(Director, Center of Graduate Studies of Asheville, 

Lenoir- Ryhne University)

BRSI undertook the Green Restaurant Initiative in partnership with Asheville Independent Restaurants (AIR) with the $258,140 grant we received from the North Carolina Green Business Fund. With support from the grant and $100,000 in matching funds from the restaurants, BRSI:

• assisted 16 AIR member restaurants with energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy measures;
• created approximately 4200 hours of local jobs;
• will reduce restaurant energy consumption by over three billion BTUs per year; and
• will prevent the emission of over 200 tons of CO2 per year.

All of the restaurants listed below are seeking or have already obtained Green Restaurant Certification.  Two other AIR restaurants who did not participate in the grant got on board with greening their restaurants as well - Tupelo Honey South and Burgermeisters!

You may be wondering, "What happens after BRSI implements this grant?"... "Will Asheville achieve the title of Greenest Dining Destination and then lose interest in the project?" Not the case. AIR members are fully committed to further promoting sustainable values and engaging in actions with or without grant support. In fact, many of the most important measures restaurants are implementing to green their operations are outside of the scope of our Green Business Fund grant: implementing composting programs and utilizing compostable take-out containers, for instance. BRSI is also fortunate to have the support in place to continue assisting restaurants. Through a partnership  with UNCA's Student Energy Internship Program, BRSI will identify more opportunities to reduce restaurant energy consumption. We look forward to many more Asheville restaurants greening their operations in the near future.

We don't see this as the end though. There is currently a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on an untapped market of eco-conscious tourists looking for green destinations to visit. In the long-term, BRSI envisions Asheville becoming the Greenest Hospitality Destination in the country and tapping into this visitor market.

This will be in support of the great work being done around the state by projects such as the NC Green Travel Initiative, a project of the N.C. Division of Environmental Assistance and Outreach and the Center for Sustainable Tourism at East Carolina University.

As a next step , we have formed a partnership with the Asheville Brewers Alliance and look forward to working with them improve the sustainability of brewing operations in Asheville. The recent decision by Sierra Nevada-one of the greenest breweries in the nation and the EPA's 2010 Green Business of the year-to open an east-coast facility in Mills River emphasizes the opportunity Asheville has to become both Beer City USAand Greenest Brewing Destination in the USA.

We look forward to bringing more news of these exciting projects throughout 2012!

To read more about local breweries visit the ABA website (www.ashevillebrewersalliance.com).

Western North Carolina is blessed with large stretches of public land: national and state parks and forests, games lands, greenways, and watersheds. Using these lands today while protecting their value for future generations is a challenge for both land managers and the public.

The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute's next Green Monday on February 27 will address some of the issues involved in the sustainable management of public lands. It will include presentations by:

• Mary Carol Koester, National Forests in North Carolina, on the Western North Carolina Report Card on Forest Sustainability she helped develop;
• Ben Prater, Associate Director, Wild South, on how community involvement is critical to the success of sustainability issues on public lands;
• Lt. Commander Nathan Epling of the Blue Ridge Parkway, on the Parkway's fleet management strategies to reduce the carbon footprint of employee vehicles;
• John Odell, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, on volunteer efforts to monitor and control invasive exotic plant species; and
• Robert Eidus, Southern Appalachian School for Growing Medicinal Plants, on the challenges created by over-harvesting of wild plants. 

Achieving sustainability will require a fundamental change in the way we look at lifestyle choices. Just as we learned as children to turn off the lights when we left a room and not to litter, our children (or grandchildren) will have to learn about the choices they will have make about using sustainable energy, agriculture, and transportation. Much of this education will have to come from parents (and grandparents), but schools also have a role to play.

Robin Cape defined a green school as one which:

• Saves energy
• Reduces costs
• Features environmentally sustainable learning spaces
• Protects health
• Fosters wellness
• Offers environmental education to boost academic achievement and community 

Robin described the North Carolina Green Schools Recognition Program she is trying to start as one that would recognize schools for achievement in six areas: (1) school ground enhancements, (2) school sustainability, (3) curriculum integration, (4) community involvement, (5) administrative support, and (6) innovation. Robin also invited audience members to become involved in evaluating schools and other volunteer activities.

Anna Littman, of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), described Growing Minds, a farm to school program that focuses on farm field trips, school gardens, local food in schools, and local food cooking. Its goals are to:

• Provide access to fresh, healthy food for ALL children
• Help children associate positive experiences with healthy, locally grown food
• Reconnect children (and their families) to where their food is grown
• Provide a market for farmers
• Provide hands-on/minds-on educational experiences for children

The program, part of a national farm to school network that began 18 months ago, is funded by a grant from the Kellogg Foundation.

Treasure Smith, a fifth grade teacher at Evergreen Charter School, and Rebecca Molaro, one of her students, outlined their experiences learning about the various aspects of sustainability. They visited Haw Creek Honey to learn about bee-keeping; Double Tree Farm, which does not use motorized equipment, to learn about traditional methods of farming; and Warren Wilson College and Hickory Nut Farms to see more modern versions of sustainable agriculture. They explored the environmental aspects of sustainability by studying stream water quality; they examined the social justice aspects through a project to provide hygiene kits for the children of migrant workers; additionally, they wrote letters to Congress advocating for migrant workers.

Kimberly Novak, who teaches science at Madison High School, described the Wind for Schools project her school participated in with Sundance Power, Mountain Valleys Resource Conserva-tion and Development, and the Western North Carolina Renewable Energy Initiative at Appalachian State University. A 1.8 kW Skystream wind turbine with 12 ft. diameter rotors mounted on a 34 foot monopole was instated at her high school in May 2009, but it is used more as a practical display than for power generation. Earth sciences students learn about (1) sources of energy, (2) how much energy we use, (3) what makes a good wind turbine, and (4) how to make positive changes at home and in careers. Madison High also has a small building that demonstrates sustainable building technology.