Climbing the Highlands

Appalachia offers climbers challenging routes in beautiful settings, and the region’s geology invites adventurers of all styles and abilities. And in return, the sport of climbing provides an opportunity for economic development for areas around these rock formations.

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Sustainability: What it Means and How to Achieve it.

By Erin Burks Red, White and Water intern, Summer 2012 On Monday I had the opportunity to hear Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute Amory Lovins speak at the campus of Appalachian State University. The lecture took place in the midst of the Appalachian Energy Summit, presented by Sustain Appalachia. If you missed the…

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Massive VA Forest Fire Does Little Permanent Damage

By Anna Norwood High winds and low humidity were the perpetrators in starting multiple wildfires in southeast Virginia that burned almost 40,000 acres of national forest in April. The Fire and Aviation Supervisor for the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Michael Quesinberry, says these fires were the largest on record for Virginia. Quesinberry accredited…

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Seeds of Change Initiative to Improve Access to Local Food

The Boone, N.C.-based non-profit group Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture received a $1.1 million grant from Heifer USA to strengthen the local food system in what is known as the High Country region of North Carolina. The Seeds of Change Initiative is a multi-year program that will build upon the emerging local food movement to…

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Kids in the Creek: Connecting Youth to Their Watersheds

Alan Felker, eighth grade science teacher at Hardin Park Middle School in Boone, N.C., believes it’s important to expose kids to the environment around them. In North Carolina, eighth grade students are required to study state river basins and water quality issues. Felker took this opportunity to expose his students to our local and regional…

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Connecting Kids to Their Watersheds

Here in Watauga County we are lucky to have relatively clean rivers and a public that is well connected with the health of the local environment. In order to support continued generations of residents who act as good stewards for the High Country and beyond, we must educate students about threats to our local environment…

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The Business of Building Green

What’s good for the earth is good for the bottom line By Molly Moore When dentist Kendalyn Lutz-Craver decided it was time to move out of her leased, musty office and build her own structure, she had three building goals in mind. She didn’t want the building to be square, she wanted all patients to…

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Bring Us Your Drugs: Operation Medicine Cabinet This Saturday, October 8th

This Saturday, October 8th, we will hold our 5th Operation Medicine Cabinet (OMC), a prescription and over-the-counter drug take-back program aimed at keeping drugs off the streets and out of our rivers. The first OMC was held in October of 2009, as a result of collaboration between the MountainKeepers organization, the Upper Watauga Riverkeeper, Watauga…

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The Brook Trout: highlighting local, regional & global environmental issues

By Adam Reaves Riverfest/Development intern, 2011 This latest Creature Feature highlighting NC’s native trout species is the Brook trout. To learn more about native aquatic critters in the area, don’t miss RiverFest on June 4th. Throughout the Southern expanse of the Appalachian Mountains, the Brook trout spends its seven-year lifespan hunting for mollusks, insects, and…

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