The Dirt Blog

Protecting Clean Drinking Water

April 1, 2014

I live in Carrboro, and our drinking water comes from streams and rivers, like Cane Creek, and Bolin Creek, right near our house flows into Lake Jordan, a regional water supply. And this is true for many of us – the majority of Americans get their drinking water from surface water, including streams and rivers, […]

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Wendell Berry’s Take on the Future of American Land

March 28, 2014

In an interview with Roger Cohn, executive editor of Yale Environment 360, Wendell Berry, a long time author, teacher, and activist, talks about the importance of local, sustainable farming. His views on the future of land in the United States are both pessimistic and optimistic. On the negative side, industrial agriculture has spread, drowning small, […]

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Comfort: Spring Roasted Chicken

March 26, 2014

In just a few weeks, our local farmers markets will change from their winter to summer schedule! In Durham, April 5 will mark the new season with Saturday hours from 8am – noon and Wednesdays from 3:30 – 6:30pm starting April 16. It's a wonderful time to check out the local produce and pick up […]

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Hope for the American Chestnut

March 20, 2014

One hundred years ago, forests looked very different than they do today. Before 1900, “one in every four hardwood trees in the North America’s eastern forests was an American chestnut,” writes Ferris Jabr in an article published by Scientific American. Their flowers were so numerous in the spring that “from a distance, the hills appeared […]

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Three Hours in the Triangle: Sandy Creek Park and Nosh

March 7, 2014

10 a.m. Arrive at Sandy Creek Park, 3510 Sandy Creek Drive, Durham, NC. Its 102 acre boundaries include vestiges of an old sewer treatment plant, but also a lovely, small lake, beautiful forest, and of course, the gurgling Sandy Creek itself. 10: 15 a.m. Follow the edge of the field and embark on the wooded […]

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Saving the Hemlocks from Invasive Species

March 6, 2014

Insects smaller than your pointer finger are taking down the giant hemlocks, the “redwoods of the east” that can grow as high as 150 feet, says Randy Edwards in a Nature Conservancy blog. Only the most recent of a long line of devastating invasive species, the hemlock woolly adelgids are killing hemlocks from Georgia to […]

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Three Hours in the Triangle: American Tobacco Trail and Watt’s Grocery

February 28, 2014

Photos courtesy of www.wattsgrocery.com 10 a.m. Arrive at the downtown Durham entrance to the American Tobacco Trail, 705 Willard Street, Durham. After a long awaited construction project, the 22+ rails-to-trails project has been completed and is open to the public. This historic trail connects with the East Coast Greenway, which stretches along the east coast […]

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Working to End Food Deserts in North Carolina

February 28, 2014

“More than 410,000 people live in 171 food deserts across North Carolina” – Jorge Valencia for WUNC North Carolina has a serious problem with food deserts, defined as “an area without access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk and other foods that make up the full range of a healthy diet” in an […]

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