I had the pleasure of sitting down with John Myers and Jane Lawson the developers of the Hickory Nut Forest GREEN/conservation community near Asheville, NC not long ago. We talked about what it takes to create such a community- their philosophy and how they designed and developed the land. Here is a segment of our conversation.
HOW ONE COUPLE ENVISIONED AND REALIZED THEIR DREAM OF AN ECO-FRIENDLY MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY
Q. How long has it taken to create the Hickory Nut Forest eco-community?
A. We have been involved in the process of creating community for nearly five years. It has been an amazing journey that has taken on a life of its own. We started out with a vision to conserve some beautiful land in the mountains of North Carolina.
We wanted to be stewards of this sacred place with its amazing forests, waterfalls, living plants and animals. As we have come to know the land intimately, we feel guided to keep expanding our vision.
Q How have you expanded on your vision to conserve this gorgeous land in the mountains of North Carolina?
We created homesites for up to 34 green-built homes, added an organic apple orchard and heirloom vineyard, placed a conservation easement on the mountain and built miles of hiking trails.
(photo shows John and Jane at one of the many waterfalls on the property the are developing near Chimney Rock just outside of Asheville, NC. )
Q How do you see the growth of Hickory Nut Forest into the mature "Green Community" you envision, and will it be a "Private Mountain Community"?
A. As new people have arrived, they have brought their enthusiasm and dreams to the community. [One of the first to arrive] Ryan was inspired to develop a community garden and with student interns created a veggie patch, an herb circle, mushroom logs, and added beehives and free-range chickens.
Folks wanted to have a gathering place, so we started building a community center at the ruins of an old gristmill. This vision has grown into creating Laughing Waters, a retreat site for year-round classes, workshops and student internships that we hope to have open by spring.
We are allowing the community to grow slowly and naturally through sharing this magical place with all who come to visit. Our free monthly events have included a bluegrass concert, apple fests, hikes, herb walks, bonfire/potlucks and kids' educational programs. People have initially come for a visit and then decided to live here.
Q. What is your guiding principle or intention?
From the beginning our guiding intention has been simply to approach everything and everyone with love and respect: our neighbors, all the people working on various projects, our visitors, the land and the water, the plants and animals, and each other. We feel such a powerful healing energy from this land. Our role is simply to make it possible for people to come here and experience it for themselves.
FURTHER READING on how to recognize an eco-friendly development
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This professional REALTOR'S® has an eye for extraordinary value
"My Team and I specialize in homes on the GreenSide- golf course, second and vacation homes,
in Mountain Homes and Land Legacies, golf course communities, and properties of enduring excellence.
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janeAnne "Asheville's Greenolina" Narrin, M.A., CSW, is a golf enthusiast and real estate consultant specializing in eco-sensitive golf communities, mountain homes and land legacies. She is the author of numerous articles on Asheville's Homes on the GreenSide and has served on the Green Experts Board for the New Life Journal.She currently co-chairs the ECO Committee at the Asheville Board of REALTORS®. She is an avid putter!
Media:: HGTV filmed her Eco-All-Star Team for a show on sustainable innovation for HGTV's Green Week. "Asheville's Greenolina" real estate media interviews and articles appear in various print and online publications. Her nonfiction titles: Authentic Communication on the Worldwide Web and A Curriculum for Practical Real Estate. Narrin ("Asheville's Greenolina") holds the highly-regarded designations of NAR GREEN®, ECO Certified ® Real Estate Consultant, EcoBroker® and e-PRO®.
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THIS is the requested follow-up interview with answers to some of your questions from the developers of Hickory Nut Forest.
I love the concept...the stewardship of the land and resources, the sense of community surrounding...
Out of curiosity, do they have plans for a completely self-containted community with their own power generation and water?
That would be the ultimate. That's the concept I'm pursuing here with what I'm doing.
This is terrific. These folks certainly are leading the way to help others build similar eco-friendly communities. Keep us posted as this develops further. I love the idea of the community garden... truly part of what makes a "community."
I am so impressed with their vision. To respect the land and build a community. It looks like an oasis, just beautiful.
janeAnne, what are prices like for the smaller land portions? I have lots of other questions, but then it might sound like we're ready to move there. Would like to have some more basic information, and as they say on radio "I'll take my answers off the air" when you have a moment.
A wonderful gentle respect for the land and for those people and their ideas to come.
Eco-stewardship at its best
Hi JaneAnne, as I read this again the old seems new again.
I am excited by the idea of a true community that surrounds this ECO development. This is something our anscestors knew so well. Green communities seem to be so much more open to this idea.
The sharing of ideals and learning together is also very appealing!