Eco Friendly Real Estate Blog: North Carolina: Asheville: Eco Green In Asheville

Asheville Real Estate Journal: The Power of Walkable

                                                                         WALKABLE "The road to profitability may be a foot path!"

According to BuilderOnline.com  in a review of NAR's "2011 Community Preference Survey,"  (a poll of over 2,000 American adults) seventy-seven percent  ( 77% ) of those polled considered having sidewalks a top priority in terms of deciding where they’d like to live.

And sixty percent (60%) said they would rather live in a neighborhood that featured:

 a mix of houses

 stores

 businesses within an easy walk 

Given this Trend, "The road to profitability may be a foot path!"

So here begins an ever-expanding  series on Asheville NC and our Wonderful Walkable Neighborhoods. Check back for connections (links) to this on-going series.  There's so much to explore when it comes to Asheville's Walkable Neighborhoods!

Montford

North Asheville-
Lakeview Park

Grove Park

Biltmore Lake

Biltmore Forest

West Asheville

Oh Those Influential Home and Land Buying Women
Asheville Real Estate Journal- Influential Women Buyer 

As we mentioned in Parts 1 and 2 of this series, women actively control the money in a majority of affluent households, even among a generation of women who left this to their husbands in the past... today, 80% of affluent boomer women control their family's day-to-day finances.” Here are some more interesting numbers:

BY THE NUMBERS…

• 80% of Americansrely on the Internet as their primary source of communication, research, and entertainment.
• NAR reports in the  Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 90 % of Buyers use the Internet in their search for a home, and 36 % found the actual home that they purchased online.

• 75+ % of Internet users believe that an organic result [PR] is significantly  more relevant than paid advertising  which they automatically distrust (pay per click)

• The National Sales Executive Association recently reported the following: 2% of sales are made on the 1st contact - 3% of sales are made on the 2nd contact -5% of sales are made on the 3rd contact -10% of sales are made on the 4th contact

• Women control most of the spending in the household - about 80% and women make 80+ % of the buying decisions.

• Women control 51.3 percent of the private wealth in the United States.

Personally, I love working with Influential Women...especially those who are ready to walk the absolutely beautiful Asheville area Land with me...as they imagine sculpting their HealthyBuilt home into a green landscape....as you will see in the slideshow that follows   I've entitled:

“The Ladies Are Out on the LAND Today!” (Asheville Style)

 WHAT'S in YOUR Banana?

You may have caught my recent series on Asheville Land and Farms. (see below)  

It seems to go on and on...just like me when I think of all the benefits we enjoy from our Asheville  area produce growers. So when I read about The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s new Center for Local Food Research that " aims to transform theories about the nonprofit’s success into valuable — and exportable — evidence, " I thought it was the perfect addition to the series.  According to Charlie Jackson, Executive Director of ASAP,   

the Center for Local Food Research  will examine the social, economic and environmental impacts of localizing food systems. "Having a research center like this is unique ... we need to have solid, scholarly research that’s designed to be applied,” Jackson said.

I have covered some of ASAPs exciting leading edge programs in my blog:  Local Food Guide and Growing Minds Farm to School Program. “In the last decade or so, we’ve seen a lot of research in local food,” said Leah Mathews, professor of economics at UNC Asheville. UNCA is one of ASAP’s research partners. “We are on the early edge of things,” she noted. “[ASAP] is known nationally for raising awareness for local food movements, and their position is really well-respected. They will be a powerful force in the up-and-coming research in the local food arena.”  One of the advantages of ASAP’s decade of advocacy is its “ incredible network of farmer partners,” Mathews said. “We can hit the ground running because of that.”

P.S. Now that over 80% of all processed foods in the US are genetically modified, 

you may want to do some sleuthing before you purchase produce.

So here is a clue courtesy of GREG HOTTINGER...one of our all-time favorite authors and consultants for The Biggest Loser...whose book I recently reviewed entitled " Coach Yourself Thin"... Greg suggests///\\\

Go to www.NonGMOShoppingGuide.com and peruse the long lists of non-GMO and GMO brands by category. Download a two-page version, order the pocket guide, or even equip your iPhone with the new app "ShopNoGMO".
I'll be happy to send you a PDF of this document if you email me.

By the way, thirty (30) countries have banned, or propose to ban GMOs, including:

France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Austria and Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Portugal, Egypt,  Peru ,Venezuela

 In the U.S., Gerber and Heinz baby foods, Frito-Lay, IAMS Pet Foods, Trader Joe's and even McDonald's and Burger King are now refusing GMO corn, potatoes, and other ingredients.

.and in the USA

Colorado’s Boulder County http://naturalsociety.com/gmo-crops-continually-banned-around-world-health-freedom/ “was the latest health freedom hotspot to stand up against Monsanto and genetically modified produce, with Boulder County advisory committees announcing plans to phase out GMO crops on open space in pursuit of sustainable and ethical farming practices. The county joins a long list of other political bodies that have banned, condemned, and even uprooted GMO crops across the globe.”

Asheville Farms and Land Series:

Home And Land- Asheville Yesterday and Today- (1)

Renewable Energy for Asheville Area Farms

American Chestnut and Asheville’s Family Farms (Series)

Asheville’s Sustainable Farms Though the Generations

Long-Lasting Asheville Family Farms & The American Chestnut Tree

Asheville Farms, Homes on the Land For Sale

Sustainable Farming -Asheville Home and Land Through the Generations (2)

Asheville Relocation.
In 2012, I’m asking my Asheville relocation clients the following “priorities essential” questions:

1.      How would you define the  community in which you would choose to live?
(Upscale, green-built homes? HealthyBuilt® Homes in an Eco Village?  
Small, sustainable farms? Progressive, artistic, creative neighborhood?)

2.      What are some of your favorite hobbies and/or interests?

3.      Would Asheville’s Center for Creative Retirement be a consideration for you?

4.      Would UNCA be a consideration for you and your Family?

5.      As you relocate from ___ ?___ are you expecting to scale down?

6.      From Asheville’s city limits, what is the maximum  driving distance acceptable for you?

7.      What value do you place on locally-grown and harvested foods?

8.      How important is it to you to have a high performance home?

9.      When it comes to homes on Land, which of these is a “must” for you?
Views? Stream? Barn? Horses allowed.

10.  After reviewing the priorities checklist (see link) could you please tell me the 5 most important factors in your decision-making process.  http://asheville1031realty.com/GoingGreenChecklist.htm

Your heart can skip a happy beat just seeing the farms and farmland for sale around Asheville. (You may have surmised when reading my series on Asheville’s sustainable farms.) Now, Mountain Valleys Resource Conservation and Development, (MVRCD)  a non-profit that has managed resource conservation and economic development projects in western North Carolina since 1976, has “heart-warming" news.

MVRCD has announced that it is accepting applications for its Green Energy Program. Western North Carolina farmers interested in generating renewable energy on their farms can apply. 

This could be of special value given what Green Energy Grants could represent for the community and for  those who supply locally-grown and harvested food here in the Asheville and  WNC  area!   The benefits go beyond the 40 percent cost-share funding for their approved projects. According to Maggie Cramer over at ASAP,  " The maximum grant amount is $8,000.

The goal is to reduce energy expenses and increases farm income by selling generated power to the electric grid, preserving farms, reducing carbon emissions, stimulating economic development, and conserving natural resources….Twenty-one systems have already been installed through the ‘Renewable Energy for Farms’ project. Most systems are photovoltaic (solar), but wind and micro-hydroelectric projects are also accepted."

 More information and application is available at:

http://www.mountainvalleysrcd.org/7.html

More WNC Projects:  Stream Restoration, Wind for Schools Program, Forest Products Grant
http://www.mountainvalleysrcd.org/3.html

News from the Land Lady at Asheville 1031- The Eco-Steward Firm. Asheville, NC 2012 ©Renewable Energy for Asheville Area Farms.

BARNS! American Chestnut -
Long-Lasting Family Farms Asheville
Asheville Real Estate Journal

American Chestnut trees have played an important role in our forest ecosystems here in the Appalachians. (see earlier post) Back in the day, wildlife prospered with crops thousands of American chestnuts produced every single year.

And the American Chestnut’s durability made it a perfect choice  to use for building barns and homes….a few of which I have seen near Asheville....like this American Chestnut Tobacco Barn you too can see in person.

Paul Gallimore,  founder of Long Branch will tell you that this American Chestnut structure was built around 1920 with locally sawn rough cut lumber from that gallant and now nearly extinct tree.. Gallimore is an educator, author, consultant, and planner in renewable energy, environmental design, permaculture, appropriate technology, and recycling/resource recovery.

Resources: Asheville’s Long Branch Environmental Education Center    

Resources:
Slideshow: Asheville Farms and Farmlands for Sale
© The Eco-Steward Asheville 2011. Home And Land- Asheville Yesterday and Today-  

Asheville Homes on the Land For Sale
Asheville Real Estate Journal

Western North Carolina’s first settlers helped to shape the farms, farming and settlement patterns of the Asheville Appalachian mountain region that people in the Carolinas carry on to this day, as detailed in Parts 1 and 2 of this series. After reading the previous posts, you may find that you are curious about the

availability of sustainable farms and farmland real estate in the Asheville area…especially sincea few of your favorite photos in the slideshow may depict farms and farmland for sale within easy driving distance of Asheville.   

What to Expect: Look for undisturbed (natural) landscapes with coves and ranges from level to rolling to hilly to mountainous with exceptional views. Expect streams on these acreages. Some farms and farmland offer improvements such as fencing and barns.

You may even be so lucky as to find farms and land with an old (sustainable) barn made of American Chestnut!!

This is an uncommon expectation as, sadly, that hardwood timber tree is susceptible to chestnut blight. According to Wikipedia,    “ … 25 percent of the trees in the Appalachian Mountains were American Chestnut. The number of large surviving American Chestnut trees over 60 centimeters (24 in) in diameter within the tree's former range is [now] probably fewer than 100.”

When relocating to Asheville be sure to see a fine old chestnut barn…In the meantime, here is a bit of information on farms and farmland for sale as seen in the slideshow. 

Price  Range: $ 210,000 to $ 10M
Acreage: 40 to 745
Mountain Views: Yes
Stream: Yes
Level Building Sites: Yes
Drive Time to Asheville: 10 to 40 minutes 

©The Eco-Steward Asheville 2011. Farms and  Land  For Sale -

Home on the Land
Asheville Real Estate Journal 

Sustainable Farming -Asheville Though the Generations- Early settlers in the Carolinas, my “far-grandparents” being among them, borrowed agricultural practices from the Native Americans. They incorporated them into their own farming practices  creating a sustainable way of life that included orchards and vegetable gardens. (see Part 1 for details). Those first settlers helped to shape the farms, farming and settlement patterns of the southern Appalachian mountain region people in the Carolinas carry on to this day.  

Here is a slideshow that takes you on a tour of tour of family farms and farmlands in the Asheville, NC area and brings you to visit some of our tailgate (farmers’) markets. You may not be able to guess which of the photos is one of my all-time favorites…but I’d love to know what you’d guess…

Home And Land- Asheville Yesterday and Today-  (1)

Home on the Land
Asheville Real Estate Journal

Interested in preserving  farmlands and mountain landscapes? Perhaps your interest, like ours is inherited.  Our ancestors arrived in the Carolinas in the 1770s, when English, German, Scottish, Irish, French, Welsh, and Africans began the work-intensive struggle to settle upon the Land. They came first to the coastal areas of the Carolinas. Later, they migrated inland and then to the mountains of Western North Carolina.

 Today we, following in their footsteps, and with the help of their good-stewardship of the Land , now still have the opportunity to make our Home on the Land in the beautiful hills and valleys that surround AshevilleNC.  ...   See slideshow 

Tending the Land-Yesterday and Today-
Sustainable Farming Practices Handed Down Though the Generations

Early settlers, my “far-grandparents” being among them, borrowed agricultural practices from the Native Americans incorporating them into their own farming practices. The Carolina’s colonial settlers set to work creating a sustainable way of life that included orchards and vegetable gardens as this letter from one of our ancestors reveals:

“The garden is delightful. The fruit trees and flowering shrubs form a pleasant variety. We have green peas almost fit to eat and as fine lettuce as you ever saw. The mocking birds surround us evening and morning. The weather is mild and the vegetable world progressing to perfection. We have in the same orchard apples, pears, peaches, apricots, nectarines, plums of various kinds, figs, pomegranate and oranges. And we have strawberries which measure three inches around."    ~General Nathaneal Greene

 Those first settlers helped to shape the farms, farming and settlement patterns of the southern Appalachian mountain region people in the Carolinas carry on to this day.  So, as I said, our dedication to sustainable farmlands and mountain landscapes may be inherited…. 

Resources:
Slideshow
Asheville Farms and Farmlands for Sale

© The Eco-Steward Asheville 2011. Home And Land- Asheville Yesterday and Today-  

In Parts 1 and 2 of Asheville's Organic Growers' School you may have found some good and/or useful information . In Part 3 here, I’m letting the pictures do the talking.  The photos in this slideshow can take you to a land where stewardship is in progress and the harvests are wonderful. Hope you enjoy the show…and please let me know what you think…