Outdoors
Clean energy business grants available
The Mountain BizWorks Electrify Fund has launched to connect Western North Carolina businesses and nonprofits with affordable financing for clean energy and efficiency investments. The program will support healthy communities and economic growth by helping organizations reduce energy costs and rebuild with resilience.
NCDA&CS offers free agronomic services for WNC growers
It has been months since Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina and recovery is still ongoing throughout the region. Many residents and growers had devastating losses, but work is under way to rebuild and move forward in 2025.
Masa youth photography winners on display at arboretum
The George Masa Foundation announced that the winning photographs from the inaugural George Masa Foundation Youth Conservation Photography Prize are on display at The North Carolina Arboretum’s Baker Building through April 30.
Waynesville looking for lifeguards
The Town of Waynesville Parks and Recreation is looking for 15 new lifeguards to train and certify at no cost.
This presents a great opportunity to develop valuable skills and enjoy a meaningful summer or year-round job, possibly at the Waynesville Recreation Center.
North Carolina innovators aim to revolutionize flood prediction
A team of students from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics has developed an artificial intelligence-based flood modeling system that could transform the way communities predict, and therefore respond, to extreme weather events.
Word from the Smokies: Discover Life in America marks milestone in species inventory project
Mindy Fawver is retired from a career in commercial photography and graphic design, while her husband, Doug Bruce, works as an industrial alignment engineer; neither has a professional background in biology, conservation, or taxonomy. But together, the couple has documented more than 60 species in Great Smoky Mountains National Park never before recorded there.
RMEF helps conserve wildlife habitat in North Carolina
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supplied funding to help a collaborative partnership conserve 406 acres of habitat for elk, whitetail deer, wild turkey, grouse and other wildlife in Western North Carolina.
Underground storage tank loan program available for those affected by Helene
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Waste Management’s Underground Storage Tank Section (NCDEQ-DWM-UST), has launched the Bridge Loan Program to assist owners and operators with testing and repairing surface infrastructure for their petroleum underground storage tanks (USTs) affected by Hurricane Helene.
Smokies Life receives national recognition for ‘Letters from the Smokies’
Smokies Life received national recognition at the 2025 Public Lands Alliance Partnership Awards for “Letters from the Smokies,” which was named Publication of the Year.
