Don McGowan
Join the Western North Carolina and Photographer Don McGowan (Earthsong Photography) for a very special weekend photography workshop (with all proceeds going to WNCA) to focus on Appalachian Barns.
“The Appalachian Barn Workshop: The Barns of Haywood and Madison Counties” is a three-day workshop that will take you to 11 historic and photogenic barns throughout Madison and Haywood counties. Don McGowan will offer a full day of field work in Madison and Haywood counties, a creative program and a full critique session.
Don’s love for nature began early on in his life. He grew up in the rolling Piedmont hills of Georgia, the child of farm children and the grandchild of farmers. As a teenager he spent much of his time exploring the forests, wetlands, and river valleys of the northern and central parts of his native Georgia. Later, during undergraduate and law school, his range expanded to include the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, as well as the swamps of the southeastern coastal plain. As Don moved into his working career, he discovered that rather than wanting to spend less time in Nature, he wanted to spend more. He has now been a professional nature photographer for 20 years.
The essence of what Don has learned:
“The images that we make are the reflections of our heart. From the moment we are born, and even sooner, we begin to receive impressions from the world around us; and, from those impressions, questions begin to be answered: What sort of place is this? Is it safe, or no? Does it mean me good or ill? What is this thing called beauty and how can I know it? What part do I play in all of this?
At some moment in time, the impressions begin to coalesce into pictures, the world takes on form, we become aware of elemental design; and these things stand before us within a context of light and shadow that is constantly changing. We see this with our eyes, in our minds, and within the core of our being. And we respond.
For some, the response is a verse, a song, the lines of a story; for others, it takes on shape and form: a bowl, the moldings of a sculptured body; for me, it became a photograph. For I have found over the years that I best connect with the world through the creation of images; I best express that connection through the medium of pictures; and I best share that expression – my love of this earth – through the eyes of a camera and lens.”
EarthSong Photography
Friday:
6:30 p.m. – This introductory meeting will serve to help get everyone well acquainted with one another and with Don. We will meet at the WNCA office for hors d’ oeuvres and drinks.
Saturday:
6:30 a.m. – Field Day. We’ll be out barn hopping and photographing all day! A carpool will be organized and lunch will be in Mars Hill.
Sunday:
EarthSong Photography
8 a.m. – We will meet back at the WNCA office. Light breakfast and coffee will be served. Each participant will receive a personalized critique from Don in a group setting. The critiques will end around noon.
Cost:
$275 for WNCA-members and $295 for non-members (includes a one-year membership). The cost of each ticket includes a $10 donation to the Appalachian Barn Alliance to help preserve the historic buildings.
Requirements:
A digital camera that allows raw capture.
People of all experience levels are invited to join!
**If you have any technical questions or concerns about your camera please contact Don McGowan at don@EarthSongPhotography.com or call him at 828.788.0687.
Registration:
*Spots are very limited*
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Credit: PR WEB
Join us for a free tour of the NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in downtown Asheville!
Asheville became home to the world’s largest active archive of weather data in 1951. The NCDC strives to organize and disseminate US climate weather records and water temperature changes gathered by ocean buoys. It is not a forecasting agency but rather an agency that collects and provides years of data to the public. The NCDC is the only organization that can provide official climatic data records for use in a court of law.
The NCDC maintains the world’s largest climate data archive and provides climatological services and data to every sector of the United States economy and to users worldwide. Records in the archive range from paleoclimatology data to centuries-old journals to data less than an hour old. The Center’s mission is to preserve these data and make them available to the public, business, industry, government, and researchers.
During this tour we will visit the Paper Archives and the Educational Research Consortium (ERC). The ERC reveals the new and improved way of data capture. This new method functions via computers and satellites and consists of satellite data that is captured and sent to the NCDC.
The tour will last about 1 hour and will begin at 10:30 AM. It is designed to show the progression from paper records to computer facilitated data capture. The National Climatic Data Center is located in downtown Asheville at 151 Patton Ave. Parking is available on the street as well as in the Wall St. Parking Garage (free for the first hour).
To learn more about the NCDC please visit their website.
If you would like to participate in this tour please email Education and Outings Coordinator, Isabelle Rios, at isabelle@wnca.org or call her at 828.258.8737 ext. 201.
Asheville skyline/ashevillenc.gov
WNCA is hosting an event with our community partners that will help you make positive change in your communities, better understand our local governments and prepare folks who may want to serve on a local board or commission.
The session, organized by Western North Carolina Alliance, North Carolina Conservation Network and Just Economics, will provide an overview of the structure and financing of government operations as well as ways you can be more involved.
We’ll hear from folks in the community who have been in a public service role, work for government, and empower others to serve their community. Come find out how you can make positive change happen in your community.
We hope to see you there!
WHEN: 6 – 8:30 p.m. March 20
WHERE: Room 314 Lenoir-Rhyne Campus, 36 Montford Ave., Asheville (Chamber of Commerce building)
COST: FREE! Dinner will be provided.
(FREE onsite childcare will be provided but you must make a reservation specifically for childcare by calling Just Economics at (828) 505-7466.)
*An RSVP is REQUIRED by completing the form below. Thank you!*
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Western North Carolina Alliance
to visit the Biltmore Estate on Saturday, March 15, 2014
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Join us Saturday March 15 for a unique Clean Energy and Sustainability Tour of the Biltmore Estate, which is not available to the public. This tour will showcase Biltmore’s sustainability and clean energy initiatives in addition to providing an opportunity to tour the house, grounds, and Antler Hill Village.
Custom Tour 
Since George Vanderbilt began the construction of his home in North Carolina, the family has shown leadership in environmental stewardship and conservation. Biltmore is proud that its daily operations feature a number of sustainable practices, and these include:
- Using best management practices, such as livestock walkways and water tanks to ensure water quality in the Upper French Broad and Swannanoa River basins.
- Seeding of grass to create field borders to prevent fertilizer run off into creeks and rivers.
- Planting a 60 acre Canola Field. Canola seeds will be harvested and pressed that into a food-grade cooking oil which can be used by chefs frying up dishes in the kitchens of Biltmore restaurants.
- Using vegetable oil from Biltmore restaurants as Biodiesel fuel for powering equipment used on the estate
- Using Solar Power – The 6-acre, 1.2 mega-watt Solar Array on the Estate features 5,000 solar panels and uses advanced technology with superior performance, even on cloudy days. The ultimate hope is for the estate to generate all of its power needs in the future.
Unlike other visits to Biltmore, this one offers an opportunity to tour the grounds with a Biltmore representative, Vice President of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Ted Katsigianis. He will share information on the Canola Fields and Solar Panel projects with your group while on a riding tour of these areas.
Self-Guided Visit to Biltmore House, Gardens & Antler Hill Village
House: The Biltmore House is America’s largest privately owned home, and a visit there offers the opportunity to cross the threshold into a world of hospitality, beauty, and luxury that has remained virtually unchanged for more than a century. Your group may view priceless, carefully preserved artworks and furnishings while walking through the house at your own pace. The self-guided visit takes approximately 60-90 minutes.
Gardens: Enjoy the walking paths and trails from the Library Terrace of Biltmore House to the Bass Pond which wind themselves through six distinctly different gardens as well as several woodland and meadow trails. The grounds of the 125,000-acre estate were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York’s Central Park and the father of American landscape architecture. He not only developed acres of gardens and parkland, but in his efforts to protect the environment and reclaim over-farmed land, Olmsted established America’s first managed forest.
Antler Hill Village: Visit the Antler Hill Barn to learn more about Biltmore’s agricultural heritage and pop into the Biltmore Legacy Exhibition Hall to walk through the current exhibit, which is “The Vanderbilt’s at Home and Abroad.” A stop at the Winery is a must for anyone who enjoys good food and wine. Complimentary wine tastings will be offered throughout the day and you can put the finishing touches on your Village experience by shopping or relaxing at the Village Green.
Itinerary
9:30 a.m. Arrive at entrance to Biltmore and travel to parking areas near Biltmore House
10 -12 p.m – Self-guided tour of the Antler Hill Village
12 – 1 pm – Free time for lunch, and more exploring
1 pm – Return to Biltmore House area
1 – 2:15 pm – Meet guide in front of Biltmore House and board the Biltmore shuttle for Custom Tour highlighting Canola Fields and Solar Panels projects
2:15 – 3:30 pm – Self-guided tour of the Biltmore House
Cost for this Custom WNCA tour of the Biltmore Estate is $40 for WNCA members and $55 for non-members *includes 1 year membership, and $20 for members with Biltmore Estate Year Pass-Holders, and $35 for non-members with Biltmore Estate Year Pass-Holders
If you have any questions about this outing or registration please e-mail Outings and Education Coordinator Isabelle Rios: Isabelle@WNCA.org or call her at 828-258-8737, ext. 201.
Employees with Green Opportunities helped eradicate invasive plants on an outing in October./Hendersonville Times-News
Want to volunteer but can’t decide which opportunity is the best fit? This is the first in a series of volunteer orientations to learn more details.
Orientations will be on select Tuesdays from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Come at 5:30 for snacks and social time. The program starts at 6 and is limited to 15 people.
Feb. 25: Identifying Exotic Invasive Plants
WNCA Ecologist and Public Lands Director Bob Gale will talk about how to identify and remove these unwanted invaders. Take home a calendar of the year’s schedule of invasive eradication events. You can also sign up to be on a team of dedicated eradicators!
Click here to let us know you’ll be joining us!
Join us as the largest environmental film festival in the United States comes back
to Western North Carolina!
The Western North Carolina Alliance presents the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, on tour in Asheville during the week leading up to Earth Day! For nearly a decade, the festival has been touring the country and this year the festival will make its third annual appearance in Western North Carolina on April 15. We invite you to join us for this exciting event!
It is a festival by activists and for activists. For more than 30 years, WNCA has been a building a community to protect and restore the forests and rivers of our home. The Wild & Scenic Film Festival puts our work–and yours–into the broader environmental and social context, and serves to remind us that we’re participants in a global movement for a more wild and scenic world.
At Wild & Scenic, filmgoers are transformed into a congregation of committed activists, dedicated to saving our increasingly threatened planet. We show environmental and adventure films that illustrate the Earth’s beauty, the challenges facing our planet, and the work communities are doing to protect the environment. Through these films, Wild & Scenic both informs people about the state of the world and inspires them to take action.
New this year: VIP Special Access Pre-Festival Party!
Join us from 5-6:30 p.m. before the film festival at Tressa’s Downtown Jazz & Blues for hors d’oeuvres and an open bar, and the chance to meet Jeremy Monroe, director of the non-profit organization Freshwaters Illustrated in Eugene, Ore. Monroe will present two new films at the VIP party and will share background and insights about filming fresh waters in Western North Carolina, and the threats our fish and waters face. VIP tickets ($40/WNCA members,$55/non-members) include this special meet-and-greet, as well as reserved seating at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival.
Check out our Facebook Page for a sneak peak at film stills and trailers!
(PLEASE NOTE: Online ticket sales end at NOON on April 15. Remaining tickets will be available at the DOOR ONLY after online sales close. Thank you!)
We would like to extend a special Thank You to our 2014 sponsors:
Major Sponsor: Krull and Company
Roots Hummus
Asheville on Bikes
For sponsorship opportunities please contact WNCA Development Associate Sabrina Wells at Sabrina@WNCA.org or by calling her at (828) 258-8737, ext. 215. Thank you.
