Asheville GreenWorks is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year while two other nonprofits — MANNA FoodBank and Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity — are marking 40 years. Xpress sat down with leaders of the three organizations to discuss their longevity, how they’ve evolved over time and what the future holds.
Pat Strang is a volunteer at Asheville GreenWorks, which works to create an equitable, climate-resilient future for the community.
“We’ve pretty much been doing cleanups for 50 years without really seeing any real changes,” says Asheville GreenWorks’ operations manager Chelsea Adams. “We go back to the same roads, in the same section of river and creek, every single year and do cleanups over and over and over.”
Asheville is one of 18 communities across the U.S. and Chile selected for the work, which will help scientists understand how cities experience extreme heat.
On Dec. 30, the nonprofit completed the purchase of 34 acres in Brevard to expand the preserve. The new land will bolster the existing 395-acre park, owned by the city of Brevard, which connects to the Pisgah National Forest.
“The enactment of these regulations has allowed us to preserve one of our most vital resources, and we should celebrate this monumental milestone for clean water.”
About 35 acres of the nearly 450-acre tract — purchased by the nonprofit Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in 2020 and recently transferred to the town of Canton — are now open, including the Berm Park mountain bike skills course and a mixed-use hiking/biking trail.
After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Asheville was due for a spring cleaning. City government, along with area nonprofits, kicked off the first of four community cleanup efforts downtown April 18.
“Residents’ health shouldn’t have to suffer when there are practical alternatives to open burning.”
Franny’s Farmacy continues its expansion. Plus: Cultivated Community Dinner Series launches latest Spring Series; Asheville Truffle Experience returns; and plenty more!
Among the largest allocations are $12.2 million to accelerate the purchase and opening of Pisgah View State Park in Buncombe County, $7.2 million for the removal of hazardous dams in WNC and $5 million to upgrade the city of Hendersonville’s wastewater treatment plant.
In fiscal year 2019-20, the most recent year for which data is available, the city emitted the equivalent of roughly 18,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Its target for the year was approximately 15,600 metric tons of CO2, about 15% less than the actual figure.
Creation of more than 40 miles of “purpose-built” trail system will serve a diverse range of users from equestrians to walkers.
The Asheville-based nonprofit Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy’s work included both valuable wildlife habitats, such as the Wiles Creek and Little Rock Creek preserves, and prime farmland at risk of development. Sandy Hollar Farms in Buncombe County and Bowditch Bottoms in Yancey County were among the agricultural projects completed in 2020.
Commission Chair Laura Hudson argued that the rules placed too much emphasis on tree protection and could become an untenable burden for developers. “If you jam too many requirements onto one small parcel, I think you’re going to kill the development altogether,” she said.
Dawn Chávez, the executive director of Asheville GreenWorks, found many threats to the region’s sustainability in 2019. She listed the top five of her worries for Xpress’s year-end review.
For our nonprofit special issue, Mountain Xpress took a look at a spectrum of local nonprofits that have recently experienced significant changes or are in the midst of transformative shifts in management or focus. We also checked in on some of the largest grant funding awards our region has seen this year.
Climate Change and Asheville’s Urban Forest, a symposium organized by Asheville GreenWorks for Thursday, Nov. 14, 5-7:30 p.m., brings together a broad coalition around the results of the city’s recently released canopy study. Urban forest advocates emphasize that trees are critical to help Asheville avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
“Our trees and their arboreal cohorts all across Asheville could be —should be — our city’s most effective and affordable defense against the dangerous flooding, erosion and temperature extremes that climate change is increasingly inflicting on us.”
On Friday, April 26, Goodwill hosts its fifth annual Color Me Goodwill upcycled fashion show at The Orange Peel. The following evening, Saturday, April 27, Asheville GreenWorks kicks off its second Environmental Awards and Trashion Show at the DoubleTree by Hilton Asheville-Biltmore.
