Dear ECO Friend:

I hope you’re staying cool through summer's heat. There’s been a whirlwind of activity at ECO since the year began. Hundreds of volunteers participated in organizing and running our successful 40th Earth Day celebration. A packed house enjoyed the wacky, wild, melodic sound of environmental music and storytelling at Marvelous Malarkey last month. Successful forums were held about steep slopes and mudslides as well as about our energy future in light of the gusher in the gulf.

ECO launched its SWAT team program this spring, enlisting local volunteers to monitor problem streams. One of the focuses will be the Mills River, which suffers from increasing pesticide/ fungicide runoff from vegetable farms. Bacterial testing is being launched as ECO volunteers identify every effluence pipe in the county and begin a regular testing program as a companion to our chemical and biomonitoring testing. 

ECO’s advocacy work has led to the county’s adoption of its first local stormwater ordinance. On the state level, we fought off an attempt to prevent the reclassification of Boylston Creek as a trout stream, pending future public hearings. (More to come on this.)  Recycling in the county hit a real high note with new recycling mandates for every wastehauler in 2011 and with ECO's new initiative to insure that every downtown festival has a recycling component. And final touches are being put on ECO’s Third Annual Green Home Tour (August 21) as well as ECO’s third documentary film focusing on water quality.

There’s much more to say about our progress and plans, but there’ll be future opportunities for this. We love to recognize ECO's accomplishments and point to the many volunteers and supporters who help us succeed.

As much as we've achieved so far in 2010, we’ve hit a huge brick wall called the economy. ECO depends upon four sources of funding to fulfill our mission:  membership dues, grant support, fundraising events and sponsorships. In good times, we've been able to rely on a steady revenue stream to fund hard costs such as laboratory testing, facilities and salaries. Naturally, in tough times like today, charitable giving plummets and spending is more guarded. Obviously, a laid-off family member deserves priority in times of need. Yet, we know you value what ECO stands for: that’s why we've been able to count on your support over the years to protect our precious mountains. Now more than ever, we’re asking you to dig deeper to help ECO get through 2010 without wondering if we can continue to keep our doors open. 

This summer, we’ve launched a Summer Splash Mini-Fundraising Campaign to raise $20,000 that will help pay for water quality, energy, policy and recycling work as well as other expenses ECO must meet in order to survive. Because much of our work is done by hundreds of volunteers, your donations go farther to make a real difference for our local environment. 

To reward our summer donors, we're offering some great gifts. Donate $100 or more to Summer Splash and receive a free copy of the recently-released, award-winning documentary Dirt! The Movie, an insightful film that tells the story of the glorious and unappreciated material beneath our feet.
Dirt! takes a humorous but substantial look into the history and current state of the living organic matter that we come from and return to. Additionally, all summer campaign donors will be enter-ed into our raffle to win a 5-day stay in the Costa Rican Rainforest or 2 tickets to Biltmore Estate, a rain barrel, a whitewater rafting trip or other great prizes.

You can donate easily online at www.eco-wnc.org or mail your tax deductible contribution to: ECO, 121 Third Avenue West, Hendersonville, NC 28792.

Thanks so much for your continued support. With your help, our mission of protecting our natural heritage as an effective voice for the environment is realized in stronger ways every day.

Sincerely,

David Weintraub
ECO Executive Director