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N.C. Wildlife Federation chapter
opens in the High Country
By Tiffany Allison
Members of the High Country communities have formed a local
chapter of the N.C. Wildlife Federation called PACT, which stands
for Protecting, Advocating and Conserving Together.
Erin Singer, president of PACT, is a graduate student in the
biology program at Appalachian State University. Her dream is
to unite the entire community, including schools, churches and
industries to create an aware and environmentally conscious
town. PACT is interested in collaborating with other environmental
organizations in town.
“We are a community of environmentally conscious people,”
she said. “ We are all working for the same goal.”
Their goal is simple: those who are interested in participating
need to provide four things for their new wildlife – food,
water, shelter and a place to raise their young. She explained
that birdhouses, birdbaths, bat houses and native gardening
are all part of transforming a backyard into conservative habitats.
“You can certify your backyard by following those four
simple steps I mentioned,” she said. “It’s all
a web; by planting a native butterfly bush in your yard you
will start to attract native butterflies.”
There are two programs that are offered for churches and industries.
FAITH (Fellowship Actions Improving the Environment) is the
program designed to incorporate churches and WAIT (Wildlife
and Industry Together) is the program designed for industries.
In order for PACT to become certified, it has to have a certain
amount of participants involved in the school system, churches
and industry.
“Right now we are still in the organizing stage, but our
big project is community wildlife habitats,” Singer said.
“We are starting to become sustainable.”
Tim Gestwicki and Chris North work for the N.C. Wildlife Federation
and have formed nine other chapters together.
“They have been crucial in helping us get this thing going,”
she said.
The group meets every third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at
the Watauga County Public Library. The next meeting is Tuesday,
Nov. 18. At their next meeting, group members will be raffling
a composting worm bin. Raffle tickets are one ticket for $1
or six tickets for $5.
Dr. Gary Walker, a teacher at ASU, will be speaking on cliff-face
ecology at the next meeting. He will discuss some of the ecology
that one might see when hiking around the trails in the High
Country.
The group is still looking for sources of funding and has eight
open officer seats available that need to be filled.
“It’s a great way to meet likeminded individuals who
have the same values as you,” Singer said. “Anyone
who is interested in becoming involved, please come to our next
meeting.”
For more information, visit http://ncwildlife.ning.com/group/pact
on the Web.
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