- This event has passed.
Savory Naturalist Series: Holistic Management and Stream Health
April 15 @ 9:00 am - 12:00 pm EDT
$25
Come join Farm Director Virginia Hamilton and members of Asheville’s own Environmental Quality Institute to learn about the concept of Holistic Management and how these practices can help prioritize healthy waterways!
While we hunt for stream critters, we’ll talk about how planned grazing, creating a context specific to our landbase, and the concept of managing wholes allow us to produce food and nourish an ecologically sound watershed here at Hickory Nut Gap. We will take some time to learn to identify common benthic macroinvertebrates and then get in the stream to practice collecting and ID-ing these fascinating creatures. Benthic macroinvertebrates are important bio-indicators of water quality and the presence or absence of certain species can tell us a lot about the health of the waterway.
Attendees will break for an included biscuit brunch* from butcher Brian’s kitchen, as kick-netting is hungry work. When attending classes, you will receive a 5% discount in the Farm Store & Butchery! Tickets can be purchased at the link provided.
About the Environmental Quality Institute
The Environmental Quality Institute is a nonprofit laboratory that operates chemical and biological stream monitoring programs in western North Carolina. EQI coordinates sampling and data analysis for our 2 programs – VWIN (Volunteer Water Info. Network – chemical monitoring) and SMIE (Stream Monitoring Information Exchange – aquatic insects). VWIN has operated since 1990 and provides monthly chemical monitoring at more than 160 stream, river, and lake sites. The VWIN program is extremely cost-effective and reliable because trained community volunteers collect the samples, while analyses are performed at our nonprofit, state-certified lab. SMIE has operated since 2005 and is a collaboration of several western NC non-profit, educational institutions, and local, state, and federal agencies. The SMIE volunteer biological monitoring program focuses on aquatic invertebrates to help determine stream health for over 50 streams in WNC. To learn more about the EQI, click here.
