GUIDE TO HIKING – American Hiking Society and Hobby Help
Get outside and enjoy one of the simplest, most reinvigorating hobbies there is: hiking.
If you’re new to hiking, read on to learn what you need to know before you hit the trails, whether you’re planning a stroll through the woods or a multi-day backpacking trip.
NORTH CAROLINA’S MUSICAL LEGACY – All Year Round
One hundred years ago, folk song collector Cecil Sharp made an arduous journey from England to the southern Appalachians in search of a musical holy grail. Sharp was seeking what he believed were the oldest, purest forms of British Isles balladry in oral tradition.
Asheville Greenworks of Buncombe County – Program Spotlight: Urban Forestry
Here at GreenWorks, we know that trees contribute to a better quality of life. Trees provide oxygen, improve air and water quality, reduce stormwater management costs, and offer important habitat to urban wildlife. In addition, studies show that they promote greater physical activity, reduce stress and improve mental health, and even lead to reduced crime rates.
MOUNTAIN TRUE – Action, Issues & Advocacy
The NC Department of Environmental Quality has extended the deadline for public feedback about North Carolina’s coal combustion residuals (CCR) rules from March 22 to April 6. The DEQ has indicated that they plan to enact their own state CCR rules in addition to the federal rules, which are at risk of being weakened by current EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. If the federal rules are weakened, we need to make sure the state CCR rules can step in to help defend our waters and our communities.
CONSERVING CAROLINA
We are Conserving Carolina, formed by the consolidation of two sister organizations, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and Pacolet Area Conservancy. Our organizations, each with deep roots and strong histories of conserving our lands and natural resources, have united to increase conservation efforts in our area. Combining our expertise, talents and resources under a consolidated banner, we can do more for you!
Hike WNC
There are hundreds upon hundreds of individual hiking trails in Western North Carolina, but how do you piece them together into an outing with a great destination? We’ve done that work for you!
#Explore Historic Western North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area is dotted with small towns and cities with downtowns and neighborhoods that have been officially designated as Historic Districts in North Carolina. Some of these quaint small Appalachian towns began as post-Revolutionary War settlements. Others evolved from 19th-century farm communities or as a direct result of the coming of the railroad to Western North Carolina after the Civil War.
Guides to WNC’s Diverse Natural Wonders of the Southern Blue Ridge
At 250 million years of age, the Appalachians are now passing through the mature phase that such violently uplifted terrain experiences as it erodes and becomes extraordinarily diverse in two regards: plant life and distinctive natural communities.
Those benchmarks apply to the entire range from the Gaspe Peninsula in Canada to the foothills of Alabama. But the greatest diversity, in both regards, is attained in the Southern Blue Ridge Province, which extends from just south of Roanoke in Virginia to Mount Oglethorpe in north Georgia, encompassing portions of east Tennessee, Western North Carolina and northwest South Carolina. Continue reading
The Astronomy Club of Asheville Sky Calendar
The Astronomy Club of Asheville is a501(c)3, non-profit organization that is open to visitors and is dedicated to helping people understand and enjoy astronomy at all levels of interest. No equipment is needed to participate. Many of us have one or more telescopes and either observe or image or both. Some of us observe using only binoculars or our unaided eyes. But all of us love the night sky, and we enjoy both learning more about it and sharing our knowledge of it with others. Click here for Meeting and Star Gazes
Girls on the Run
Welcome to Girls on the Run! – a life-changing, non-profit program for girls in the 3rd through 8th grade. Our mission is to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running. Click here to see our IMPACT STUDY
ASHEVILLE GREENWORKS – Love where you live – Events and Volunteer Opportunities
Asheville GreenWorks is a volunteer based 501(c)(3) working to enhance the environment and quality of life for the citizens of Asheville and Buncombe County through awareness building, community activities and partnership.
** Fairs & Festivals throughout WNC
WNC Guidebook and Asheville Events Calendar for NC Mountains
Here’s a more extensive compilation of some of the fabulous, year-round fair and festival offerings the Western North Carolina region has to offer. Please also visit our calendar for specific dates of many other events as well. Festival organizers: if you wish to be considered for inclusion in this list, please send the information to [email protected].
MOUNTAIN TRUE Year-round Events
OUR VISION: MountainTrue envisions Western North Carolina with thriving communities that are connected to and help sustain a healthy natural environment. To achieve this, MountainTrue will foster and empower advocates throughout the region to be engaged in policy and project advocacy, outreach and education, and on the ground projects. MountainTrue will be known as the region’s best respected and highest impact conservation organization and will be seen as a national model. http://mountaintrue.org/about-us/
THE SIX BEAR-WISE BASICS
Know About the Black Bear
Offered by Ed Raiola
NEVER APPROACH BEARS
WNC Conservation Organizations – offered by Muddy Sneakers
Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy
Conservation Trust for North Carolina
Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association
Guide to the Natural Communities of North Carolina
This document presents a revised framework for the classification of natural communities in North Carolina. Natural communities are central to the work of the Natural Heritage Program. Tracking occurrences of good examples of them comprises a major portion of the program’s inventory and database work. Natural communities are important components of biodiversity. They also represent a crucial means of conserving species diversity, as they offer a means of capturing many of the poorly known and un-tracked species that occur in them. The classification of natural communities has also proved useful for a variety of other purposes, including guiding research, organizing ecological information, characterizing sites, and defining habitat for particular species.
GUIDE TO THE NATURAL COMMUNITIES OF NORTH CAROLINA
Books and publications recommended by George Ellison on North Carolina’s natural heritage:
Exploring North Carolina’s Natural Areas: Parks, Nature Preserves, and Hiking Trails (UNC Press, 2000) edited by Dirk Frakenberg, is a collection of 36 Tour Guides divided among the coastal, coastal plain, piedmont and the mountains.
Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachians and Waterfalls and Wildflowers in the Southern Appalachians: Thirty Great Hikes (UNC Press) by Timothy P. Spira
**Appalachian Indian Trails by Lamar Marshall
Three hundred years ago, the southern Appalachians were home to the sovereign Cherokee Nation. Over fifty towns and settlements were connected by a well-worn system of foot trails, some of which later became wagon roads turnpiked by Cherokee turnpike companies. This Indian trail system, which climaxed around 1800, was the blueprint for the basic circuitry of the region’s modern road and interstate system.
Stagnant European economies and the discovery of new natural resources sparked competitive world markets that led to wars between nations to procure land, gold, furs and slaves from North America. By the 1700’s, the British, French and Spanish were fighting for control of the modern Southeast. Continue reading
Friends of the Smokies Presents “Books to Take Backpacking”
History, poetry, and children’s literature inspired by the Great Smoky Mountains will be featured in “Books to Take Backpacking,” presented by the Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Historian Margaret Brown, poet Thomas Rain Crowe, and children’s author Ann Clayton will read from their works at 3 p.m.Sunday, April 15, at Malaprop’s Bookstore and Café, 55 Haywood St in downtown Asheville. This “Writers at Home” event will encourage and inspire stewardship of the Great Smoky Mountains, and is free and open to the public.
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