Celebrate Earth Day with MountainTrue during the Andrews Spring Fling festival! Join us for an easy nature walk suitable for all ages along a flat gravel walking trail. Registration for this outing is required.
The state projects that in the next 25 years, over 75,000 people will move to Buncombe County. Housing experts estimate that these newcomers will require around 50,000 new homes. Where will these homes be built? Can our roads absorb this influx of new residents? How can we preserve our rural heritage while building town centers that people love?
Using Smart Growth Principles as a guide, Joyell will explore these questions against the backdrop of the ongoing Comprehensive Planning effort, which will inform the next 25 years of growth and development in Buncombe County. He will discuss how we can realize a vision for growth that encourages economic development, respects our natural resources and agricultural heritage and enhances our quality of life for generations to come.
The 15th Annual Watershed Gala and Holman Water Quality Stewardship Award presentation is scheduled for Thursday, April 28, 2022, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. The Gala and Award presentation will be held in person at the Hackney Warehouse. We hope you will join us for a delightful evening of laughter, fun, and camaraderie… and to help honor this year’s Holman Water Quality Stewardship Award winner!
Tickets are $30 per person — each ticket includes hors d’oeuvres and two drink tickets (beer, wine, and soft drinks). Ticket sales conclude on Thursday, April 21. Register Here: https://mountaintrue.org/2022-watershed-gala/
Valle Crucis Community Park is hosting the 2nd Annual Valle Crucis Park Bio Blitz on April 30. Stop by anytime to explore the meadows and wetlands along the river and help us find and identify as many different plants, animals, and fungi as we can for the Park’s species list! The event runs from dawn to dusk. We will also be setting up a table and workshop for all ages to learn more about aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish species in the Watauga River.
We will hike the Appalachian Trail and enjoy stunning displays of wildflowers in the largest protected grove of ash trees along the Appalachian Trail. Along the way, we will pull a beginning infestation of Garlic Mustard. In addition to being a noxious weed, garlic mustard makes a fine pesto, and there will be plenty of raw material if folks want to take some foliage home with them. Registration is required for this event.
Join MountainTrue, Polk County Parks & Recreation, Conserving Carolina, and the Lake Adger Community in welcoming the summer months and celebrating the completion of improvements at Lake Adger! The Lake Adger Celebration is a free, family-friendly event that will take place at the Lake Adger boat ramp. The Celebration will be fun for the whole family with guided kayak tours,
fishing demonstrations, activities for kids, and more!
Join members of the High Country Habitat Restoration Coalition on May 7 at Brookshire Park from 1-3 p.m. to remove non-native invasive species along the pathways and trails. We will be working to eradicate invasives. Bring your love of native plants and your desire to keep Boone beautiful!
Read what Liquid Logic has to say about their Coupe XP: "Versatility is the name of the game these days. This one-of-a-kind hybrid design is fun, stable, easy to paddle and is as comfortable on rivers and lakes as it is riding your favorite ocean break. The Coupe is the choice when looking for one sit on top that can and will do it all. " Estimated value: $1,000.
Join us at the Spring Green Bash at Green River Adventures on May 7, 2022 to see if you're the lucky winner! (though you do not need to be present to win) Tickets sales end on May 7, 2022 and may be purchased at the event.
We are excited to announce the official launch of the 2022 Swim Guide sampling season! Swim Guide sampling will begin May 25, and we need volunteers to collect water samples every Wednesday throughout the summer. Sites include various swimming and recreational sites along the Watauga (NC & TN), Elk, and New rivers. We are adding several new sampling sites this year that we need a group or an individual to adopt. The E. coli results are uploaded as pass/fail and updated every Friday on www.swimguide.org to provide the public with up-to-date recreational bacteria levels. If you are interested in becoming a Swim Guide volunteer with us please attend this training session to learn more about the program and testing procedures.
On Thursday, May 12th from 6:00-7:00 PM, Hendersonville Green Drinks presents the fourth of our four-part webinar series entitled Good Growth Makes Good Sense. The guest speakers will be MountainTrue’s French Broad Riverkeeper, Hartwell Carson, and MountainTrue’s Central Region Director, Gray Jernigan. The presentation, State of the River: How Land Use Planning Can Make or Break Water Quality is in direct response to public input, as reflected in the results of the early phases of Henderson County’s 2045 Comprehensive Planning process. This special monthly series is a collaboration between MountainTrue and Conserving Carolina.
