Land Innovation Case for Support
Land Innovation. Modeling Conservation & Climate Action for a Changing World Recent conservation initiatives, experimental programs, and groundbreaking research have proven that Warren Wilson College is a leader for sustainable land management, building on the College’s long legacy as a model for land stewardship and environmental innovation. But what good is a model if no one sees it? Warren Wilson College is establishing new initiatives to share that model with the region and beyond and is using its applied learning philosophy to spread hope and meaningful action against the backdrop of climate change.
“It is exceedingly rare for a college to sit on this much land, but beyond that, our land is our classroom, our place of discovery, our source of joy and solace, and a central part of our identity and history.” – President Lynn M. Morton, Ph. D.
Addressing Critical Needs. We know housing and commercial development in Western North Carolina is encroaching on the open spaces and natural communities. We know climate change more adversely affects low-income communities and communities of color. We know we need people who can deftly navigate the ecological, social and economic realities of protecting our changing world and that inclusivity is at the heart of finding those solutions. We know these things because Warren Wilson College has provided a leading Environmental Studies Program since the 1970s. We’ve turned knowledge into action through initiatives such as Zero Waste, Real Food, and Presidents’ Climate Commitment.
We now have the opportunity to define and implement a curriculum in which the College campus itself can become the delivery system for, and the direct focus of, our academic programming.
Land as a Learning Laboratory. Our most important asset at Warren Wilson College is our land. It’s utilized daily as a classroom and work site due to its biodiversity and incredible learning opportunities. More than 1,100 acres of farm, garden and forest are integrated with our core campus, representing a unique interconnectedness in higher education. The unique ability of Warren Wilson College to perform a leadership role in climate action lies in our living laboratory and our applied learning model. Our campus is a microcosm of a vibrant community— working agricultural and forest lands, buildings, social institutions and economic drivers— providing unmatched opportunity for research, action and leadership.
When students learn approaches to mitigating the effects of climate change and managing an integrated landscape, they do it with hands-on action so they're not only preserving our own land for generations to come, their work is affecting the entire region. Students will leave Warren Wilson College as applied thinkers and capable agents of change no matter where they land or what issues they address.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or what your major is, the land touches everyone and contributes to each student’s learning while they are here.” – Asher Wright ’08, Farm Manager at Hickory Nut Gap Farm
A Unique Position. The Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina are one of the most biodiverse non-tropical regions in the world. These mountaintops and hollers hold unique microclimates and ecosystems, habitats to a myriad of flora and fauna species found nowhere else in the world. Climate change threatens these unique mountain microclimates, the only remaining homes to several endangered species. The incredible biodiversity of the region has a potentially devastating capacity for loss. Like many unique ecosystems, the Blue Ridge Mountains have a vital need not just for conservation, but for research into what actions
actually help. And realistically, landowners need examples of practices that will make conservation a financially viable option for them. Nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Warren Wilson College is uniquely placed to meet these challenges. With a working farm, garden, and forest, the College’s hundreds of students work and conduct original research on the land every day. Hundreds of hands and minds mean hundreds of potential solutions.
Conservation Exchange. “Warren Wilson College lands will become a regional model for integrative land stewardship based on innovation, conservation, and outreach by providing our students with a systems-based approach to land management. We will collaborate to exchange sustainable management practices and to build an example of a resilient and productive working landscape.” – The 2022 Strategic Plan Landowners in Appalachia and around the world have their own mixed-use landscapes and, in many cases, struggle to make a living from their land. Many are forced to sell to developers, further fragmenting the landscape. This can increase carbon emissions and decrease biodiversity. Under the Dean of Land Resources, we are developing a model by creating new resources for landowners. And, we are reaching out to engage local, national, and international stakeholders in sustainable, economically viable innovative land stewardship. We will contribute to the knowledgebase of sustainable land management by testing the economic viability of current operations and measuring the sustainability of not-yet-tested new ideas. The goal of the Land Innovation Program is not just to “do what works” but to “see what works” and to broadly disseminate that information to landowners.
Building Our Model. The first step in being a leader in sustainable and innovative land management was to begin to build our model.
Non-Timber Forest Products. One of the major causes of deforestation is that forests become an economic drain on landowners. Timber takes decades to mature, which means decades of property taxes with no profit. Landowners sell forests for development or other more lucrative uses. In order to prevent deforestation – and carbon increases as a result – landowners need a forestry model that is economically viable. We have a model to show them. For several decades now, we have used the College Forest to develop innovative ways to make profitable forestry a reality through non-timber forest products. Recent experiments in our 3,000 square foot research shade house determined effective propagation techniques for wild medicinal plants that were overharvested nearly to extinction in the past-- including ginseng, wild ginger, goldenseal, black cohosh, and ramps. We have started selling these “Guaranteed from Seed” seedlings to the public and distribute them to landowners. Some non-timber forest products have proven more viable than others, but that is part of the point. Landowners don’t have time or resources to experiment and figure out what works, but with your help, we can. After students work out difficulties and streamline the process through experimentation, we can show landowners proven models for profitable forestry and prevent deforestation in the region.
A Quest for Carbon-Neutral Cattle. Because livestock farming usually produces a very large carbon footprint, the College is using several regenerative farming methods in an effort to reduce that footprint. While most farms specialize in either growing crops or farming livestock, at Warren Wilson all of the grains students grow on College land are kept on the farm to feed the animals. We will test the carbon sequestration in the soil of our regenerative agriculture and rotational grazing techniques in order to mitigate the carbon footprint of our farm and determine whether it’s possible to have a carbon-neutral cattle operation. We’re operating as a regenerative model in the Southeast for an integrated crop and livestock system.
Climate Change Gardens. We recently established the Warren Wilson College Phenology Stewardship Program to contribute phenological observations and research to the USA National Phenology Network. We established several phenology
garden plots and a phenological monitoring trail on campus to serve as long-term research locations. Students and faculty observe and track seasonal changes in select plants growing on these plots and trails. They are encouraging community members to get involved, take the training, and become “citizen scientists,” contributing to global climate change research.
“Ultimately, it’s our hope that this kind of work – in dedicated research plots and through our ‘citizen science’-focused phenology trail – will help us to answer some of these questions that I think are really pressing, as we consider how our wild places may change as the climate changes.” – Biology Professor Alisa Hove, Ph.D.
Plan for the Future. We’re building partnerships with business owners who are interested in learning more about economically viable environmentally sustainable options as the public demand grows for businesses to take responsibility for their role in climate change. We’re developing local, national, and international partnerships that can provide two-way communication, an exchange of ideas and methods, for integrated land management that benefits landowners while preserving the environment and combating climate change. [Subhead] Climate change solutions and conservation research require investment. To determine the rate of carbon sequestration from rotational grazing, students need time and equipment. To establish new protocols for seed propagation of endangered wild plants takes supplies, and sometimes false starts.
Help us experiment and take risks. With your help, we can undertake the following initiatives: A Commercial Kitchen to produce our own value-added non-timber forest products, garden products, and farm products in-house—both saving processing costs and providing teaching and learning opportunities for students and our community A Land Institute that will create a hub for regional, national, and international research and consulting on land planning, diversification, management, conservation, and development. Green Entrepreneurship to build an academic program that combines our
environmental studies program paired with a new business major to inspire innovation and new green businesses. Conservation to explore easements and other long-term conservation methods. Renewable energy for equipment including solar farm equipment and solar fields. Other new academic programs to explore new programs in land management, climate change solutions, conservation biology.
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