Presented by the Town of Sylva, the 27th annual Greening Up the Mountains festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 26, along Main Street and Bridge Park in Sylva. 

The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Spring Litter Sweep kicked off April 12 and runs through April 26. This biannual cleanup event invites residents across the state to bag litter and beautify roadsides, all while helping protect North Carolina’s natural charm. 

Kind Hearts, this hurricane has made me think about water, and I can say with certainty that water once had a role in my grandparents’ life that was near to a religion. Several years ago, a friend sent me a warning that confused me. “An organization named Nestlé is coming for your water.” What the hell? I struggled to understand how anyone could steal my water.

There are always seasons in life when you feel the need to get away from your day-to-day, and I have found myself in just such a season.

Spring has fully sprung across Southern Appalachia, as we are awakened daily to birdsong and the bustling morning activity of bees and butterflies.

A month ago, on a day that was officially in winter but which felt like spring, I was walking in the woods near my house.

In springtime, all things are possible. Everything around you that is alive is imbued right now with the same hopeful energy.

Experts are using the spring weather to remind people to test their soil if that has not been done in the last two to three years.