Health, wellness and ‘going green’, are top priorities, in eco-friendly Asheville. With sustainability programs, green home building and a farm-to-table food scene, the “Land of the Sky” is renowned for its focus on environmental responsibilities.
Living in a green city offers incredible lifestyle benefits. Perfect air quality, reduced costs and sustainable communities contribute to stress-free attitudes, overall good health and increased happiness levels.
Here’s a look at how Asheville leads the way, in green city living.
City Sustainability Initiatives
The city of Asheville implements comprehensive sustainability initiatives that surpass carbon footprint reduction goals. These include changing all streetlights to LEDs, advanced recycling programs and waste reduction. The community at large promotes initiatives, with, for example, some 80 percent of residents dedicated to recycling.
Along with city initiatives, it’s the eco-friendly Asheville locals themselves who ensure nature is preserved. Community volunteers work on projects to plant trees, create green spaces and clean up rivers, streams and streets. Environmental education is readily available, with youth programs and free events promoting awareness.
Eco-Friendly Asheville Communities
With such focus on environmental awareness, it’s little wonder Asheville offers an abundance of sustainable living communities. Many areas are just minutes from the conveniences of downtown, yet surrounded by peaceful nature. Residents enjoy perks like energy efficient, custom-built homes, neighborhood gardens and backyard farming.
Olivette, for example, is a community with a working farm at its heart, offering biodiverse vegetables, fruits and flowers. It’s located along the French Broad River, with miles of walking trails, community-wide geothermal heating, community gardens, a bike-sharing program, fiber-to-home internet access, a pavilion and fire-circle amphitheater.
Then, there’s Sovereign Oaks, which is purely designed around nature. The community encourages backyard farming for food production and the use of green building techniques. Properties have access to community gardens, a Green House, Bull Creek and serene nature trails.
Green Dining Scene
Green living in Asheville extends to the city’s exploding food scene. The Green Restaurant Association certifies restaurants demonstrating water and energy efficiency, waste reduction, recycling, sustainable food use and more. Asheville has 14 certified restaurants, which makes it a top green dining destination.
There’s the Green Sage Café, using local, organic ingredients to make healthy eating easy. Cantina serves Fresh Mex favorites while focusing on long-term business sustainability. The Corner Kitchen offers farm-to-table cuisine and works with local non-profits. For dessert, there’s French Broad Chocolates, with an impressive list of initiatives to minimize their environmental footprint.
That’s all without mentioning the 17 local markets, selling farm-fresh produce from the region. Farmers pride themselves on using sustainable practices and locals get to reap the rewards on the dinner table.
Entertainment
Even entertainment in eco-friendly Asheville has a green theme. The city hosts numerous fairs, festivals and events throughout the year, with focus on sustainable living, health and wellness.
Organicfest is a yearly, family-friendly event with green living workshops, organic food, drinks and crafts, live music and wellness practitioners. The Mother Earth News Fair offers more than 150 workshops from leading authorities, on organic gardening, food preservation, green building and natural health.
The annual WNC Home, Garden & Green Living Show features products, services and seminars on topics like solar energy, sustainable gardening and electric vehicles. No Taste Like Home runs regular foraging tours to learn how to safely gather and enjoy wild plants and mushrooms.
With sustainable initiatives, eco-friendly communities, green dining and entertainment focused on environmental awareness, Asheville is green city living, at its best.
Looking for more information on living in Asheville? You’ll find it in our Asheville Neighborhoods Guide.
Feature image credit: John Wollwerth/Shutterstock.com
