Calendar of Events

Once you start seeing all the plastics you use, you can’t unsee it.

You reach for your chips, your tube of toothpaste, or your plastic sandwich bags, and feel guilty that all that packaging will spend the rest of time in the landfill.

Us too.

Plastic is super light, but the average person throws away more than 110 lbs of it each year  – the equivalent of almost 9,100 plastic soda bottles.

It’s too much. And we decided it doesn’t have to be that way.

We just have to get creative.

When we first started tracking our plastic waste, we challenged ourselves:

How little could we use?

Replacing plastic drink bottles with a reusable bottle was simple.

Keeping reusable shopping bags in the car to grab on the way into the store was also easy.

What’s the next level?

Join our Race2Reduce to find out!

Race2Reduce is your pledge to decrease your plastic use for the entire month of May.

Once you sign up HERE we will send you plastic tips, volunteer opportunities, and educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses!

But you won’t do it alone.

You’re joining a whole community of action takers opening their minds and kitchen pantries to plastic alternatives.

Plus there’s a little friendly competition…

How it works: Earn points to win a $75, $50, or $25 gift certificate to Ware, a local sustainability and refill shop in downtown Asheville.

5pts: Like or share a MYPM Instagram or Facebook post

10pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

15pts: Answer our Friday Trivia question

20pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

25pts: Lead your own trash clean up with GreenWorks’ supplies

Enter to win by pledging to reduce your plastic here. 

(*Be sure to check the box that asks if you want to be in the running for prizes.) 

Lots of plastics aren’t recyclable, and when we throw them “away,” they only go as far as the Buncombe County landfill off Panther Branch Road in Alexander.

So here’s the thing:

If you want to get in shape, no one else can do your push-ups for you.

If you want to feel awesome, no one else can choose your car dance song for you.

And if you want to protect your home and health from plastic pollution, no one else can choose to consume less plastic for you.

But we CAN do it together.

Over 400 residents participated in the last Mind Your Plastic May plastic reduction challenge – and together we diverted 6,750 lbs of trash from the landfill in just 30 days.

Will you help us break that record this year? Join here.

We’re proud that so many of our fellow Ashevillians are working to end their reliance on plastic! Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort, and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. Mind Your Plastic May 2022 is presented for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville. #goingplasticfree.

Questions?  Give us a shout at: [email protected]

P.S. It’s Mind Your Plastic May, which means we’re taking action to reduce plastic all month long!

Check out all our events and activities here: ashevillegreenworks.org/mind-your-plastic-may

Once you start seeing all the plastics you use, you can’t unsee it.

You reach for your chips, your tube of toothpaste, or your plastic sandwich bags, and feel guilty that all that packaging will spend the rest of time in the landfill.

Us too.

Plastic is super light, but the average person throws away more than 110 lbs of it each year  – the equivalent of almost 9,100 plastic soda bottles.

It’s too much. And we decided it doesn’t have to be that way.

We just have to get creative.

When we first started tracking our plastic waste, we challenged ourselves:

How little could we use?

Replacing plastic drink bottles with a reusable bottle was simple.

Keeping reusable shopping bags in the car to grab on the way into the store was also easy.

What’s the next level?

Join our Race2Reduce to find out!

Race2Reduce is your pledge to decrease your plastic use for the entire month of May.

Once you sign up HERE we will send you plastic tips, volunteer opportunities, and educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses!

But you won’t do it alone.

You’re joining a whole community of action takers opening their minds and kitchen pantries to plastic alternatives.

Plus there’s a little friendly competition…

How it works: Earn points to win a $75, $50, or $25 gift certificate to Ware, a local sustainability and refill shop in downtown Asheville.

5pts: Like or share a MYPM Instagram or Facebook post

10pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

15pts: Answer our Friday Trivia question

20pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

25pts: Lead your own trash clean up with GreenWorks’ supplies

Enter to win by pledging to reduce your plastic here. 

(*Be sure to check the box that asks if you want to be in the running for prizes.) 

Lots of plastics aren’t recyclable, and when we throw them “away,” they only go as far as the Buncombe County landfill off Panther Branch Road in Alexander.

So here’s the thing:

If you want to get in shape, no one else can do your push-ups for you.

If you want to feel awesome, no one else can choose your car dance song for you.

And if you want to protect your home and health from plastic pollution, no one else can choose to consume less plastic for you.

But we CAN do it together.

Over 400 residents participated in the last Mind Your Plastic May plastic reduction challenge – and together we diverted 6,750 lbs of trash from the landfill in just 30 days.

Will you help us break that record this year? Join here.

We’re proud that so many of our fellow Ashevillians are working to end their reliance on plastic! Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort, and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. Mind Your Plastic May 2022 is presented for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville. #goingplasticfree.

Questions?  Give us a shout at: [email protected]

P.S. It’s Mind Your Plastic May, which means we’re taking action to reduce plastic all month long!

Check out all our events and activities here: ashevillegreenworks.org/mind-your-plastic-may

Once you start seeing all the plastics you use, you can’t unsee it.

You reach for your chips, your tube of toothpaste, or your plastic sandwich bags, and feel guilty that all that packaging will spend the rest of time in the landfill.

Us too.

Plastic is super light, but the average person throws away more than 110 lbs of it each year  – the equivalent of almost 9,100 plastic soda bottles.

It’s too much. And we decided it doesn’t have to be that way.

We just have to get creative.

When we first started tracking our plastic waste, we challenged ourselves:

How little could we use?

Replacing plastic drink bottles with a reusable bottle was simple.

Keeping reusable shopping bags in the car to grab on the way into the store was also easy.

What’s the next level?

Join our Race2Reduce to find out!

Race2Reduce is your pledge to decrease your plastic use for the entire month of May.

Once you sign up HERE we will send you plastic tips, volunteer opportunities, and educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses!

But you won’t do it alone.

You’re joining a whole community of action takers opening their minds and kitchen pantries to plastic alternatives.

Plus there’s a little friendly competition…

How it works: Earn points to win a $75, $50, or $25 gift certificate to Ware, a local sustainability and refill shop in downtown Asheville.

5pts: Like or share a MYPM Instagram or Facebook post

10pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

15pts: Answer our Friday Trivia question

20pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

25pts: Lead your own trash clean up with GreenWorks’ supplies

Enter to win by pledging to reduce your plastic here. 

(*Be sure to check the box that asks if you want to be in the running for prizes.) 

Lots of plastics aren’t recyclable, and when we throw them “away,” they only go as far as the Buncombe County landfill off Panther Branch Road in Alexander.

So here’s the thing:

If you want to get in shape, no one else can do your push-ups for you.

If you want to feel awesome, no one else can choose your car dance song for you.

And if you want to protect your home and health from plastic pollution, no one else can choose to consume less plastic for you.

But we CAN do it together.

Over 400 residents participated in the last Mind Your Plastic May plastic reduction challenge – and together we diverted 6,750 lbs of trash from the landfill in just 30 days.

Will you help us break that record this year? Join here.

We’re proud that so many of our fellow Ashevillians are working to end their reliance on plastic! Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort, and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. Mind Your Plastic May 2022 is presented for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville. #goingplasticfree.

Questions?  Give us a shout at: [email protected]

P.S. It’s Mind Your Plastic May, which means we’re taking action to reduce plastic all month long!

Check out all our events and activities here: ashevillegreenworks.org/mind-your-plastic-may

Imagine moving through your sun salutation on a mountaintop as the sky glows all around you (or stay in savasana for the full hour! No one here will judge you!) Marvel at nature’s light show, breathe in the fresh mountain air, and revel in the expansiveness of wide open spaces. This is our favorite version of our classic Yoga Hike here in Asheville and is offered in season (typically May – October) with start times planned approximately 2hrs prior to sunset. This mountaintop is on all of the “best places to view the sunset in Asheville” lists and we can’t wait to share it with you!

Want a more exclusive experience? Reserve a private Sunset Yoga Hike any day of the week with advanced notice.

Hiking Challenge 6 is here! In Conserving Carolina’s and WPA’s White Squirrel Hiking Challenge 6, you get to explore the places you’re helping to protect—and they’re amazing! We invite you to take eight hikes on lands that Conserving Carolina has helped to protect, enhance, or open to the public.

This challenge includes two all-new Conserving Carolina trails with gorgeous views! Plus, you can see the highest waterfall east of the Rockies, lakes and waterfalls in DuPont State Recreational Forest, expanded trails in Bracken Mountain Preserve, and a beautiful creek in the Green River Game Lands. There’s also the all-time favorite Bearwallow Mountain with its 360-degree views over the mountains and countryside we’re working to protect.

These hikes will take you to some of our region’s “greatest hits,” as well as hidden gems where you may have the woods to yourself. If you’re into mountain biking, you have the option of biking some of these trails. And if you love to swim, fish, or just be near the water, five of these hikes take you to rivers, lakes, or waterfalls.

And the Hikes Are…

Drumroll please…. Here are the 8 hikes for this new Hiking Challenge! You can find more information and links to the full hike descriptions below. Which one will you do first?

1. Bearwallow Mountain
2. Wildcat Rock Trail – Extended
3. Bracken Preserve
4. DuPont State Recreational Forest: Fawn Lake and Lake Julia
5. DuPont State Recreational Forest: Holly Road to Hooker Falls
6. Green River Game Lands: Green River Cove Trail
7. Whitewater Falls
8. Youngs Mountain Trail
9. LOG YOUR HIKES
   • Log each hike as you complete it. You can check your progress in this roster.
   • You can do the hikes at your own pace. You can take weeks, months, or over a year—whatever works for you.
   • You must complete all your hikes before the start of the next Hiking Challenge. We launch a new challenge about every two years.
   • Only hikes that you’ve done after Oct. 1, 2021 count toward Hiking Challenge 6.
   • You can complete the hikes on your own or as a group.
   • Please share about your hikes with the hashtag #whitesquirrelhikingchallenge (optional)
   • Feel free to share about your hikes and connect with other hikers in our Facebook group, the Conserving Carolina Community.

   The Hiking Challenge is free and open to all, but you must be a Conserving Carolina member to become a Hiking Challenge 6 Champion. If you are a member and you complete all 8 hikes, you will earn your White Squirrel Patch and exclusive perks from local businesses that support conservation, including Appalachian Coffee Company, Lazy Otter Outfitters, Murphy’s Naturals, and YAM Yoga and Massage. Most importantly, you get to experience eight great places and deepen your personal connection to land conservation.

Once you start seeing all the plastics you use, you can’t unsee it.

You reach for your chips, your tube of toothpaste, or your plastic sandwich bags, and feel guilty that all that packaging will spend the rest of time in the landfill.

Us too.

Plastic is super light, but the average person throws away more than 110 lbs of it each year  – the equivalent of almost 9,100 plastic soda bottles.

It’s too much. And we decided it doesn’t have to be that way.

We just have to get creative.

When we first started tracking our plastic waste, we challenged ourselves:

How little could we use?

Replacing plastic drink bottles with a reusable bottle was simple.

Keeping reusable shopping bags in the car to grab on the way into the store was also easy.

What’s the next level?

Join our Race2Reduce to find out!

Race2Reduce is your pledge to decrease your plastic use for the entire month of May.

Once you sign up HERE we will send you plastic tips, volunteer opportunities, and educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses!

But you won’t do it alone.

You’re joining a whole community of action takers opening their minds and kitchen pantries to plastic alternatives.

Plus there’s a little friendly competition…

How it works: Earn points to win a $75, $50, or $25 gift certificate to Ware, a local sustainability and refill shop in downtown Asheville.

5pts: Like or share a MYPM Instagram or Facebook post

10pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

15pts: Answer our Friday Trivia question

20pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

25pts: Lead your own trash clean up with GreenWorks’ supplies

Enter to win by pledging to reduce your plastic here. 

(*Be sure to check the box that asks if you want to be in the running for prizes.) 

Lots of plastics aren’t recyclable, and when we throw them “away,” they only go as far as the Buncombe County landfill off Panther Branch Road in Alexander.

So here’s the thing:

If you want to get in shape, no one else can do your push-ups for you.

If you want to feel awesome, no one else can choose your car dance song for you.

And if you want to protect your home and health from plastic pollution, no one else can choose to consume less plastic for you.

But we CAN do it together.

Over 400 residents participated in the last Mind Your Plastic May plastic reduction challenge – and together we diverted 6,750 lbs of trash from the landfill in just 30 days.

Will you help us break that record this year? Join here.

We’re proud that so many of our fellow Ashevillians are working to end their reliance on plastic! Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort, and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. Mind Your Plastic May 2022 is presented for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville. #goingplasticfree.

Questions?  Give us a shout at: [email protected]

P.S. It’s Mind Your Plastic May, which means we’re taking action to reduce plastic all month long!

Check out all our events and activities here: ashevillegreenworks.org/mind-your-plastic-may

Hiking Challenge 6 is here! In Conserving Carolina’s and WPA’s White Squirrel Hiking Challenge 6, you get to explore the places you’re helping to protect—and they’re amazing! We invite you to take eight hikes on lands that Conserving Carolina has helped to protect, enhance, or open to the public.

This challenge includes two all-new Conserving Carolina trails with gorgeous views! Plus, you can see the highest waterfall east of the Rockies, lakes and waterfalls in DuPont State Recreational Forest, expanded trails in Bracken Mountain Preserve, and a beautiful creek in the Green River Game Lands. There’s also the all-time favorite Bearwallow Mountain with its 360-degree views over the mountains and countryside we’re working to protect.

These hikes will take you to some of our region’s “greatest hits,” as well as hidden gems where you may have the woods to yourself. If you’re into mountain biking, you have the option of biking some of these trails. And if you love to swim, fish, or just be near the water, five of these hikes take you to rivers, lakes, or waterfalls.

And the Hikes Are…

Drumroll please…. Here are the 8 hikes for this new Hiking Challenge! You can find more information and links to the full hike descriptions below. Which one will you do first?

1. Bearwallow Mountain
2. Wildcat Rock Trail – Extended
3. Bracken Preserve
4. DuPont State Recreational Forest: Fawn Lake and Lake Julia
5. DuPont State Recreational Forest: Holly Road to Hooker Falls
6. Green River Game Lands: Green River Cove Trail
7. Whitewater Falls
8. Youngs Mountain Trail
9. LOG YOUR HIKES
   • Log each hike as you complete it. You can check your progress in this roster.
   • You can do the hikes at your own pace. You can take weeks, months, or over a year—whatever works for you.
   • You must complete all your hikes before the start of the next Hiking Challenge. We launch a new challenge about every two years.
   • Only hikes that you’ve done after Oct. 1, 2021 count toward Hiking Challenge 6.
   • You can complete the hikes on your own or as a group.
   • Please share about your hikes with the hashtag #whitesquirrelhikingchallenge (optional)
   • Feel free to share about your hikes and connect with other hikers in our Facebook group, the Conserving Carolina Community.

   The Hiking Challenge is free and open to all, but you must be a Conserving Carolina member to become a Hiking Challenge 6 Champion. If you are a member and you complete all 8 hikes, you will earn your White Squirrel Patch and exclusive perks from local businesses that support conservation, including Appalachian Coffee Company, Lazy Otter Outfitters, Murphy’s Naturals, and YAM Yoga and Massage. Most importantly, you get to experience eight great places and deepen your personal connection to land conservation.

Once you start seeing all the plastics you use, you can’t unsee it.

You reach for your chips, your tube of toothpaste, or your plastic sandwich bags, and feel guilty that all that packaging will spend the rest of time in the landfill.

Us too.

Plastic is super light, but the average person throws away more than 110 lbs of it each year  – the equivalent of almost 9,100 plastic soda bottles.

It’s too much. And we decided it doesn’t have to be that way.

We just have to get creative.

When we first started tracking our plastic waste, we challenged ourselves:

How little could we use?

Replacing plastic drink bottles with a reusable bottle was simple.

Keeping reusable shopping bags in the car to grab on the way into the store was also easy.

What’s the next level?

Join our Race2Reduce to find out!

Race2Reduce is your pledge to decrease your plastic use for the entire month of May.

Once you sign up HERE we will send you plastic tips, volunteer opportunities, and educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses!

But you won’t do it alone.

You’re joining a whole community of action takers opening their minds and kitchen pantries to plastic alternatives.

Plus there’s a little friendly competition…

How it works: Earn points to win a $75, $50, or $25 gift certificate to Ware, a local sustainability and refill shop in downtown Asheville.

5pts: Like or share a MYPM Instagram or Facebook post

10pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

15pts: Answer our Friday Trivia question

20pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

25pts: Lead your own trash clean up with GreenWorks’ supplies

Enter to win by pledging to reduce your plastic here. 

(*Be sure to check the box that asks if you want to be in the running for prizes.) 

Lots of plastics aren’t recyclable, and when we throw them “away,” they only go as far as the Buncombe County landfill off Panther Branch Road in Alexander.

So here’s the thing:

If you want to get in shape, no one else can do your push-ups for you.

If you want to feel awesome, no one else can choose your car dance song for you.

And if you want to protect your home and health from plastic pollution, no one else can choose to consume less plastic for you.

But we CAN do it together.

Over 400 residents participated in the last Mind Your Plastic May plastic reduction challenge – and together we diverted 6,750 lbs of trash from the landfill in just 30 days.

Will you help us break that record this year? Join here.

We’re proud that so many of our fellow Ashevillians are working to end their reliance on plastic! Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort, and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. Mind Your Plastic May 2022 is presented for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville. #goingplasticfree.

Questions?  Give us a shout at: [email protected]

P.S. It’s Mind Your Plastic May, which means we’re taking action to reduce plastic all month long!

Check out all our events and activities here: ashevillegreenworks.org/mind-your-plastic-may

Hiking Challenge 6 is here! In Conserving Carolina’s and WPA’s White Squirrel Hiking Challenge 6, you get to explore the places you’re helping to protect—and they’re amazing! We invite you to take eight hikes on lands that Conserving Carolina has helped to protect, enhance, or open to the public.

This challenge includes two all-new Conserving Carolina trails with gorgeous views! Plus, you can see the highest waterfall east of the Rockies, lakes and waterfalls in DuPont State Recreational Forest, expanded trails in Bracken Mountain Preserve, and a beautiful creek in the Green River Game Lands. There’s also the all-time favorite Bearwallow Mountain with its 360-degree views over the mountains and countryside we’re working to protect.

These hikes will take you to some of our region’s “greatest hits,” as well as hidden gems where you may have the woods to yourself. If you’re into mountain biking, you have the option of biking some of these trails. And if you love to swim, fish, or just be near the water, five of these hikes take you to rivers, lakes, or waterfalls.

And the Hikes Are…

Drumroll please…. Here are the 8 hikes for this new Hiking Challenge! You can find more information and links to the full hike descriptions below. Which one will you do first?

1. Bearwallow Mountain
2. Wildcat Rock Trail – Extended
3. Bracken Preserve
4. DuPont State Recreational Forest: Fawn Lake and Lake Julia
5. DuPont State Recreational Forest: Holly Road to Hooker Falls
6. Green River Game Lands: Green River Cove Trail
7. Whitewater Falls
8. Youngs Mountain Trail
9. LOG YOUR HIKES
   • Log each hike as you complete it. You can check your progress in this roster.
   • You can do the hikes at your own pace. You can take weeks, months, or over a year—whatever works for you.
   • You must complete all your hikes before the start of the next Hiking Challenge. We launch a new challenge about every two years.
   • Only hikes that you’ve done after Oct. 1, 2021 count toward Hiking Challenge 6.
   • You can complete the hikes on your own or as a group.
   • Please share about your hikes with the hashtag #whitesquirrelhikingchallenge (optional)
   • Feel free to share about your hikes and connect with other hikers in our Facebook group, the Conserving Carolina Community.

   The Hiking Challenge is free and open to all, but you must be a Conserving Carolina member to become a Hiking Challenge 6 Champion. If you are a member and you complete all 8 hikes, you will earn your White Squirrel Patch and exclusive perks from local businesses that support conservation, including Appalachian Coffee Company, Lazy Otter Outfitters, Murphy’s Naturals, and YAM Yoga and Massage. Most importantly, you get to experience eight great places and deepen your personal connection to land conservation.

Once you start seeing all the plastics you use, you can’t unsee it.

You reach for your chips, your tube of toothpaste, or your plastic sandwich bags, and feel guilty that all that packaging will spend the rest of time in the landfill.

Us too.

Plastic is super light, but the average person throws away more than 110 lbs of it each year  – the equivalent of almost 9,100 plastic soda bottles.

It’s too much. And we decided it doesn’t have to be that way.

We just have to get creative.

When we first started tracking our plastic waste, we challenged ourselves:

How little could we use?

Replacing plastic drink bottles with a reusable bottle was simple.

Keeping reusable shopping bags in the car to grab on the way into the store was also easy.

What’s the next level?

Join our Race2Reduce to find out!

Race2Reduce is your pledge to decrease your plastic use for the entire month of May.

Once you sign up HERE we will send you plastic tips, volunteer opportunities, and educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses!

But you won’t do it alone.

You’re joining a whole community of action takers opening their minds and kitchen pantries to plastic alternatives.

Plus there’s a little friendly competition…

How it works: Earn points to win a $75, $50, or $25 gift certificate to Ware, a local sustainability and refill shop in downtown Asheville.

5pts: Like or share a MYPM Instagram or Facebook post

10pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

15pts: Answer our Friday Trivia question

20pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

25pts: Lead your own trash clean up with GreenWorks’ supplies

Enter to win by pledging to reduce your plastic here. 

(*Be sure to check the box that asks if you want to be in the running for prizes.) 

Lots of plastics aren’t recyclable, and when we throw them “away,” they only go as far as the Buncombe County landfill off Panther Branch Road in Alexander.

So here’s the thing:

If you want to get in shape, no one else can do your push-ups for you.

If you want to feel awesome, no one else can choose your car dance song for you.

And if you want to protect your home and health from plastic pollution, no one else can choose to consume less plastic for you.

But we CAN do it together.

Over 400 residents participated in the last Mind Your Plastic May plastic reduction challenge – and together we diverted 6,750 lbs of trash from the landfill in just 30 days.

Will you help us break that record this year? Join here.

We’re proud that so many of our fellow Ashevillians are working to end their reliance on plastic! Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort, and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. Mind Your Plastic May 2022 is presented for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville. #goingplasticfree.

Questions?  Give us a shout at: [email protected]

P.S. It’s Mind Your Plastic May, which means we’re taking action to reduce plastic all month long!

Check out all our events and activities here: ashevillegreenworks.org/mind-your-plastic-may

Once you start seeing all the plastics you use, you can’t unsee it.

You reach for your chips, your tube of toothpaste, or your plastic sandwich bags, and feel guilty that all that packaging will spend the rest of time in the landfill.

Us too.

Plastic is super light, but the average person throws away more than 110 lbs of it each year  – the equivalent of almost 9,100 plastic soda bottles.

It’s too much. And we decided it doesn’t have to be that way.

We just have to get creative.

When we first started tracking our plastic waste, we challenged ourselves:

How little could we use?

Replacing plastic drink bottles with a reusable bottle was simple.

Keeping reusable shopping bags in the car to grab on the way into the store was also easy.

What’s the next level?

Join our Race2Reduce to find out!

Race2Reduce is your pledge to decrease your plastic use for the entire month of May.

Once you sign up HERE we will send you plastic tips, volunteer opportunities, and educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses!

But you won’t do it alone.

You’re joining a whole community of action takers opening their minds and kitchen pantries to plastic alternatives.

Plus there’s a little friendly competition…

How it works: Earn points to win a $75, $50, or $25 gift certificate to Ware, a local sustainability and refill shop in downtown Asheville.

5pts: Like or share a MYPM Instagram or Facebook post

10pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

15pts: Answer our Friday Trivia question

20pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

25pts: Lead your own trash clean up with GreenWorks’ supplies

Enter to win by pledging to reduce your plastic here. 

(*Be sure to check the box that asks if you want to be in the running for prizes.) 

Lots of plastics aren’t recyclable, and when we throw them “away,” they only go as far as the Buncombe County landfill off Panther Branch Road in Alexander.

So here’s the thing:

If you want to get in shape, no one else can do your push-ups for you.

If you want to feel awesome, no one else can choose your car dance song for you.

And if you want to protect your home and health from plastic pollution, no one else can choose to consume less plastic for you.

But we CAN do it together.

Over 400 residents participated in the last Mind Your Plastic May plastic reduction challenge – and together we diverted 6,750 lbs of trash from the landfill in just 30 days.

Will you help us break that record this year? Join here.

We’re proud that so many of our fellow Ashevillians are working to end their reliance on plastic! Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort, and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. Mind Your Plastic May 2022 is presented for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville. #goingplasticfree.

Questions?  Give us a shout at: [email protected]

P.S. It’s Mind Your Plastic May, which means we’re taking action to reduce plastic all month long!

Check out all our events and activities here: ashevillegreenworks.org/mind-your-plastic-may

Once you start seeing all the plastics you use, you can’t unsee it.

You reach for your chips, your tube of toothpaste, or your plastic sandwich bags, and feel guilty that all that packaging will spend the rest of time in the landfill.

Us too.

Plastic is super light, but the average person throws away more than 110 lbs of it each year  – the equivalent of almost 9,100 plastic soda bottles.

It’s too much. And we decided it doesn’t have to be that way.

We just have to get creative.

When we first started tracking our plastic waste, we challenged ourselves:

How little could we use?

Replacing plastic drink bottles with a reusable bottle was simple.

Keeping reusable shopping bags in the car to grab on the way into the store was also easy.

What’s the next level?

Join our Race2Reduce to find out!

Race2Reduce is your pledge to decrease your plastic use for the entire month of May.

Once you sign up HERE we will send you plastic tips, volunteer opportunities, and educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses!

But you won’t do it alone.

You’re joining a whole community of action takers opening their minds and kitchen pantries to plastic alternatives.

Plus there’s a little friendly competition…

How it works: Earn points to win a $75, $50, or $25 gift certificate to Ware, a local sustainability and refill shop in downtown Asheville.

5pts: Like or share a MYPM Instagram or Facebook post

10pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

15pts: Answer our Friday Trivia question

20pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

25pts: Lead your own trash clean up with GreenWorks’ supplies

Enter to win by pledging to reduce your plastic here. 

(*Be sure to check the box that asks if you want to be in the running for prizes.) 

Lots of plastics aren’t recyclable, and when we throw them “away,” they only go as far as the Buncombe County landfill off Panther Branch Road in Alexander.

So here’s the thing:

If you want to get in shape, no one else can do your push-ups for you.

If you want to feel awesome, no one else can choose your car dance song for you.

And if you want to protect your home and health from plastic pollution, no one else can choose to consume less plastic for you.

But we CAN do it together.

Over 400 residents participated in the last Mind Your Plastic May plastic reduction challenge – and together we diverted 6,750 lbs of trash from the landfill in just 30 days.

Will you help us break that record this year? Join here.

We’re proud that so many of our fellow Ashevillians are working to end their reliance on plastic! Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort, and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. Mind Your Plastic May 2022 is presented for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville. #goingplasticfree.

Questions?  Give us a shout at: [email protected]

P.S. It’s Mind Your Plastic May, which means we’re taking action to reduce plastic all month long!

Check out all our events and activities here: ashevillegreenworks.org/mind-your-plastic-may

Once you start seeing all the plastics you use, you can’t unsee it.

You reach for your chips, your tube of toothpaste, or your plastic sandwich bags, and feel guilty that all that packaging will spend the rest of time in the landfill.

Us too.

Plastic is super light, but the average person throws away more than 110 lbs of it each year  – the equivalent of almost 9,100 plastic soda bottles.

It’s too much. And we decided it doesn’t have to be that way.

We just have to get creative.

When we first started tracking our plastic waste, we challenged ourselves:

How little could we use?

Replacing plastic drink bottles with a reusable bottle was simple.

Keeping reusable shopping bags in the car to grab on the way into the store was also easy.

What’s the next level?

Join our Race2Reduce to find out!

Race2Reduce is your pledge to decrease your plastic use for the entire month of May.

Once you sign up HERE we will send you plastic tips, volunteer opportunities, and educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses!

But you won’t do it alone.

You’re joining a whole community of action takers opening their minds and kitchen pantries to plastic alternatives.

Plus there’s a little friendly competition…

How it works: Earn points to win a $75, $50, or $25 gift certificate to Ware, a local sustainability and refill shop in downtown Asheville.

5pts: Like or share a MYPM Instagram or Facebook post

10pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

15pts: Answer our Friday Trivia question

20pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

25pts: Lead your own trash clean up with GreenWorks’ supplies

Enter to win by pledging to reduce your plastic here. 

(*Be sure to check the box that asks if you want to be in the running for prizes.) 

Lots of plastics aren’t recyclable, and when we throw them “away,” they only go as far as the Buncombe County landfill off Panther Branch Road in Alexander.

So here’s the thing:

If you want to get in shape, no one else can do your push-ups for you.

If you want to feel awesome, no one else can choose your car dance song for you.

And if you want to protect your home and health from plastic pollution, no one else can choose to consume less plastic for you.

But we CAN do it together.

Over 400 residents participated in the last Mind Your Plastic May plastic reduction challenge – and together we diverted 6,750 lbs of trash from the landfill in just 30 days.

Will you help us break that record this year? Join here.

We’re proud that so many of our fellow Ashevillians are working to end their reliance on plastic! Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort, and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. Mind Your Plastic May 2022 is presented for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville. #goingplasticfree.

Questions?  Give us a shout at: [email protected]

P.S. It’s Mind Your Plastic May, which means we’re taking action to reduce plastic all month long!

Check out all our events and activities here: ashevillegreenworks.org/mind-your-plastic-may

Once you start seeing all the plastics you use, you can’t unsee it.

You reach for your chips, your tube of toothpaste, or your plastic sandwich bags, and feel guilty that all that packaging will spend the rest of time in the landfill.

Us too.

Plastic is super light, but the average person throws away more than 110 lbs of it each year  – the equivalent of almost 9,100 plastic soda bottles.

It’s too much. And we decided it doesn’t have to be that way.

We just have to get creative.

When we first started tracking our plastic waste, we challenged ourselves:

How little could we use?

Replacing plastic drink bottles with a reusable bottle was simple.

Keeping reusable shopping bags in the car to grab on the way into the store was also easy.

What’s the next level?

Join our Race2Reduce to find out!

Race2Reduce is your pledge to decrease your plastic use for the entire month of May.

Once you sign up HERE we will send you plastic tips, volunteer opportunities, and educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses!

But you won’t do it alone.

You’re joining a whole community of action takers opening their minds and kitchen pantries to plastic alternatives.

Plus there’s a little friendly competition…

How it works: Earn points to win a $75, $50, or $25 gift certificate to Ware, a local sustainability and refill shop in downtown Asheville.

5pts: Like or share a MYPM Instagram or Facebook post

10pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

15pts: Answer our Friday Trivia question

20pts: Post (and tag us) or email us a video/photo of you using one of our plastic tips

25pts: Lead your own trash clean up with GreenWorks’ supplies

Enter to win by pledging to reduce your plastic here. 

(*Be sure to check the box that asks if you want to be in the running for prizes.) 

Lots of plastics aren’t recyclable, and when we throw them “away,” they only go as far as the Buncombe County landfill off Panther Branch Road in Alexander.

So here’s the thing:

If you want to get in shape, no one else can do your push-ups for you.

If you want to feel awesome, no one else can choose your car dance song for you.

And if you want to protect your home and health from plastic pollution, no one else can choose to consume less plastic for you.

But we CAN do it together.

Over 400 residents participated in the last Mind Your Plastic May plastic reduction challenge – and together we diverted 6,750 lbs of trash from the landfill in just 30 days.

Will you help us break that record this year? Join here.

We’re proud that so many of our fellow Ashevillians are working to end their reliance on plastic! Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort, and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. Mind Your Plastic May 2022 is presented for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville. #goingplasticfree.

Questions?  Give us a shout at: [email protected]

P.S. It’s Mind Your Plastic May, which means we’re taking action to reduce plastic all month long!

Check out all our events and activities here: ashevillegreenworks.org/mind-your-plastic-may

Hiking Challenge 6 is here! In Conserving Carolina’s and WPA’s White Squirrel Hiking Challenge 6, you get to explore the places you’re helping to protect—and they’re amazing! We invite you to take eight hikes on lands that Conserving Carolina has helped to protect, enhance, or open to the public.

This challenge includes two all-new Conserving Carolina trails with gorgeous views! Plus, you can see the highest waterfall east of the Rockies, lakes and waterfalls in DuPont State Recreational Forest, expanded trails in Bracken Mountain Preserve, and a beautiful creek in the Green River Game Lands. There’s also the all-time favorite Bearwallow Mountain with its 360-degree views over the mountains and countryside we’re working to protect.

These hikes will take you to some of our region’s “greatest hits,” as well as hidden gems where you may have the woods to yourself. If you’re into mountain biking, you have the option of biking some of these trails. And if you love to swim, fish, or just be near the water, five of these hikes take you to rivers, lakes, or waterfalls.

And the Hikes Are…

Drumroll please…. Here are the 8 hikes for this new Hiking Challenge! You can find more information and links to the full hike descriptions below. Which one will you do first?

1. Bearwallow Mountain
2. Wildcat Rock Trail – Extended
3. Bracken Preserve
4. DuPont State Recreational Forest: Fawn Lake and Lake Julia
5. DuPont State Recreational Forest: Holly Road to Hooker Falls
6. Green River Game Lands: Green River Cove Trail
7. Whitewater Falls
8. Youngs Mountain Trail
9. LOG YOUR HIKES
   • Log each hike as you complete it. You can check your progress in this roster.
   • You can do the hikes at your own pace. You can take weeks, months, or over a year—whatever works for you.
   • You must complete all your hikes before the start of the next Hiking Challenge. We launch a new challenge about every two years.
   • Only hikes that you’ve done after Oct. 1, 2021 count toward Hiking Challenge 6.
   • You can complete the hikes on your own or as a group.
   • Please share about your hikes with the hashtag #whitesquirrelhikingchallenge (optional)
   • Feel free to share about your hikes and connect with other hikers in our Facebook group, the Conserving Carolina Community.

   The Hiking Challenge is free and open to all, but you must be a Conserving Carolina member to become a Hiking Challenge 6 Champion. If you are a member and you complete all 8 hikes, you will earn your White Squirrel Patch and exclusive perks from local businesses that support conservation, including Appalachian Coffee Company, Lazy Otter Outfitters, Murphy’s Naturals, and YAM Yoga and Massage. Most importantly, you get to experience eight great places and deepen your personal connection to land conservation.