Spring Action: Riverbank Restoration & Volunteer Opportunities
Dear friends,
Spring is bringing new energy to recovery efforts across Western North Carolina. Volunteers, partners, and neighbors are helping communities rebuild stronger following Hurricane Helene.
Here’s what’s been happening and ways for you to get involved:
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunity – Tree Planting in BakersvilleVolunteers needed!
Join Trout Unlimited and Beacon as we plant 600+ native trees in the North Toe River watershed in Bakersville.
March 28 — Volunteer Tree Planting Day March 29 — Free Community Tree Giveaway
Community members are also welcome to pick up native trees for their own properties.Register here to volunteer or sign up for free trees on March 28-29. To stay up to date on future volunteer opportunities, make sure you’ve filled out our volunteer sign-up sheet.
Help Us Get a Work Truck!
As our crews continue daily recovery and restoration work, we’re in need of a reliable work truck—donated if possible—to help transport volunteers, tools, and materials across the region.
Needed specs: FWD, four seats, and towing/hauling capacity of at least 10,000 lbs. Please reach out to Jared Dubin at jdubin@thebeaconnetwork.org.
Hurricane Recovery Crew: Camper Winterization Complete!
Our Hurricane Recovery Crew has wrapped up camper winterization, helping families in temporary housing stay safe and warm.
120 campers were weatherized for survivors!
Hooray! With winter projects complete, the crew has now turned to ecological restoration work and home repairs, remaining on the job every day to support communities rebuilding after the storm.
Riverbank Restoration & Volunteer Workdays
20 students from Cedarville University joined us for three full days of hands-on restoration work. Together, with help from the Beacon and MountainTrue work crews, we:
Planted 2,000 live stakes
Planted 100 native plants
Harvested 500 river cane culms for this year’s Cane Train
This crucial work restores ecosystems and protects against erosion and future storms.
The Cane Train is launching again this year to help landowners restore native riparian buffers with indigenous river cane. Interested in planting cane on your property? Reach out through our Landowner Contact Form.
Community Seed Swaps
In February, Beacon supported community seed swaps in Yancey County and Mitchell County, bringing neighbors together to share seeds, native plants, and growing knowledge.
Beacon, Blue Ridge RC&D, and MountainTrue contributed live stakes and native plants to support streambank and riparian restoration. More than 1,000 live stakes were distributed to community members during these events. Special thanks to Dig In! Yancey and Song to Seed for making these events possible.
Community Resilience Hubs
Beacon is actively planning Community Resilience Hubs, with twice-monthly stakeholder meetings underway. These hubs will be equipped with emergency supplies, communications tools, and resources to support communities during disasters—while also serving as year-round resource centers.
Partner Update: Yancey County Long-Term Recovery Group (LTRG)
Our partners at the Yancey County Long-Term Recovery Group continue coordinating recovery and long-term resilience efforts:
Funding Deadline: FEMA-related recovery funding ends March 29. Appeals must be submitted by March 25, and only active files with an open case and an appeal in place by March 29 will be considered.
The LTRG case managers remain available to our community for support in navigating recovery. Visit their website at www.yanceyltrg.org. Sign up for case management online, reach out to casemanager@yanceyltrg.org, or visit their office:
715 E Main Street, BurnsvilleHours:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 9 AM – 4 PM
Tuesday: 1 PM – 4 PM
Donors & Supporters
This work is made possible by our generous donors, volunteers, and partners. We especially want to thank the North Carolina Community Foundation, whose $100,000 grant will support ongoing recovery, restoration, and resilience-building efforts across the region.
Many thanks also to the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, whose recent contribution of $50,000 has been essential in keeping our core operations and staff running strong. We’re grateful!
Thank you to everyone who contributes—through time, resources, or partnership. You strengthen our shared resilience and we are so grateful.
In solidarity,
Sarah Ogletree & The Beacon Network Teamwww.thebeaconnetwork.org
