In 2016, local writer Ben Anderson decided to examine the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with a fresh perspective. To mark the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service, he completed 40 day hikes, which he documented in his first book,
Smokies Chronicle: A Year of Hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Procedural delays introduced by state and federal regulators nearly ran out the clock on the 2017 planting season, but growers have managed to get hemp plants and seeds in local dirt for the first time in 70 years. Hemp entrepreneurs say they hope the crop will prove a boon for WNC farmers and natural products manufacturers.
Hazel Creek: The Life and Death of an Iconic Mountain Community, by UNC Asheville history professor Daniel Pierce, explores the complex history of the so-called “Road to Nowhere” and the people it was meant to serve. Released in April, the book details the multifaceted and often overlooked story of the ill-fated town of Proctor and its inhabitants.
Asheville, NC
Project Genesis is a pioneering longitudinal study that is mobilizing more than 150 volunteers to study and collect data on the health of 20 research bee hives in West Asheville. Project founder Carl Chesick hopes to gain insight into the factors that are endangering the survival of honeybee colonies.
A coalition of local food activists, resilience planners and city of Asheville staffers are asking a hard question: In the event of a major disaster that disrupts the food supply for more than a few days, what will people in Western North Carolina eat? A recent workshop looked for answers to that question and brainstormed strategies for collaborative solutions for securing the region’s food supply in hard times.
A changing climate, aging infrastructure and rapid rates of development are contributing to a rising tide of stormwater problems in Asheville. But responsibility for stormwater infrastructure often rests with private property owners, complicating the process of planning and paying for fixes.
This year’s rainy spring has been keeping citizen science volunteers with the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network busy checking their gauges and recording the rainfall totals. The network helps fill in the gaps in data between official weather stations and allows scientists to form a more accurate and complete picture of the region’s weather patterns.
When the DOT finally decided on a design for Section B of the Connector project in 2015, many stakeholders thought they saw light at the end of a very long tunnel. Other residents, however, see serious flaws in Alternative 4B, questioning whether the project’s long-term benefits will justify the sacrifices their neighborhoods must make to see it completed.
Asheville, NC
Less than 20 years old, geocaching is a new sport that’s gained a lot of ground in its short existence. Western North Carolina is prime territory for geocachers, who use GPS devices to find and hide containers stashed in precise locations around the world. The Haywood County Fairgrounds will host one of the country’s premier geocaching events on Saturday, May 27.
At a May 19 workshop, the greenway advocacy organization Friends of Connect Buncombe hosted a national expert, along with several local bright lights, to discuss strategies for supercharging greenway development.
It’s been just over a year since the locally developed Muddy Water Watch app was launched, enlisting citizen watchdogs to help protect their communities’ waterways. Conceived by the environmental nonprofit MountainTrue as an enhancement of its existing Muddy Water Watch program, the app makes it easy for residents to report potential problems with sedimentation in streams as well as other water quality issues.
Panel discussions and an educational presentation on Saturday, May 20, will look at disaster resiliency in Buncombe County and how residents can work toward creating a self-sustaining food system.
An exhibit of design options created by Clemson University architecture students as part of their coursework provided a tantalizing, if brief, view of the kinds of possibilities that could become reality at city-owned property on Haywood Street and Page Avenue.
The Mother Earth News Fair returns to the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in Fletcher May 6-7. Somewhere around 20,000 attendees are expected to gather to learn about and share skills for sustainable living and self-reliance.
Asheville residents turned out in scores to show solidarity with the National People’s Climate March on Saturday, April 29. The procession marched through downtown, waving banners and signs, and chanting slogans urging government leaders to recognize climate change data. The marchers, which ranged in age from small children to older residents (and a couple dogs), […]
Appalachian Offsets is providing an opportunity for Asheville residents to both protect the environment and invest in environmental education, by helping fund Isaac Dickson Elementary School’s much-anticipated 600-kilowatt solar system. Donations can be made via Appalachian Offsets’ website, which calculates a person’s carbon footprint and then asks for a donation to offset that footprint. The […]
An unusual airplane sighting above North Asheville leaves residents concerned and looking for answers. The plane released red- or orange-colored smoke. Multiple eyewitnesses shared their observations and theories on Facebook. Xpress is awaiting more information from the FAA.
Local farmers are still holding out hope that 2017 will be the year industrial hemp grows in WNC fields for the first time in decades. But the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration isn’t making it easy for growers to source seed or seedlings in time for planting, which may mean another year of waiting for eager prospective hemp growers.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newest section of the French Broad River Greenway was held Friday, April 21, at the foot of the New Belgium brewery as part of the city of Asheville’s Earth Week Celebration. Representatives from the many public and private partnerships that had a role in the development of this section, called […]
