone coal as the fossil fuel generating most of WNC’s electricity when Duke Energy’s new Lake Julian plant goes online in 2020. But how does natural gas get to this area, and where does it come from? Though tracing the gas molecules to their source is tricky, Xpress found that much of the area’s gas supply comes from hydraulic fracturing, and new pipeline projects are in the works to bring more fracked gas into the region.
