View of mountains and rhododendron

SAHC Response to COVID-19

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As a land trust, we always think about the big picture.

With the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation in our nation and local areas, this means that Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy will be operating from individual home and outdoor work sites in order to protect the health of staff, volunteers, supporters, partners, and our communities at-large. Our office on Merrimon Avenue is currently closed to the public. We have suspended all outings, events, and group education activities through the end of March, and will provide updates to our schedule in the future.

However, this doesn’t mean that we have stopped protecting the places you love.

SAHC has always been a forward-thinking and innovative organization. While the current situation presents many challenges and uncertainties, please know that we are diligently continuing to protect and steward land and water resources, while exploring remote technology options to help connect people with nature.

  • We are continuing to move forward with new land protection projects already in the works.
  • Our stewardship staff will continue to monitor protected properties. The Stew Crew is following social distancing recommendations while doing what they do best – spending time outdoors.
  • We are exploring ways to bring you environmental education instruction and virtual hike tours, using SAHC’s various communication channels.

We all know that spending time in outdoor spaces helps improve health outcomes. In the coming days and weeks, we will share tips and info about places to explore on your own.

State of Emergency declarations by government officials and mandatory K-12 school closings indicate that this is an unprecedented situation. As an organization, we have a commitment to uphold the highest standards of professionalism in our conservation work, and we extend that consideration to our operation within communities that we serve. We are following professional health recommendations in order to mitigate impact from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concern for the health and well-being of our planet and people within our communities has always been a founding principle for our conservation mission. This concern includes you.

We will continue to do this work and overcome the current challenges as we have always done — together.

Thank you for being part of the SAHC family.

Carl Silverstein
Executive Director