Tuesday April 27, 2010 WNCA Executive Director Julie Mayfield will be speaking at a luncheon and dialoue on renewable energy hosted by the North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light in partnership with students of Environmental Education at Warren Wilson College.   

        Hartwell Carson, Water Quality specialist with the Western North Carolina Alliance, will speak on the water quality impacts of the Progress Energy plant on the French Broad River which has two coal ash ponds silently polluting the area's ground and surface water with such toxic substances as Arsenic and Mercury everyday. An interesting and important subject.

        Join our 7:00 PM social gathering. Program begins at 7:30 at the Unitarian Church, Edwin at Charlotte in Asheville.

The Western North Carolina Alliance joins with the University of North Carolina- Asheville Graduate Center to co-host a reception following a lecture on Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States by Dr. Thomas Peterson, Chief Scientist at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville.

The lecture starts at 7 PM, with a discussion on the environmental impacts of green building following the lecture.  Completing the evening will be the short reception, all taking place at the Reuters Center on the UNCA campus.  

This is all part of a series of activities called Many Shades of Green Extravaganza, sponsored by the Western North Carolina Green Building Council,  April 7 through 10 in the Asheville area.   
WNCA suggests that you also participate in the other great events during the four-day celebration, including the 2010 WNC Green Building Directory Release Party on Thursday, April 8 from 6:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Pack Place. Join us for drinks, food, and socializing. Ask questions, get ideas, and learn about green building in the Western North Carolina Region.

Friday, April 9 at 6 p.m. Bobo's Gallery hosts Asheville Green Drinks where WNCGBC member Clarke Snell presents information about The Nauhaus Project and the whole systems approach to building design. These green building techniques can be seen on the Guided Tour the following day.

The final event is the Many Shades of Green Guided Bus or Bike Tour on Saturday, April 10 from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. This includes a guided bus tour or a group bike tour. The groups will travel to green homes and commercial buildings around Asheville and learn more about green building guidelines and philosophies.

The Lecture, Release Party, and Green Drinks events are free and open to the public. There will be a fee for the guided bus tour; the bike tour is free. Please sign up online for the tours at www.wncgbc.org.

The WNC Green Building Council is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote environmentally sustainable and health-conscious building practices through community education. The public can visit www.wncgbc.org for more information.

  On Saturday, March 20th from 10am-2pm at Henderson County Ingles, local law enforcement, including the Hendersonville Sheriff’s Department and Fletcher Police Department will participate in“Operation Medicine Drop,” a drop-off service provided to the community to turnin their expired, unwanted and unused medications for safe destruction.Bringing these medications in for safe disposal helps keep these drugs out ofthe hands of kids and out of our waterways and drinking water supplies.

Check out the full press release here

 Participating Ingles Locations: 

3643 Howard Gap Road, Hendersonville, NC

6000 Hendersonville Road, Fletcher, NC

6478 Brevard Road, Etowah, NC

220 North Highland Lake Road, Flat Rock, NC‎

Welcome spring with music and benefit the Western North Carolina Alliance! 

Raising money for the 28-year-old environmental group has never been more enjoyable.....and cultural!

At the next Blue Ridge Orchestra Concert, "A Celebration of Spring and the Earth," environmental groups, like WNCA, will receive a dollar from the admission costs for each person who mentions a favorite environmental group when he or she buys tickets to the event.  The concert is Sunday, March 21, at 3 PM at the Diana Wortham Auditorium here in Asheville.

Music by Vivaldi and Beethoven and the conductor himself Ron Clearfield.  Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students, $5 for children 6-12 and free for children under 6.  Tickets can be ordered online at www.dwtheatre.com or by calling 257-4530.  

For more information about the concert, go to www.blueridgeorchestra.org.

A free workshop you can't miss!

 Learn about threats to native biodiversity from invasive exotic plants, along with learning how you can use them to improve the well being of your body and your environment.  It's all at a FREE WORKSHOP Saturday, March 27 from 9:30 AM to 5 PM in Zeis Hall, Room 014 on the UNCA campus in Asheville.  This event is sponsored by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Western North Carolina Alliance, along with Wind Fox Herbal.  Sign up today by calling 254-3708 or email jodell@appalachiantrail.org or windfoxmedicine@yahoo.com.

Be sure to come out this weekend to see an important film being shown at the Asheville Film Festival, called The Golden Side of the Tracks. It's about a vibrant African American community called Overtown in Miami that was nearly destroyed by a highway project decades ago and faces gentrification and other issues today.  Go to http://yiddishculture.org/saveculture/goldentracks.html to see more about it, including a trailer.
 
The director of the film is David Weintraub, who is the Executive Director of ECO, an environmental group based in Henderson County. 
 
The film will be shown Friday, November 13 at 1:30 at the Asheville Community Theatre's 35Below venue.  WNCA will lead a discussion about highway projects and how they affect low income and/or communities of color at about 3:30 PM immediately following the final movie of the afternoon With these Hands.

WNCA Executive Director Julie Mayfield and Steering Committee Chair DJ Gerken, along with the Land-of-Sky Regional Council staff and its many other partners who have  worked on the Linking Lands and Communities project, invite residents of Western North Carolina to attend a community Open House to learn about the project and its products.  This event will also provide citizens an opportunity to make additional comments about the project.  The open houses take place from November 4 through 20 in Marshall, Brevard and Asheville.  (See schedule below.)

Ride the Dragon for a winning poker hand or, for the less adventurous, take a scenic ride through the mountains on a scavenger hunt.  Either way, expect glorious views, great roads, friendly people, and a grand old time!  Sunday’s rides are over some of the most scenic roads in the Southeast.

Registration/Sign-in on Friday, Oct 9  5—7 pm  - Grilled Burgers and Dogs available

Registration/Sign-in on Saturday, Oct 10  7:00—9:00 am

A special discount of 20% is available for participants at the Best Western of Murphy (828)837-3060) —mention “Save the Dragon” when reserving the room.

WNCA offers a Northwest Earth Institute course this fall!

Choices for Sustainable Living began Sept 30 and continues for 9 weeks in West Asheville.