Mast General Store will celebrate this year’s Land Trust Day on June 1, marking the 16th year for this important event. Land conservancy partners will be in each location sharing news of their latest easements, upcoming hikes and outings, and how you can help save open spaces.
At the end of the day, Mast Store will donate 20% of the day’s sales to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy to enable this group to continue its work on our behalf.
John Muir said, “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” That sentiment is even truer today in our fast-paced world. We need, we require, the healing touch of nature for mind, body, and soul.
While land trusts save beautiful places, the work they do is important on many levels. Aside from ensuring clean water and wildlife habitat, land trusts also help family farms stay in the family and culturally important pieces of land remain in their original states.
Waynesville and Asheville will partner with The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) which cares for over 75,000 acres of habitat for plants and animals and actively protects agricultural lands and clean water resources. They have community farms and habitats throughout the region, as well as scenic places for people to enjoy outdoor recreation in the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains. In Rogers Cove, tucked away in the beautiful Crabtree community, SAHC protects 385 acres of productive, scenic farmland that has been in the Rogers family for 150 years. It offers hiking areas as well as scenic driving. In the Highlands of Roan, SAHC secures a 234-acre habitat for high elevation wildlife, permanently protecting rare plant and animal life, wildlife corridors, scenic views, and sources of clean water.
Stop by any Mast Store on Saturday, June 1 to learn more about land trusts and to support conservation efforts in the local area. For more information, call the Mast Store in Asheville at 828-232-1883 or in Waynesville at 828-452-2101.