The Education Center at the farm doubles as a wedding and event venue space. Rentals help support ongoing projects at the farm. To find out more about renting the space for your own event, contact events@appalachian.org.
SAHC Community Farm
Conservation • Education • Celebration
Farm life never stops. Our ever-evolving 140-acre farm and education center in Alexander, NC continues to expand with exciting new programs and hands-on experiences. If you have not been out to see the farm recently, we welcome you to join one of the monthly guided farm tours, or sign up for a session in our Farmer Education Workshop Series! Visit Appalachian.org for the most up-to-date outings and workshop schedule.
Growing and Growing Earlier this year, we successfully transformed eight acres of pasture fronting Mag Sluder Road into a silvopasture demonstration project. Silvopasture integrates trees, pasture, and forage into a single system. Incorporating trees into agriculture improves land health and increases carbon sequestration.
Silvopasture is shown to reduce soil greenhouse gas emissions by 35-50 percent over open pasture, to build soil, improve water quality and increase rates of annual tree growth. With support from Contour Lines, Inc. and assistance from multiple volunteer groups, we planted over 4,000 trees and shrubs on contour to create a wooded pasture area that will benefit livestock and prevent erosion. Cover crop plantings will help protect water quality and prevent erosion as the trees mature.
The new silvopasture demonstration project, planted earlier this year, is thriving on the farm.
“This is a one-of-a-kind agroforestry project in our area, and continues our focus on using the Community Farm for both education and productive agriculture,” says Associate Director Kristy Urquhart. “We presented two informational workshops during the establishment phase of this new silvopasture area, and it will continue
SAHC Community Farm work is funded in part by grants from The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, a grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, and a cost-share grant from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
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to serve as an educational demonstration plot. Guests on our Discovery Trail hikes, workshop participants, and folks who are interested in establishing their own agroforestry projects will be able to see how the silvopasture area matures and creates multiple layers of benefits.” SAHC received a Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant to support the project, an initiative funded by the Appalachian Beginning Forest Farming Coalition (ABFFC) and Edwards Mother Earth Foundation (EMEF) that is managed by Virginia Tech University in partnership with Rural Action, Appalachian Sustainable Development, North Carolina State University and SilvoCulture. The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina provided grant funding to support the silvopasture project as well as new signage for the interpretive Discovery
