Foothills Conservancy seeks applicants to advance goals of new strategic plan

Following a yearlong strategic planning process, Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina is reopening and restructuring two staff positions to better align with its goals of expanding environmental education and strengthening relationships in Western North Carolina communities.

The land conservation nonprofit, which serves eight counties including Burke, announced it is hiring a Community Engagement Coordinator and a Development Specialist following its strategic planning process that included community interviews and surveys. Leaders say the feedback revealed strong public support for conservation efforts that not only protect land and water, but also provide visible, accessible benefits for residents.

“As development pressure intensifies across the region, participants named several recurring community priorities,” said Katherine Ehrlichman, marketing and development director, adding that those priorities include clean water and watershed protection, accessible outdoor spaces, preservation of farmland, and youth education and engagement.

The Community Engagement Coordinator will focus directly on engaging younger generations, ranging from children in elementary school to young adults in college.

“They’re connecting with kids, and instilling environmental education and conservation values, awareness at a young age. I think we all have that moment we can reflect back on … whether it’s at a summer camp or a hike with your mom or family member, there’s a moment where it clicks, like ‘this is why we do this,’” Ehrlichman said.

Another priority is creating more community-centered projects that incorporate local history, food, and arts into conservation work. Oak Hill Community Park and Forest is a great example.

“Every single programmatic focus area is on display at Oak Hill, from land conservation, our stewardship, forest management, farm, agriculture, art, heritage,” she said.

“We really are meeting so many of those goals at Oak Hill Park, and so part of the Community Engagement Coordinator’s role is going to be an active part in bringing people in and helping people use that space and understand the programs that are happening there,” said Katy Abrams, communications manager.

The role of the Development Specialist is to help deepen relationships with those that already support the organization.

“These two roles really are a very clear embodiment of the goals of the strategic plan,” Abrams said. “Our strategic plan is focused on deepening our presence in communities, broadening our impact through education, through community engagement, and also strengthening partnerships that are really the foundation of how our organization functions.”

The majority of Foothills Conservancy’s projects are throughout McDowell, Burke, and Caldwell counties. That’s because many of those projects involve expanding on public lands, Ehrlichman said, which is one of the organization’s main conservation priorities.

A central goal is creating an 80,000-acre conservation corridor connecting the South Mountains to the Blue Ridge. Foothills Conservancy is chipping away at the funding needed to acquire the 12,000-acre Hickorynut Mountain wilderness area in McDowell and Rutherford counties, which will play a key role in that connection.

“That project is separated into several phases. I mean, it is a really long-term, very significant project, and we have made some real progress with that,” Abrams said, adding that Foothills Conservancy has raised over $10 million in funding for the project, but there’s still more than double that to go.

Ehrlichman said the organization wants to get communities more engaged in Alexander, Catawba, Cleveland, Lincoln, and Rutherford counties, where work consists primarily of protecting farmlands.

“Awareness remains low in certain counties, and so we do want to increase our presence through rotating community events, multilingual communications, and partnerships with strong groups in schools in those counties,” Ehrlichman said.

Foothills Conservancy recently released “A Dream for the Future,” a nearly 30-minute documentary that showcases the organization’s 30 years of protecting land, water, and community spaces across Western North Carolina. The film, which is posted online at foothillsconservancy.org, is an important resource for further educating communities about conservation, Ehrlichman said.

For those interested in applying to the two new positions at Foothills Conservancy, Ehrlichman said staff are accepting applications until March 1.

The Foothills Conservancy headquarters is at 204 Avery Ave., Morganton. Learn more about the organization at foothillsconservancy.org.