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Earth Day is a great time to cherish our connection to the natural world! Every year RiverLink celebrates the holiday with its annual Earth Day Kid’s Festival. We invite families and people of all ages to come out and enjoy environmental education, arts and crafts, performances and more!
As protectors of the French Broad River, we understand the importance of environmental conservation. We and all of our partnering organizations want to share our knowledge and passion with the stewards of tomorrow. This event features educational activities from some of the best local environmental educators. Topics include recycling, wildlife education, farmstead, rivers, and more!
We also love to showcase the earth as a source of artistic inspiration. Festival-goers can express their creativity through many eco-friendly arts and crafts. We will also display the entries and announce the winners for RiverLink’s Voices of the River: Art and Poetry contest,so come show support for your favorite young artist.
And of course, what would a festival be without fun and entertainment? You can expect games, face painting, and more!
Asheville Outlets to Host American Red Cross Blood Drive – April 22 and 23
Apr 18 @ 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Asheville Outlets--Food Court
Asheville Outlets will host a blood donation drive in partnership with the American Red Cross on Wednesday, April 22 and Thursday, April 23, 2020 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day inside the Food Court.
Donors are asked to register in advance by visiting RedCrossBlood.org/give and entering the sponsor code Ashevilleoutlets. The American Red Cross will establish additional safety guidelines to ensure all donors are socially distanced.
Donating blood products is essential to community health and eligible donors are strongly urged to
donate blood, platelets, or AB Elite plasma. The Red Cross only collects blood from individuals who are
healthy and feeling well at the time of donation – and who meet other eligibility requirements.
At each blood drive or donation center, Red Cross employees follow thorough safety protocols, including:
Wearing gloves and changing them often.
Wiping down donor-touched areas after every collection.
Using sterile collection sets for every donation.
Preparing the arm for donation with aseptic scrub.
Conducting donor mini physicals to ensure donors are healthy and well on day of donation.
We have also increased our vigilance concerning some of these safety protocols including:
Enhanced disinfecting of surfaces and equipment.
Providing hand sanitizer for use before entering and throughout the donation appointment.
Temperature checks before presenting donors enter the blood drive or donation center.
Following social distancing practices between donors including donor beds, as well as waiting and
refreshment areas.
During this time, blankets typically used by platelet, Power Red and AB Elite donors at Red Cross blood
donation centers will be laundered after each use, which may limit the availability. Donors are
encouraged to bring their own blankets, but electric blankets and heating pads are not permitted.
Staff wearing basic face masks.
To ensure our staff are healthy each day, we have implemented standard staff health assessments prior to all
blood drives. Finally, only eligible and healthy people can give blood. These mitigation measures will help
ensure blood recipient safety, as well as staff and donor safety in reducing contact with those who may
potentially have this respiratory infection.
Grassroots Aid Partnership (GAP) plans to serve free, plant-based food every Friday – Sunday from 4 -7 p.m.
Apr 18 @ 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Asheville
Grassroots Aid Partnership (GAP) plans to serve free, plant-based food every Friday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 1022 Haywood Road.
Lyrid Meteor Shower Stargazing
Apr 18 @ 9:00 pm – 10:30 pm
Hickory Nut Gap Farm
Join us to celebrate the biggest meteor shower of the spring. As we watch the cosmic fireworks we’ll also learn to find our way around the spring sky and some of the myths and legends of the stars and constellations visible at this time as well.
A Little Dose of Inspiration: Learn to Love the River series! Tell Us Your River Story
Apr 19 all-day
River Link On Line
A Little Dose of Inspiration
This poem comes to us from a 6th grade student at The Learning Community School. We are always impressed with the creativity and talent of these kids, and we love to hear what the river means to them! Our annual Voices of the River Contest is a showcase of these incredible works. We’re excited to announce this years winners during our virtual Earth Day Kids celebration on April 22nd at 11 AM.
The looking glass
The rippling water
Like the iron in a forge
The beauty
Like the delicate wings of a dragonfly
The Calmness and the stillness
Mixing with the rushing
Forming true peacefulness
The sun rises over the mountain
Kissing the water
Forming small rainbows
The looking glass
The rippling iron water
The beauty
The calmness
With thriving fish
Is the definition
Of tranquility
– Leo B.B.
There are countless stories in our community about the impact the river has had on people. Everyone’s experience with the river is a little different and we’d love to hear about yours! If you would like to share how the river has played a role in your life click below to tell us your story. Our favorites will be featured in future issues of the Learn to Love the River series!
RiverLink staff is motivated by the stories of our volunteers and the beauty of the French Broad River (FBR) community. We miss you! We want to hear from you. During these uncertain times and this period of social isolation, we could all use some inspiration. Share your story with us, so we can spread enthusiasm to others. Submit a written or oral story following one of our suggested prompts, or create your own! Please keep topics relevant to the local natural environment, RiverLink volunteer experience, or FBR community. We ask you to limit stories to a maximum of 500 words or 5 minutes spoken. Either upload a file to the first tab or type in your story in the second tab.
Suggested Prompts:
-A river memory or experience
-An awe inspiring or life changing experience in local nature
-An exciting or positive volunteer experience with RiverLink
-A story about the resilience of the FBR community
-A reason you love the river or FBR community
-A poem honoring the French Broad River and its inhabitants
-An Earth Day memory or experience
Guidelines:
-500 words maximum (or a video/audio recording- 5 minutes or less)
-Appropriate content for all ages
-Pictures not required, but would be a great addition!
A National Unified Leadership Response to shortages of Personal Protective Medical Equipment
Apr 19 all-day
NATIONAL PPE COALITION onlie
Across the nation, thousands of people are stepping up to solve the crisis that is afflicting our heroic frontline health workers and first responders. As hospitals struggle to find safe and reliable supplies, companies, organizations, and individuals are joining forces to get health care workers the personal protective equipment and lifesaving medical devices they need. No single organization can do this alone. In fact, the proliferation of organizations in this space has made it incredibly challenging to navigate.
National PPE Coalition’s goal is to aid that process by enabling connections. We’re working to bring crucial partners – state governments, corporations, manufacturers, non profits, and individuals – together in order to build an efficient, unified supply chain.
By coordinating all emergency PPE crisis efforts, we not only minimize the risk of misdirecting critical supplies to places that may need them less urgently, but increase their individual power exponentially. Working together, the PPE Coalition members are working together to ensure that every shipment of PPE sent is a life-saving shipment.
Blue Ridge Eco-Gardener Certificate of Merit
Apr 19 all-day
NC Arboretum On Line
Blue Ridge Eco-Gardener Certificate of Merit
Ecological gardening is a way of thinking about gardens and landscapes in which gardens are no longer seen as a collection of plants, but a community with complex interdependencies between plants, animals, soils and the environment. This certificate program explores ecological principles for creating and managing a healthy, self-sustaining garden and landscape in a changing climate. Students enrolling in the Certificate of Merit program will work to complete 120 hours in core classes on topics including principles of ecological gardening, seasonal plants and tasks and sustainable landscape design along with electives on hardscape, edibles, seed saving and other subjects of interest to participants. View current class offerings for credit in the Blue Ridge Eco-Gardener program here.
To begin your program, complete an application and return it to the Education Center along with a one-time, non-refundable $55 application fee.
Blue Ridge Naturalist Certificate of Merit
Apr 19 all-day
The North Carolina Arboretum
Join over one hundred students on a quest to deepen understanding of the natural sciences through the Blue Ridge Naturalist Certificate of Merit. The program offers adult learners a comprehensive curriculum of study about the natural world of Western North Carolina. Classes meet year round and students work to complete 240 hours in core courses on ecology, botany, geology and plant identification as well as electives on animals, lichens, insects and more. View current class offerings for credit in the Blue Ridge Naturalist program here. All students must complete and present a final project prior to graduation.
To begin your program complete an application and return it to the Education Center along with a a one-time, non-refundable $55 application fee.
City of Asheville provides hand washing stations to help reduce spread of COVID-19
Apr 19 all-day
City of Asheville
Update:
For a map of temporary, portable hand washing stations and restrooms, visit this link. The map is being updated as new stations are installed.
Original post:
With the COVID-19 public health emergency going on it has never been more important to be able to wash your hands. Besides keeping 6 feet of distance between yourself and others, hand washing and sanitation have been identified as important measures in reducing the spread of contagion.
Portable hand washing station on the sidewalk by Pritchard Park.
That’s why the City of Asheville has installed portable hand washing stations in several strategic places around town. We realize that people sometimes have to travel on ART buses to get to work, buy groceries or pick up prescriptions from the pharmacy, for example. Also, our unsheltered population needs places to wash their hands as well.
For these reasons, the City has installed portable hand washing stations at the following locations:
Outside of Pritchard Park, on the sidewalk.
Pack Square Park, downtown
AHope Day Shelter, 19 N. Ann St.
ABCCM Medical Ministry, 155 Livingston St.
12 Baskets, 610 Haywood Road
Haywood Street Congregation, 297 Haywood St.
Portable restroom facilities have been provided outside Pritchard Park, in Pack Square Park and at the ART Station.
The City of Asheville is coordinating these actions in partnership with Buncombe County Public Health Officials.
This is an evolving situation and information is often changing. For resources on prevention best practices and news updates, visit Buncombe Ready. Additional guidance is on the Buncombe County Public Health website.
For information on how to sign up for City and County government alerts, visit this link.
Connect with Us Online Check out our blog NC Arboretum
Apr 19 all-day
NC Arboretum
Connect with Us Online https://www.ncarboretum.org/sprout-blog/
Check out our blog and discover an array of tips and tricks that will help you cultivate your love for nature. Featuring interviews from staff and volunteers, learn how to improve your gardening skills, expand your knowledge of the natural world and receive hands-on techniques that you can implement at your own home.
FREE Video Course by Wild Abundance: 10 Spring Wild Foods
Apr 19 all-day
Wild Abundance Online
FREE Video Course by Wild Abundance
Discover delicacies growing right outside your door.
Your guide through this course is seasoned Wild Abundance instructor Luke Cannon, who has practiced wild food foraging for over two decades. More than a botanist, Luke is a long-time pursuer and teacher of the magic and medicine of plants. An avid naturalist, Luke draws from a diverse pool of knowledge, combining his natural history studies with his life experience in organic farming, natural building, permaculture, nature-based mentoring, and rural homesteading.
FREE Video Course by Wild Abundance: 10 Vegetables that will Really Feed You
Apr 19 all-day
Wild Abundance
Getting started gardening can be exciting, and it can feel daunting.
Your teachers, Natalie Bogwalker and Chloe Lieberman share experience-based, practical instruction for growing their top ten vegetables to really fill your plate, belly, and larder. We put together this class so that you can begin with the crops that are most likely to be successful and rewarding. Or, if you’ve got some experience gardening but want to expand your repertoire, this course will help you do so in a way that makes sense and yields abundantly.
Grandfather Mountain CLOSED to all activity
Apr 19 all-day
Grandfather Mountain
To help prevent the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), Grandfather Mountain will close until further notice, effective Sunday, March 15. The closure means the park will prohibit public access, including from the main entrance gate and hiking trails.
In addition, all special events and programs scheduled through Memorial Day have been canceled or postponed.
How to Buy Local While Social Distancing: On-Farm Pickups and More
Apr 19 all-day
NC and SC Farms
Many farms across North and South Carolina have added on-farm pickups, home delivery & online pre-orders to accommodate for social distancing in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. Please see the listings below for more information, and check out our interactive Google Map for farm locations near you!
Are you a farmer interested in being listed? Email [email protected]
Please:
DO NOT show up at farms without prior permission.
Follow specific instructions provided by each farm.
Stay home if you are feeling ill.
Nantahala Outdoor Center Spring Fling
Apr 19 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center
Date: April 18- 19, 2020
Time: All day
Price: Free
Age: All Ages
Celebrate spring in the Smoky Mountains with a free, family-friendly event in the Nantahala Gorge! Enjoy a release of the Cascades and Upper Nantahala, live music, delicious food and the 3rd Annual Live Like Maria Freestyle Classic on this weekend of celebration.
NEW! North Carolina BioBlitz Patch for Adults
Apr 19 all-day
The North Carolina Arboretum
NEW! North Carolina BioBlitz Patch
For adults looking for an extra challenge this spring, the Arboretum has created the North Carolina BioBlitz patch in conjunction with the 2020 City Nature Challenge (April 24 – 27). To earn the patch, participants will need to create a free iNaturalist account; attend the “Intro to iNaturalist” class on April 9 (or watch the recorded version later); make 50 nature observations during the City Nature Challenge; and help identify 50 species during the Challenge’s “identifying” stage (April 28 – May 3). Students in the Arboretum’s Blue Ridge Naturalist and Blue Ridge Eco-Gardener certificate programs can earn three elective credits if they complete the North Carolina BioBlitz program and one credit if they only take the “Into to iNaturalist” class.
Are you ready to grow some serious food? This six-month online video course will give you the skills and tools you need to be able to grow a garden for yourself, from the ground up. Begins EARTH DAY April 22, 2020!
Online Hide Tanning Course Return to Ancestral Ways
Apr 19 all-day
Wild Abundance
A video-based program that guides aspiring hide tanners through every step of tanning a deer hide.
Natalie Bogwalker
Natalie is a hide tanner, craftswoman, builder, teacher, mom, and gardener. She founded Wild Abundance 10 years ago because of her passion for sharing real, practical skills that get people closer to the Earth. Hide tanning was one of the first earthskills that she learned, and it changed her life profoundly. That was over 15 years ago! Since then she’s tanned uncountable hides, but more importantly, she’s taught hide tanning to hundreds of students.
Natalie knows what usually trips people up who are new to hide tanning. In this online course she shares a thorough, step-by-step guide to hide tanning, including numerous tips and tricks that will help you succeed.
Organic Growers School Videos: How to Grow Potatoes
Apr 19 all-day
Organic Growers School Online
It’s time to plant potatoes! Learn some simple tricks to ensure a good harvest.
Organic Growers School Videos: Seed Starting
Apr 19 all-day
Organic Growers School Online
Learn the best vegetables to direct seed and the best vegetables to transplant.
Organic Growers School Videos: To Seed or Not to Seed?
Apr 19 all-day
Organic Growers School Online
Listen to the pros and cons of selecting seed and growing your own plants from seed as opposed to buying starts.
Take a virtual tour of our gardens and see what’s beautiful today at The North Carolina Arboretum
Apr 19 all-day
The North Carolina Arboretum On Line
Visit Us Virtually
Spring has sprung and we are excited to share with you all the wonderful blooms and plants that are awakening right now. Take a virtual tour of our gardens and see what’s beautiful today at The North Carolina Arboretum.
The Garden Helpline Is OPEN Extension Master Gardeners
Apr 19 all-day
Extension Master Gardeners Online
Many of us will be spending more time in our gardens as we shelter in place during the evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Our gardens will continue to grow and we will continue to have gardening questions.
To answer those questions, Extension Master Gardener℠ Volunteers of Buncombe County will be working from home to keep the Garden Helpline open to the public. We are available to respond to your phone calls and emails. Send an email or leave a voice message at any time and a Master Gardener will respond during the Helpline hours listed below.
The information we provide is consistent with NC State University horticultural research and an integrated pest management approach which includes cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical methods.
MONDAY & WEDNESDAY: 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
FRIDAY: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Open March through October.
See where the cougars and otters sleep overnight, meet black bears that are not commonly on display, learn the ins and outs of what it takes to care for the animals year-round, observe a training session and find out why the animals call Grandfather Mountain home.
Offered on weekends, April – October.
Join the Global Tree Inventory Challenge
Apr 19 @ 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day and the 25th Anniversary of the GLOBE program, the Buncombe County Library System and NASA are challenging you to make every tree count by using the GLOBE observer app to contribute to a global tree inventory.
To join the library team and become a citizen scientist download the free GLOBE observer app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Create an account, go to settings, click on JOIN a GLOBE Team, and type in the referral code: GLIDCTAZ.
You are now part of our Citizen Scientist team, Friends of Treebeard! Follow the directions and head outside!
Happy Earth Day teammate!
How to Take Care of our Minds in Difficult Times: Livestream Series
Sundays April 12 – May 10 10:30am – 11:45am
Register online and the link and instructions on livestreaming will be emailed to you. $10 per weekly class.
Having woken up to our world looking quite different, what can we do now? Buddhist meditation teachings and practices help us to develop more space in ourself giving us flexibility of mind, from which we can make better choices about how to respond in these challenging times.
By helping us develop a different perspective we will begin to notice special opportunities that we might not have noticed before, for becoming kinder, developing ourselves spiritually, and transforming difficulties into greater peace and meaning in our life. Each Livestream class will included guided meditations and practical teachings.
These Livestream classes are available to those who live in Western North Carolina, and the Vicinity of Greenville, SC and Tennessee.
Earth Day is a great time to cherish our connection to the natural world! Every year RiverLink celebrates the holiday with its annual Earth Day Kid’s Festival. We invite families and people of all ages to come out and enjoy environmental education, arts and crafts, performances and more!
As protectors of the French Broad River, we understand the importance of environmental conservation. We and all of our partnering organizations want to share our knowledge and passion with the stewards of tomorrow. This event features educational activities from some of the best local environmental educators. Topics include recycling, wildlife education, farmstead, rivers, and more!
We also love to showcase the earth as a source of artistic inspiration. Festival-goers can express their creativity through many eco-friendly arts and crafts. We will also display the entries and announce the winners for RiverLink’s Voices of the River: Art and Poetry contest,so come show support for your favorite young artist.
And of course, what would a festival be without fun and entertainment? You can expect games, face painting, and more!
Asheville Outlets to Host American Red Cross Blood Drive – April 22 and 23
Apr 19 @ 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Asheville Outlets--Food Court
Asheville Outlets will host a blood donation drive in partnership with the American Red Cross on Wednesday, April 22 and Thursday, April 23, 2020 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day inside the Food Court.
Donors are asked to register in advance by visiting RedCrossBlood.org/give and entering the sponsor code Ashevilleoutlets. The American Red Cross will establish additional safety guidelines to ensure all donors are socially distanced.
Donating blood products is essential to community health and eligible donors are strongly urged to
donate blood, platelets, or AB Elite plasma. The Red Cross only collects blood from individuals who are
healthy and feeling well at the time of donation – and who meet other eligibility requirements.
At each blood drive or donation center, Red Cross employees follow thorough safety protocols, including:
Wearing gloves and changing them often.
Wiping down donor-touched areas after every collection.
Using sterile collection sets for every donation.
Preparing the arm for donation with aseptic scrub.
Conducting donor mini physicals to ensure donors are healthy and well on day of donation.
We have also increased our vigilance concerning some of these safety protocols including:
Enhanced disinfecting of surfaces and equipment.
Providing hand sanitizer for use before entering and throughout the donation appointment.
Temperature checks before presenting donors enter the blood drive or donation center.
Following social distancing practices between donors including donor beds, as well as waiting and
refreshment areas.
During this time, blankets typically used by platelet, Power Red and AB Elite donors at Red Cross blood
donation centers will be laundered after each use, which may limit the availability. Donors are
encouraged to bring their own blankets, but electric blankets and heating pads are not permitted.
Staff wearing basic face masks.
To ensure our staff are healthy each day, we have implemented standard staff health assessments prior to all
blood drives. Finally, only eligible and healthy people can give blood. These mitigation measures will help
ensure blood recipient safety, as well as staff and donor safety in reducing contact with those who may
potentially have this respiratory infection.
Grassroots Aid Partnership (GAP) plans to serve free, plant-based food every Friday – Sunday from 4 -7 p.m.
Apr 19 @ 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Asheville
Grassroots Aid Partnership (GAP) plans to serve free, plant-based food every Friday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 1022 Haywood Road.
