Together, the city of Asheville and Buncombe County approved over $11 million in funding to install roughly 7 megawatts of solar power at public facilities and area schools. The projects are anticipated to save the governments and local schools roughly $650,000 in electricity costs in the first year and more than $27 million over the installations’ 30-year operational life.
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.
“What does the establishment of a wild bird sanctuary mean?” asked an editorial in the Sunday, Feb. 23, 1947 edition of the Asheville Citizen-Times. “It means that the birds of the area are officially recognized as worthy residents and entitled to certain rights and privileges.”
“This spring, National Audubon Society scientists teamed up with the National Park Service to release a peer-reviewed study, which revealed that climate change is likely to have significant impacts on birds in over 270 national parks, including our own Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.”
Every Christmas season since 1900, birders across North and Latin America have braved wintry conditions to participate in the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count. On Monday, Jan. 1, Asheville’s ornithological enthusiasts will contribute their own observations to the Christmas Bird Count’s 118th year.
When the rivers run full and the trees and flowers blossom,
when the world wakes up to the sounds of birds singing,
That’s the feeling of the new season springing.
photo by Eric Crews
