Functional yet beautiful

Installing a solar tree at Riverbend

solar trees funded by a Cherokee Preservation Foundation (CPFdn) grant have been installed at the Riverbend Shopping Area in Cherokee to generate all of the electricity used by the Downtown Welcome Center. They are an exciting example of efforts by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) to conserve natural resources and be energy-efficient. Recently, we learned of many other efforts underway that demonstrate that the Cherokee today are just as committed to a healthy, sustainable environment for now and future generations as those who came before us.

A wide range of EBCI members who are working to strike a balance among natural, cultural, spiritual and economic needs came together at a meeting convened by the Foundation to share what they are doing and spark new ideas to build on the Tribe's commitment to environmental sustainability. CPFdn was seeking community input for the successful continuation of Generations Qualla, the initiative the Foundation launched in 2008 to support EBCI Principal Chief Michell Hicks' Qualla Environmental Resource Proclamation. Generations Qualla is based on traditional Cherokee values such as a strong sense of place, honoring the past and educating the children, and its purpose is to help the EBCI use land appropriately, reduce and recycle waste, conserve energy, and protect air and water quality.

Energy Efficiency

Paul Smith of the EBCI Housing and Community Development Division said that while the Tribe does not have official green building standards, the division has been working with the Western North Carolina Green Building Council and has adopted green building practices. The division has used a CPFdn grant to teach local builders courses that include Green Building 101, Energy Efficiency and Water Efficiency. A number of homes recently built by the EBCI Housing and Community Development Division have exceeded the NC HealthyBuilt Homes standard. This achievement that means the homes have been built by residential builders and developers who practice sustainable, high performance building strategies that make their homes comfortable, healthy and affordable places to live. These builders implement strategies that reduce energy and water usage, promote renewable energy use, help protect the land and natural resources where the home is built, and reduce pollution and the waste of natural resources during the manufacturing and construction phases and throughout the life of the home.

Damon Lambert of EBCI Building and Construction talked about energy efficient retrofitting projects already underway or soon to be started at 24 tribal buildings, with funding from the EBCI, Cherokee Preservation Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. Seven of the projects will result in energy cost savings of at least 30%. All two dozen projects will pay for themselves in energy cost savings in just one to seven years.

The EBCI's main Welcome Center and visitor kiosks downtown and on Highway 441 North are home to several exciting demonstration projects. All three locations are being outfitted with solar thermal panels to provide hot water. The downtown kiosk is already surrounded by three solar trees, each consisting of 12 solar photovoltaic panels that harness the sun's rays to produce electricity. The three trees are expected to make the downtown kiosk a "net zero" energy user, meaning that the solar trees will generate all the power the kiosk uses. Two solar trees have been installed at the main Welcome Center to reduce the building's reliance on conventional electricity generation.   All three visitor centers will be retrofitted with new HVAC systems, and EBCI Building and Construction will work to get LEED certification for the main Welcome Center, a designation that would mean its air quality and energy efficient are top tier. These demonstration projects, along with a new electric car charging station at Riverbend, will be completed by September.

David King and Erika Dahl, two Climate Corps Fellows provided by the Environmental Defense Fund, are helping the EBCI Strategic Energy Committee develop a tracking system that will enable the Tribe to determine cost savings associated with specific energy-saving actions. Their work will be over at the end of the summer, and with grant support from Cherokee Preservation Foundation, a full-time Energy Manager will be leading EBCI energy efficiency efforts soon.

Natural Resource Conservation

Tommy Cabe, EBCI Forester, described Foundation-supported efforts that are leading toward the capability to grow ramps and sochan in seed-based gardens at the Cherokee Central Schools campus and harvest the traditional foods for healthy school lunches.

Matt Pegg of the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce and Robert Jumper of EBCI Travel and Promotion described how successful efforts to attract people who like to fish - both catch & release and catch & keep - are not only bringing tourism dollars into the Qualla Boundary economy, but also attracting people interested in the Tribe's conservation traditions. At a recent youth fly fishing tournament, for example, the participating young people learned about EBCI hatchery practices.

Sustainability in the Community and in the Workplace

T Trejo of EBCI Recycling said that recycling awareness education provided by the Cherokee Youth Council has gotten Tribal employees interested and involved in recycling to the point that Tribal Government is gathering enough paper to generate revenue for the EBCI.

Reusable shopping bags with the Cherokee recycling symbol

The Cherokee Youth Council, now 46 members strong, has logged over 500 community service hours in the last year alone, mostly on environmental projects such as managing recycling at major Fairground events and highway litter-pick up efforts. The youth group's Go Green Team worked with the late Walker Calhoun to identify a traditional Cherokee symbol associated with the concept "endless" and apply it as a Cherokee brand to the contemporary concept of recycling. The symbol appears on nearly 1,000 recycling bins purchased with a CPFdn grant for use in Tribal government offices, and it also appears on 3,000 reusable grocery bags Cherokee Youth Council has distributed to community members. 

Jody Bradley shared information about the work of the Cherokee Hospital's Green Team, which has made it possible for employees working in the stressful Emergency Room and other departments to go outside and grow healthy food in raised garden beds near their work areas. The Hospital, which recently was awarded Wild South's Roosevelt Ashe Award for being Green Business of the Year in the southeast U.S. region that Wild South serves, has sponsored a farmer's market, funded a composter for the Nutrition department, and helped the hospital staff achieve a high level of recycling.

Generations Qualla, Present and Future

Since 2008, Cherokee Preservation Foundation has invested nearly $3.5 million in conservation and energy efficient efforts undertaken by EBCI Tribal government and other grantees. Susan Jenkins, Executive Director of Cherokee Preservation Foundation, said such investments are just the beginning of how the Foundation can support the EBCI's continuing efforts to maintain a healthy environment for future generations.

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Cherokee Preservation Foundation is sponsoring a community photo contest in connection with its 10th Anniversary Celebration. The contest is open to people who live on the Qualla Boundary or in Haywood, Swain, Graham, Jackson, Cherokee, Macon and Clay counties. Photos must relate to at least one of the Foundation's three areas of focus: cultural preservation, economic development and environmental preservation in westernmost North Carolina. Professional and amateur photographers may enter.

Photos must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, July 27, and winners will be announced at a public reception and exhibition of entered photographs at Qualla Arts & Crafts in Cherokee on Thursday, August 23.

The contest has adult and youth (16 years old and younger) age categories. In the Adult age category, winners will be selected for first prize ($500), second prize ($300) and third prize ($200), and the judges shall have the discretion to select honorable mentions ($100). In the Youth age category (16 years old or younger), judges will award a first prize ($200) and they shall have the discretion to select honorable mentions ($50).

Information about the contest, including entry forms for adult and youth participants and Contest Rules and Submission Guidelines, is available on the Foundation's web site at www.cpfdn.org/contest. If prospective contestants still have questions after looking at the web site, send an email to CPFcontest@gmail.com.