Calendar of Events

#AvlQuaranclean   1) AGW Office @ 2 Sulphur Spring Road 2) AGW Office @ 318 Riverside Drive 3) The HOP @ 640 Merrimon Ave #103 4) Sutton / Dezio Law @ 70 Mt Pisgah Hwy (on their back porch) 5) Buncombe County Sports Park Entrance @ 58 Apac Drive Our cleanup events may have been canceled, but there’s still trash to collect as part of Avl Quaranclean! Our Cleanup Supply Stations have been filled and supplies are ready for pick up if you find yourself wanting to get out of the house & motivated to improve our community. Each station has been filled with supply packs— in one roll you will find: 2 trash bags, 1 safety vest and 1 pair of gloves. There are further instructions at each station. Make sure to post videos and pictures and tag #AvlQuaranclean so that we can all see the incredible job you’re doing. And, as always, please stay safe and healthy.

ASAP has launched the Appalachian Grown Farmer Relief Fund to
strategically address the emergency needs of farms during COVID-19 disruptions. Funds will be used for public health preparedness grants to farmers markets, to subsidize essential farm product packaging, and to purchase unsold food for donation to hunger programs. Donations to the Appalachian Grown Farmer Relief Fund can be made online at asapconnections.org or by mail or phone.

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.

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.

If you are reading this, you are most likely a landowner in western North Carolina who is concerned about the future of your land along the French Broad River or one of its tributaries. Perhaps you have a farm or cattle ranch that has been in your family for generations, or maybe you recently purchased your second home in an idyllic rural area. Whatever your situation, many North Carolina landowners face the same dilemma: how do you ensure that the land you love looks the way that it does forever?

Conserving Land

Protected Properties

Parks, Greenways & Blueways

Diverse, intact forests are literally the greenest infrastructure on Earth, vital to our health and survival. As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, protecting forests is truly the greenest investment we can make for our future. Yet environmental policy solutions put forward in America today largely fail to recognize protecting existing, natural forests as a “green infrastructure” priority.

Read the full piece on why we need to prioritize protecting and restoring forests as part of the upcoming Green Stimulus and Infrastructure bailout.

The US is the world’s largest consumer and producer of wood products. Every year, millions of acres of forests are logged, damaging the greenest life-supporting infrastructure on Earth, releasing vast amounts of unreported carbon into the atmosphere, and limiting forests’ ability to remove carbon and provide natural protections against intensifying flooding and droughts.

The degradation of forests along with the pollution of our air and water has left communities in a degraded economic condition, with disproportionately high poverty and unemployment rates. These same communities are bearing the brunt of the economic impacts of extreme weather events linked to climate change. And now, they are at greater risk of dying prematurely if they get the Coronavirus due to high levels of industrial pollution which have been linked to higher mortality rates.

Forests should be prioritized in a way that reduces poverty and increases well-being. The world’s leading scientists recently revealed that restoring degraded land between now and 2030 could generate $9 trillion in environmental benefits, such as clean water, clean air, and increased wildlife.

It’s not too late for “green” policy initiatives to embrace letting existing natural forests grow to reach their full biological potential. No batteries, no mining, no transportation, no chemicals, and no factories are required. Protecting forests is truly the greenest investment we can make for our future.

Invest in our green future today. Make a special Earth Day gift to protect the forests and people of the South.

For our forests,

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

As the growing season ramps up and social isolation continues to define our days, gardening is the perfect way to get outside, ease your mind, and support our local ecosystem – all while maintaining appropriate social distance. Whether you’re nurturing a decade old garden or are using your quarantine time to put plants in the ground for the first time ever, our new program has the tools and certifications for all levels of expertise. Certified gardens receive an official certificate and have the option to purchase one of our Certified Pollinator Habitat signs!   Find more information about this program along with tons of resources about pollinators and plants that they love!

Healthy Rivers equal Healthy Communities. RiverLink’s Watershed Resources program works to improve water quality in the French Broad River and its tributaries. These waterways support critical wildlife habitat for many species, such as the hellbender salamander and rainbow trout. Our local economies thrive on water-based recreational tourism. The French Broad River watershed also provides drinking water for many communities. These things are true only if the water is clean. Our Watershed Resources program uses a combination of initiatives, including on the ground projects and community outreach to improve and protect water quality.

Stream Restorations

Stormwater Control

WaterRICH, Water Conservation Program

Watershed Planning

Name That Creek

Alum Cave At-Home Adventure is a Virtual Fundraising Hike on one of Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s most iconic trails. Although the trail will look different for everyone, we’re all going the distance together – 4.6 miles for a roundtrip hike to Alum Cave or 10 miles up to the top of Mount Le Conte and down via Alum Cave Trail. Find your own trail. It could be your yard, your neighborhood or a treadmill in your basement. If a hike isn’t your thing, just choose the Park Bench option! Anyone can join us in solidarity to raise funds for Great Smoky Mountains National Park from the comfort and safety of your own home. Here’s how it works: 1. Register to virtually hike at AlumCaveAtHome.org, and personalize your fundraising page. 2. Ask your family, friends, and coworkers to support you by making a tax-deductible donation to Friends of the Smokies through your personal fundraising page. 3. You have until June 6, 2020 to fundraise and complete your virtual hike, then you will receive your hike swag, including a t-shirt and finishers medal, in the mail! Over the last few weeks, we’ve become pros at staying home and practicing social distancing. As we take care of ourselves and each other, we hope you’ll also help us take care of the Smokies. The park is closed for the safety of visitors and staff, but critical conservation projects still need funding. It’s up to us to preserve the park for generations to come so we hope you’ll join us.

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.

With classes and jobs moving online in the wake of COVID-19, the UNC Asheville community is missing being in each other’s company, and we’re missing being on our beautiful campus in the springtime. It’s an especially lovely time of year, and while photos can’t capture the smell of flower blossoms or the warm breeze in the new leaves on the trees, we hope you’ll enjoy this photo tour of our campus in bloom.

https://stories.unca.edu/springtime-on-campus

#AvlQuaranclean   1) AGW Office @ 2 Sulphur Spring Road 2) AGW Office @ 318 Riverside Drive 3) The HOP @ 640 Merrimon Ave #103 4) Sutton / Dezio Law @ 70 Mt Pisgah Hwy (on their back porch) 5) Buncombe County Sports Park Entrance @ 58 Apac Drive Our cleanup events may have been canceled, but there’s still trash to collect as part of Avl Quaranclean! Our Cleanup Supply Stations have been filled and supplies are ready for pick up if you find yourself wanting to get out of the house & motivated to improve our community. Each station has been filled with supply packs— in one roll you will find: 2 trash bags, 1 safety vest and 1 pair of gloves. There are further instructions at each station. Make sure to post videos and pictures and tag #AvlQuaranclean so that we can all see the incredible job you’re doing. And, as always, please stay safe and healthy.

ASAP has launched the Appalachian Grown Farmer Relief Fund to
strategically address the emergency needs of farms during COVID-19 disruptions. Funds will be used for public health preparedness grants to farmers markets, to subsidize essential farm product packaging, and to purchase unsold food for donation to hunger programs. Donations to the Appalachian Grown Farmer Relief Fund can be made online at asapconnections.org or by mail or phone.

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.