©Jeff Rich/WNCA STFB 2012
Join the Western North Carolina Alliance and our French Broad Riverkeeper on a unique journey down the French Broad River!
This guided trip will take participants from the headwaters on French Broad River over 115 miles into Tennessee, camping out along the French Broad River Paddle Trail℠.
Leaving the food, boats, shuttle and logistics up to us and just enjoy a scenic relaxing float down the French Broad River. The French Broad River is one of the oldest rivers in the world and the paddle trail, that was recently opened by WNCA, was recently featured top four must-do activities in the region by Blue Ridge Outdoors.
We now have a two, four-, and five-day trip options, so book your trip today because we always sell out quickly!
The Volunteer Water Information Network (VWIN) is a stream monitoring program coordinated by the Environmental Quality Institute (EQI).
Volunteers collect stream water samples that are analyzed at the EQI laboratory in Asheville. Buncombe County stream samples are collected at established sites on the first Saturday of each month. After collection, the volunteers take the samples to a designated drop point (usually a gas station cooler) where the samples are refrigerated.
The volunteer coordinator picks up the samples from the drop point and delivers them to the EQI laboratory Monday morning. EQI tests the samples for pH, alkalinity, conductivity, orthophosphate, ammonia-nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, turbidity, and total suspended solids each month.
Buncombe County VWIN Locations – Summer 2014
North Buncombe: Flat Creek near I-26 at Exit 17 (1 site, #27)
Fairview: Cane and Ashworth Creeks at Hwy 74 and Cane Creek at Mills Gap Road (3 sites, #15A, 15B, & 16A)
If you’d like to get involved, contact Ann Marie Traylor at amt@eqilab.org or (828) 333-0392.
Join us in the Warren Wilson College Chapel from 1-8 p.m. on June 16 for a forum on climate change and faith, sponsored by the Food, Faith, and Religious Leadership Initiative at Wake Forest U. School of Divinity, WNC Green Congregations, Western North Carolina Alliance, N.C. Interfaith Power & Light, and host congregation Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church.
Given the realities of climate change, what unique role can faith communities play in North Carolina? In this half-day workshop, we’ll learn from local and national leaders about a wide array of topics related to faith and climate.
This solutions-oriented gathering will explore not only what challenges we face with climate change, but also the unique role faith communities can play in finding creative solutions.
Tired of another guilt-tripping environmental workshop that bums you out and leaves you feeling overwhelmed? This one is different.
We’ll focus on theological reflection, ecological resilience, and that much-neglected biblical virtue of hope. Our evening keynote will be given by biblical scholar and activist Ched Myers.
This forum is free, however, you must register in advance. (Click here to register.)
Note: If you register for the five-day Sabbath Economics and Watershed Discipleship course, you’ll automatically be registered for the forum on June 16.
Tentative Schedule:
1 – 1:30 p.m. Welcome
1:30 – 4 p.m. Workshops (2 tracks, 1 hour each)*
4 – 5:30 p.m. Outings: We will offer three options:
Forest Garden Tour at Warren Wilson’s Permaculture Garden
Birding Walk Along the River
Prayer Labyrinth Walk
5:30 – 7 p.m. Dinner/Fellowship (local BBQ and vegetarian options)
7 – 8 p.m. Keynote with Ched Myers (open to the public)
*We’ll feature two workshop sessions with three offerings each time. Subjects are:
• Climate Change 101 (including regional impacts
• Climate Change, Scripture, & Theology (including justice emphasis)
• Climate Change – Hope, Solutions, & Action
• Climate Change, Food, and Faith
• Climate Change and Congregational Life
• Being a Good Witness: Climate Change Advocacy
If you want to go deeper into these issues, we encourage you to sign up for the course linked to this forum, from June 17-20 with Ched Myers and others in Swannanoa. “Sabbath Economics and Watershed Discipleship” will combine classroom learning, worship, eating together, and hands-on learning. Morning sessions will be led by renowned biblical scholar and activist Ched Myers, who will focus on “watershed discipleship” as a guiding metaphor and theological frame of reference. Afternoons will feature outdoor experiential education in local food gardens. Each day will be bookended with a short service of Psalms, music, and silent prayer (Lauds and Vespers) as a contemplative frame to begin and end our days together. Find out more.
Register here.
Questions? Contact:
Fred Bahnson | Director, Food, Faith, and Religious Leadership Initiative
Email: bahnsoff@wfu.edu
Phone: (828) 553-3564
At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, Sierra Club, WNCA and Asheville Green Drinks will present a free program called “River Canoeing Adventure in Utah on the Dirty Devil River,” by Richard Kark.
Kark will share photos and stories of canoeing and backpacking in Utah from this year.
The program is open to the public and will be at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 1 Edwin Place, at the intersection of Charlotte Street, in Asheville.
For more information, contact Judy Mattox at (828) 683-2176.
Have you voted yet?
Please give WNCA some love in the following categories:
★ Activist Group – Ballot Section: Work & Business
★ Local Environmental Group – Ballot Section: Asheville
★ Local Non-Profit – Ballot Section: Asheville
★ Local Hero: French Broad Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson – Ballot Section: Asheville
Click HERE to vote now!
(Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. May 21.)
Merger Background:
Our boards and staff have been in this focused discussion for eight months. We explored several options for working together more closely, and we’ve talked to our major funders, partner groups, and other stakeholders. The overwhelming conclusion from this exploration was that we should combine forces and, earlier this year, all three boards voted to move toward a formal merger that will result in a single organization.
Here’s why we think a merger makes sense:
1. Through increased local presence, we want to have a stronger influence on policy at all levels of government.
2. We want to build a stronger organization and increase our geographic reach.
3. We need to strengthen our grassroots engagement and involve a broader spectrum of the population to be most successful.
What’s in it for the Alliance? For starters, the opportunity to work on issues in parts of our region where we have not worked much because these sister organizations were working there.
By merging, we will gain members, a new office, and staff in Hendersonville, which will enable us to engage citizens in Henderson, Polk, Rutherford, and Transylvania counties in ways we have not before.
We will also gain new members in Highlands and Cashiers and begin work on issues there, hopefully so much so that we will be able to re-staff our Franklin office with a full-time person. That will allow us to better serve not just Highlands and Cashiers, but all of the far western counties. In short, a larger organization will have more resources and expertise to tackle local and regional issues better than each organization has been able to on its own.
A stronger, more visible organization will also more easily attract new members and help build a larger community of advocates for the protection of Western North Carolina’s natural resources and quality of life. We firmly believe that the whole will be more than the sum of its parts.
A merger does mean some changes for the Alliance.
First, while the new organization will be a membership organization, new bylaws will change the Alliance’s historical chapter/task force and board structure.
There will still be a way for people to come together around local issues, but those local groups will not necessarily be represented on the board. Instead, the new bylaws will require geographic diversity on the board so that all regions, especially those covered by ECO and J-MCA, are well represented.
Finally, while the merged organization will likely inhabit the Alliance’s corporate form, we will take this opportunity to explore a name change to reflect the merger and to better convey the mission of the new organization.
Questions? Contact WNCA Co-Director Julie Mayfield at Julie@WNCA.org, or WNCA Co-Director Bob Wagner at BobW@WNCA.org.
Thank you for being part of this exciting opportunity for WNCA and for our work to protect the mountains, rivers and forests of this beautiful region!
Join us for a clean energy outing and tour of the EnergyXChange “A Renewable Energy Center” in Burnsville, NC.
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In 1994 the Yancey and Mitchell County landfill closed and local leaders went to work on ways to use the space and harness the landfill gases. While two of North Carolina’s most rural counties, Yancey and Mitchell County is home to some of America’s most creative artists and beautiful native plants. This led to the idea to turn the former landfill into a place where developing artists could work and grow while at the same time supporting greenhouses that cultivate endangered flora while utilizing the landfill gas.
EnergyXchange’s mission is to apply the use of renewable resources and practices for educational opportunities and economic development in the fields of art and horticulture.
True to its mission, EnergyXchange has made big strides in both harnessing otherwise harmful landfill gases and educating the community while providing opportunities for financial as well as creative cultivation to the community. In 1999 the landfill gas system was activated – a beautiful homage to Earth Day. Landfill gases are made up of about 50% methane, the primary component of natural gas, 50% carbon dioxide, and a small amount of other organic compounds. The collection system launched at EnergyXChange prevents these gases from seeping upward and fleeing into the air. This is an incredible feat as it lowers greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to smog and climate change.
So, what exactly is EnergyXChange doing with the landfill gas it captures? Well, they are harnessing the gas and using it as an energy source to run their facilities. Methane gas from the decommissioned landfill powers a hot shop for glass blowers, a pottery kiln, and supplies radiant heat for the studios, greenhouses, education center, offices and art gallery.
You’re probably wondering “how did this marvelous idea come about?” The idea for EnergyXchange was created through the partnership of three organizations–Blue Ridge Resource Conservation and Development Council (BRRC&D), HandMade in America (HandMade), and Mayland Community College (MCC)–all recognized for their strong track records in education, the promotion of crafts, and community and resource development and environmental protection in Western North Carolina. The nonprofit corporation, EnergyXchange, was formed September 13, 1999 and received its tax exempt status in 2000.
EnergyXchange has become one of the nation’s model energy recovery projects and is used regionally, nationally, and internationally as an example of successful small landfill gas projects. The EPA Methane to Markets Program included EnergyXchange in a 2008 landfill gas workshop in Poland and was included on a tour of Western North Carolina by Gov. Beth Perdue and Sen. Joe Sam Queen in the spring of 2010. Also in 2010, delegations from Mexico, Canada, Brazil and India toured EnergyXchange to gain insights into developing similar projects.
The tour of the EnergyXChange will consist of:
- An explanation of how the Landfill Gas is extracted from the landfill
- The clay studio and kiln
- The glass studio
- Greenhouses and an explanation of how the Landfill Gas provides heat for our buildings
- We will complete the tour with an outdoor green potluck picnic, please bring a sustainable dish to share with others!
For more information on this incredible organization and its projects as well as pictures please visit their website.
For question please contact Education and Outings Coordinator: Isabelle Rios at isabelle@wnca.org or by calling her at 828-258-8737 ext. 201.
- What: EnergyXChange Tour
- When: Friday, May 23rd
- Where: 66 Energy Exchange Dr, Burnsville, NC
- Time: Tour will begin at 11 AM ; Potluck will begin around 12:30 .
- Cost: FREE for WNCA Members; $5 for non-members; *Special* $20 -includes 1 year membership-
Come out on May 17 to help WNCA and our friends at Headwaters Outfitters at the 23rd annual spring French Broad River cleanup.
We’ll provide breakfast, lunch and good music!
This event is free, but spaces are limited and a reservation is required.
Call Headwaters Outfitters at (828) 877-3106, or visit www.headwatersoutfitters.com for more information and to reserve your spot.
By Cynthia Strain, chairwoman of WNCA’s B.E.A.R. Task Force
Highlands is about to get a lot smarter about bears since Mayor Pat Taylor signed a proclamation designating May as Bear Aware Month.
With more than 10,000 black bears in North Carolina, it is not surprising that human/bear encounters and their attendant problems are becoming more common. Even though a bear will naturally try to avoid humans, we keep putting temptations in their paths. This is dangerous, as people in central Florida are finding out the hard way.
In December 2013 and again in April 2014, women were attacked by black bears while walking down the street or being on their own property. In the first case, a woman was walking her dog. Even though garbage was not present, bears had been in the neighborhood going through trashcans. In the second case (Lake Mary, Fla.) five bears were going through rubbish left in an open garage when one of them mauled the homeowner.
It is bad enough that two women were seriously injured. Worse is that nine bears (at least) were killed as a result. Think about it: nine bears lost their lives because humans were careless with their waste!
The bears that were targeted by state wildlife officers were killed because they showed no fear of humans, and thus, were considered potentially dangerous.
We are fortunate that this hasn’t happened yet in Highlands. Today more and more people realize their responsibility in properly managing their waste, their birdfeeders, their BBQ’s, and their pets. That is the only way we will be able to live in peace with our bear neighbors.
For the month of May, the B.E.A.R. Task Force will have weekly articles about bears in the Highlander Newspaper. Next week look for one about bear family life by Kathy Sherrard, volunteer educator with B.E.A.R. and Appalachian Bear Rescue.
If you want more information, pick up one of our brochures on living and hiking safely in bear country at the Post Office, Town Hall, Chamber of Commerce, Mill Creek Gallery and Mountain Heritage.
Come cookout and party with us to benefit WNCA and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in our efforts to protect the water and the environment!
“Water You Waiting For?” is scheduled for 4-9 p.m., May 3 at The Altamont Brewing Company in West Asheville.There will be live music, raffle prizes, a silent auction and fun for the kids!
Click here for event details!
