Heat affects everyone.
But we don't all experience it the same ways.

Some parts of Asheville are hotter than others.
In some areas, it's hard to find places to cool off.

We want to figure out exactly where.
And we need your help.

Today GreenWorks is unveiling its new mission and strategic direction, which are focused on meeting the most urgent local challenges posed by the changing climate.

You can help save pollinators! The month of May is the perfect time to have a positive impact.

Whether you rent or own your home, everyone can play a role in reversing pollinator decline — right from your own backyard! 

This summer, GreenWorks will map the hottest neighborhoods in Asheville and parts of Buncombe County, as one of 18 cities in an international study on extreme heat in urban areas.

GreenWorks has been selected to lead an Asheville-area heat mapping campaign as part of a program coordinated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Program Office, the interagency National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS), and CAPA Strategies, LLC.

Time to gather the kids and hunt for Easter eggs—monarch butterfly eggs, that is! This weekend, our endangered native monarch butterflies will begin arriving back in Western North Carolina from their overwintering sites in southern Mexico.

What would you do if you saw that one of your neighborhood streams was completely clogged by litter?

For Ellen, it was a call to knock the dust off her trusty trash grabbers.  

Ellen is one of GreenWorks’ most active DIY cleanup volunteers. 

For 20 years, she conducted regular litter cleanups on London Road as part of GreenWorks’ Adopt-a-Street program.  

“What happens when our schools, our roads, and all of our public greenways are surrounded by dead forest?”

Raven Sterling, owner of Raven Invasive Management, can’t look around at the invasive plants strangling Asheville’s trees without seeing a ticking clock.

Im starting off our Climate Resilience Q&A series with a little wisdom on emergency preparedness from the Boy Scouts of America, whose motto is “Be Prepared.”

Meet Nallah, a 2019 alum of our Youth Environmental Leadership Program (YELP) and our Education Hero for 2022. 

“I always say GreenWorks and the YELP program were my ‘big break,’” Nallah said. 

We welcome volunteers from all over Buncombe County and beyond, of all ages and backgrounds, who come into this community from all kinds of life experiences.

What do they all have in common?

They care enough to take action—and then they keep taking action—to build a climate-resilient future we can all thrive in. 

Mary Pat and her husband Tom are our 2022 Urban Forestry Heroes for their willingness to take action to create a climate-resilient future for our community.

Mary Pat and Tom lived abroad for years, and landed in North Asheville when they moved back. Questions about how to care for the trees on their own property prompted them to get involved with the GreenWorks Sand Hill Tree Nursery and the TreeKeeper program.

Do you want to go fishing next to used baby diapers or paddle your kayak past porta-potty parts?

Neither did George Santucci.

George is our 2022 Water Quality Hero for his leadership and creative pursuit of innovative solutions to urgent water quality challenges in Boone, N.C.

Meet Bryan Tompkins, our Native Pollinator Hero for 2022, who inspired us with his big energy and relentless commitment to plant new pollinator habitat everywhere he can.

“You don’t have to have hundreds of acres of habitat before you start seeing some benefit to native species. Every little bit truly does help,” Bryan said.

Meet our 2022 Rivers & Roads Hero: Pat, a retired school counselor and tireless river guardian.

For about a year, every time she drove down Emma Road, she complained about the litter she saw.

“I live about seven minutes from Emma, and I use it all the time. I kept complaining that it looks awful. Every time I was in the car, I would say, ‘There’s so much litter. There’s got to be something I can do about it,’” Pat said

We'd like to share one of the most heartwarming stories we've heard in a long time.

It starts with a brave 10-year-old, some chickens & birthday money, and a very proud family.

This summer, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the migratory monarch butterfly as “Endangered." This news was tough to hear, but our Bee City USA - Asheville Leadership Committee didn’t get discouraged. They got to work.

This spring, our Mind Your Plastic May (MYPM) Challenge winner, Renee, inspired us by taking small everyday action to reduce the waste she created. Six months later, we caught up with her to hear more about her waste reduction journey.

We often meet volunteers for just a single project, and don’t have the opportunity to see the impact joining alongside GreenWorks has on them. A year ago, we met Devin, and just recently he shared about the impact volunteering with GreenWorks has had on the course of his life.