Mission
Supporting Western North Carolina in the creation and stewardship of community forests & orchards
Vision
Community-based forests which connects people to nature and brings people closer to each other.
Our Values
Community-Based Practices
Place local community and neighborhood groups in the driver’s seat.
Strengthen the roles, rights, and responsibilities of local community groups in implementing and stewarding projects.
Serve as guides, coaches, educators, liaisons, facilitators, and catalysts in support of community projects.
Togetherness
Bring people together in community to support and know each other.
Counter patterns of growing social isolation perpetuated by today’s vices, distractions, and fast-paced life.
Support and value everyone, regardless of background, while–through creation–working to dismantle systems of oppression.
Co-cultivate a culture of collaboration across organizations and towns.
Connectivity
Acknowledge the profound connections between all parts of a forest ecosystem. Wildlife, pollinators, plants, fungi, microorganisms, soil health, stormwater, water quality, air quality, temperature, and humans are all connected. Acknowledge that humans are part of nature.
Cultivate and steward healthy relationships between people, nature, economics, neighborhoods, towns, and ideas towards building strength, resilience, and compassion in the face of adversity.
Maintain a spirit of humility and a joy for learning, acknowledging that humans only understand a small portion of the many ecological connections.
Integrity
Acknowledge that our work comes with great responsibility and will have lasting impacts for people, communities, and the natural world.
A commitment to operating at the highest professional standards possible.
Commit to doing what is right regardless of how hard it is.
Center compassion at the heart of all our work.
