Feature
Brooke Kornegay A Podcaster and Community Leader Dedicated to Local Food and Sustainability One interesting phenomenon that happened in response to the
2020 shutdowns has been the move to grow one’s own food again. In the spring, garden stores and feed stores either sold out of seeds and garden goods or had to order up to three times more product than needed in a normal year. One person in the High Country who has her pulse on all things gardening, farming and sustainable food production is Brooke Kornegay. A native of Charleston, S.C., Brooke moved to the High Country to become a sustainable development student at Appalachian State University. Years after her graduation, she has been involved with the Watauga Food Council and is known 14 | November-December 2020
for her wonderful podcast Soul Soil, which can be heard on Apple Podcasts. The theme of the Soul Soil podcast is “Where Agriculture and Spirit Intersect.” After visiting the High Country in 1997, Brooke fell in love with the mountains. “Coming from the coastal plains of Charleston, S.C., and seeing the mountains here in whichever direction I looked completely captivated me,” says Brooke. “While I was in college, I had no idea that I would end up settling here. I graduated in three and a half years and went directly to graduate school for the sustainable systems MS program. After graduating, and after a brief stint in Portland, Oregon, I went to Malawi, Africa, as a Peace Corps
volunteer. When I returned to the States in 2006, the only place I wanted to go to was Boone. It wasn’t long after visiting old friends up here that I moved back. Truly, there is no other place that I’ve lived that has measured up to here.” As for Brooke’s love for nature and agriculture, it kicked into high gear after she became immersed in her studies. “It all began here; in between classes, after classes and on the weekends,” said Brooke. “I found myself in nature and hiking, biking, climbing, camping, swimming and learning the names of the trees and the plants. I soaked up the sun and the views and the oxygen from the woods, letting Nature light up every part of my being. Nature and community is a aawmag.com
