Hickory Nut Creek.
What is an Eco-Community?
It is a sustainable community where we choose to consciously live in harmony and balance with the natural world. It is a community designed to respect the environment by: protecting the land, using renewable energies for heat and light, building green homes, and supporting healthy lifestyles, as well as convenient access to healthcare, education, entertainment and transportation.
Why live in the Hickory Nut Forest eco-community?
We protect the land. Living here is for someone who loves to walk out their front door and immediately be surrounded by a beautiful forest. A forever-wild conservation easement protects the land around Hickory Nut Forest. Covenants on the lots ensure that homes will blend naturally into the forest. The most special places will stay wild for all to enjoy: the cascading streams, tumbling waterfalls, sheer cliffs, and distant vistas. With over six miles of hiking trails, people can enjoy the adjoining 800 acres in Little Bearwallow Mountain Preserve and Florence Nature Preserve. Just down the gorge are another 3500 acres of waterfalls and cliff at Chimney Rock State Park.
We use renewable energy. Our goal is to eliminate the need for fossil fuels and generate energy from a variety of renewable energy sources: solar, wind, hydro and geothermal. Solar thermal panels will collect energy from sunlight to make heat for radiant floors and hot water. Wind turbines, micro-hydro turbines, and photovoltaic panels will make electricity. Geothermal heat pumps will tap the earth’s stable temperature. Hickory Nut Forest is designed to be a net-zero energy community, where more renewable energy is created than we use.
We build only green homes. All of the homes will be designed using green principles that insure they are healthy, energy efficient and friendly to the environment. Some of the features include: using sustainable building materials, non-toxic paints, super-insulated walls, daylighting to conserve energy, local recycled materials, permaculture/water recycling, solar heating, thermal mass, radiant flooring, and geothermal heating and cooling. All of the homes will be certified as HealthyBuiltHomes, HERS rated and EnergyStar.
We encourage a healthy lifestyle. Many people who choose to live in the mountains of North Carolina, also want to live a healthy lifestyle. We encourage residents to take advantage of the many outdoor recreation opportunities available nearby. Healthy foods are also available locally at an organic farm with a CSA. An organic apple orchard is located nearby.
Many amenities and activities are conveniently available nearby. Within walking distance in the Village of Gerton are: the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Center, Nita’s Grocery, the Post Office, tennis courts and hiking trails. A short drive down Hickory Nut Gorge are: Chimney Rock, Bat Cave and Lake Lure with dining, boating, swimming and even rock climbing, if you are more adventurous. Less than 30 minutes away are Asheville, Hendersonville and Black Mountain with a vast variety of dining, music, art, education, healthcare and an airport. And of course, you can go for a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, hike the Appalachian Trail or visit the Smoky Mountains.
Laughing Waters Retreat and Conference Center will offer a variety of events and activities for the community. Located at the site of an historic gristmill, Laughing Waters will be our first green, solar, zero-energy dwelling and a model for future homes in the community. It is designed to serve as an education, training and research center for demonstrating eco-friendly building and sustainable living.
We plan to make it available for various community events and social gatherings, as well as for quiet, restful retreats.
Hickory Nut Creek.
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CONTACT .
Phone: 828-252-6258
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HICKORY
NUT FOREST
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Website
by PattenDesign .
April 16, 2008
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