The showcase will feature more than a dozen local vendors in the industry, including photographers, florists, musicians and stationery printers.
Tag: Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy
Showing 1-21 of 52 results
Top of the town: Conservancy may save Deaverview from development
The 342-acre tract atop Deaverview Mountain, just five miles from downtown Asheville, was purchased by an anonymous conservationist in March with the intention of selling the land to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. SAHC has three years to obtain federal and state grants to repay the buyer, then it plans to turn the property over to Buncombe County as a park or preserve.
Why I volunteer: New knowledge
Bettye Fox Boone and Saylor Fox are volunteers with Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. The organization conserves unique plant and animal habitat, clean water, farmland, scenic beauty in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. How long have you been volunteering with the conservancy and what inspired you to join? We have been volunteering with the Southern […]
Thinking green: Bridging community and environmentalism
LaKyla Hodges is the equity and education manager of Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.
Buncombe seeks new county park via partnership
Within the next few years, Buncombe County residents may have new public trails to roam close to downtown Asheville. The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously April 18 to partner with the Asheville-based conservation nonprofit Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy to explore acquiring 343 acres on Deaverview Mountain for what could become the county’s largest […]
Buncombe sets hearing to block crypto mines
At its regular meeting April 4, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to set a public hearing on the moratorium for Tuesday, May 2.
Green in brief: MountainTrue turns 2022 Bioblitz into friendly competition
“By expanding the blitz to four counties and making a game of it, we hope to be able to engage more people and find more species,” said MountainTrue Public Lands Biologist Josh Kelly. “We might even find some that have never been recorded in our region.”
Green in brief: Chestnut Mountain Nature Park opens to public
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.
Green in brief: State budget brings millions in environmental funding to WNC
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.
Regional land trusts celebrate major donations
On April 22, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy shared news of a 7,500-acre donation in the Roan Highlands. That same day, Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina announced a 332-acre donation along Wilson Creek.
Green in brief: WNC gets $100K toward charging stations, RiverLink seeks storm drain adoptions
The charging station program, funded by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality from part of the state’s allocation in the Volkswagen emissions-cheating scandal, partially defrays the cost of installing Level 2 infrastructure, which can recharge electric vehicles up to seven times as quickly as a standard 120-volt outlet.
Green in brief: SAHC conserves nearly 3,000 acres; OGS gets social
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.
On gratitude: Angela Shepherd
“With our diverse backgrounds, experiences and deep, heartfelt passion for conservation, I kind of feel like the Avengers assembled — and we always end our meetings with ‘go team.'”
Regional businesses share success with nonprofits
For many WNC nonprofits, business support and partnerships comprise a significant part of their budgets. And while Asheville has a comparatively large number of nonprofits per capita, area businesses rise to the need.
Green in brief: WNC shows air quality improvement, AG Stein awards $340K to area environmental work
According to a new study by Filterbuy, an air filter industry website, the median air quality index in the Asheville metropolitan area was 15.3% better over the period from 2015-2019 compared with the period from 2005-2009. The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton and Greenville, S.C., metros also showed big improvements.
Green in brief: P&Z says no to tree protection ordinance, WNC turkey harvest hits record high
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.
Green in brief: Buncombe merges conservation departments, WNC trail closures
On March 17, the county announced that it would combine its Soil and Water Conservation District with N.C. Cooperative Extension to form the Agriculture and Land Resources Department. Meanwhile, the managers of numerous area parks and trails have opted to restrict access in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Green in brief: Asheville coal ash landfill hearing on Dec. 19, bear concerns escalate
At 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19, a public hearing will take place in Room B of the Mission Health/A-B Tech Conference Center at 340 Victoria Road in Asheville regarding Duke Energy’s plans to build a 12.5-acre landfill on its property beside Lake Julian.
News briefs: Tourism input shared, Filipino American history celebrated
The results of a months-long public input process to gauge perceptions of the tourism industry on Buncombe County will be shared at a free event on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Southern Appalachians Highlands Conservancy announced it has protected 139 acres in the Beaverdam watershed in Haywood County, and the Better Buses Together campaign is urging local residents to advocate for increased transit funding.
Environmental groups unite for Climate Justice Rally
Taking place at the Vance Monument from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20, the rally brings together 15 area organizations in a call for change. The speaker lineup includes Anita Simha with the North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign, Lucia Ibarra of Dogwood Alliance, the Rev. Scott Hardin-Nieri from the Creation Care Alliance, UNC Asheville Assistant Professor Evan Couzo and Sunrise Movement member Shane McCarthy.
Nonprofits work with developers to conserve WNC
With flat land at a premium, how can new housing developments arise to accommodate the influx of new Ashevilleans without sacrificing water quality or the majesty of unspoiled vistas? Some conservationists say the answer lies with “sustainably developed” neighborhoods.
