Feeding of bears and improperly secured trash containers in Montreat are strictly prohibited and will be enforced by strict fines.

Do not approach bears under any circumstances and keep your cars locked. For more detailed education on living with urban bears, contact Bearwise.org.

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Please consider a tax-deductible gift to help us build Flat Creek Crossing Accessible Trail.

Consider a pledge spread over 3 years (2024, 2025 and 2026). Here is the pledge form.

Any amount will help. We hope to open in the summer of 2025.

Flat Creek Crossing Accessible Trail Pledge Form (PDF)

Please make checks payable to the Town of Montreat with Flat Creek Crossing on the memo line,
and mail them to:

Town of Montreat
P.O. Box 423
Montreat, NC 28757

 
Flat Creek Crossing Trail will include:

• Designated accessible parking
• Convenient drop-off spot for those with mobility challenges (see Welcome Zone on map)
• Ten-foot wide, smooth trail made of environmentally friendly materials. Curb and handrail for safety
• Scenic picnic area with stone seating & Leave No Trace instruction
• Signs to educate about natural features and how to be helpful to those who live with disabilities

Download the Flat Creek Crossing Brochure

Your help is needed!

Please consider a tax-deductible donation made out to the Town of Montreat,
with Flat Creek Crossing on the memo line.

Send to:
Montreat Landcare
P.O. Box 92
Montreat, NC 28757

Flat Creek Crossing Accessible Trail Renderings

(Click on an image below to view full-size rendering)

April Carder Watercolor – Welcome Center

April Carder Watercolor – Picnic Area

April Carder Watercolor – Native Plant Grotto

 
Many come to Montreat looking forward to hiking a wooded trail to the top of Lookout or enjoying the sights and sounds of a mountain creek. Natural beauty in every season offers quiet and solitude and the chance to get off the beaten track. For some, those enjoyments are just not easily reachable. Our new all-persons trail will change that by creating a universally accessible path to Flat Creek. We hope you will help us” fund “ our way there. The new 0.1-mile trail will transform an unused access road just inside the Montreat gate, on the right side, south of the Memorial Garden. This trail is the first accessible site intended to link to existing Montreat trails. Stop by next time you are in town to check on our progress!
Flat Creek Crossing will be paid for by donations from citizens and friends of Montreat and grant awards. It is a project of the Montreat Landcare Committee which assumes all financial responsibility for the trail’s construction and maintenance. Landcare is an advisory board to the Town made up of representatives from the Town of Montreat, the Montreat Conference Center, Montreat College, the Earth Care Ministry Team of Montreat Presbyterian Church, and Montreat Cottagers. The trail site is located on Town land and permission for use has been granted through the Town Council.
 

Join us on this exciting new project!

Create

Our goal is to create a safe, barrier-free trail that will provide equal access for all to the natural beauty of this creekside setting.

Contribute

$305,000 is needed for excavation, permeable surfacing, trailhead/parking construction, signage, stone benches, and plantings of native species to continue to shade the water, edit views, and protect the creek. There are several technical challenges to meet for stabilizing the creek bank, creating the riparian buffer, and necessary stormwater engineering. This trail will be sustainable with a budget set aside for ongoing maintenance. Please consider making your tax-deductible donation so the work can begin. Visit our Support page to find a pledge form and credit card information.

Make checks to the Town of Montreat with Flat Creek Crossing on the memo line.
Mail to Town of Montreat, P.O. Box 423, Montreat, NC 28757

Sweat equity is also needed! Can you provide hands-on help with removing debris and invasive plants? Visit our website to sign up for scheduled work days.

Care

For the land and water of Montreat’s unique forest cove. Protect Flat Creek and ensure that future generations will have a place to be refreshed alongside this beautiful mountain stream.
 

We want everyone to be able to get to the creek!

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For this year’s Native Plant Sale, go here:  Native Plant Sale & Arbor Day Celebration – Montreat Landcare Committee.

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The brochure was provided by funds from the Landcare Committee and is available at the Town Hall rain garden or by clicking on the link below. Pick up a copy, then build your own rain garden!

Build Your Own Rain Garden Brochure

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Montreat organizations collaborate with the work of the Hemlock Restoration Initiative, including the Town of Montreat Tree Board, Montreat College, Montreat Conference Center, Montreat Cottagers Association, and Montreat Landcare Committee.

Hemlocks and the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

One of the major invasive pest problems of the East Coast of the United States is the destruction of the Hemlocks by a tiny insect called the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae). It was introduced accidentally from southern Japan and is endemic to Asia. In Asia, it is not as destructive because there are native predators and more resistant tree species. This tiny insect can kill the Hemlocks in the eastern United States in 3 to 5 years, even large old-growth Hemlocks. It affects both the Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) as well as the local endemic Carolina Hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana).

Since the hemlocks are evergreen trees that are found near streams and moist areas, they are an important tree for the environment and protect the fish populations in the streams by keeping the water temperatures low. There is not an equivalent tree species that with take the place of the hemlocks.

The Adelgid is a tiny insect that lives at the base of the needles of the Hemlocks and sucks the juices from the needles and injects saliva. The needles will die and then will limit the nutrients and growth of the tree from the massive loss of the needles. The adelgid gets its name from the white cottony “cocoon” at the base of the needles that encases and protects the adelgid and the nymphs. To check for infestation, turn a branch over and see the white cottony clumps at the base of the needles. (See below for treatment measures available.)

Montreat Activities

Over the years, the Montreat Conference Center has been treating selective hemlocks in the most visible areas of the Center. In particular, trees near Lake Susan, the Post Office, and around the center of the community have been treated several times. Other selective treatments have been done at the Walk Jones Wildlife Sanctuary and at the Memorial Garden near the gate.

In 2008, a Montreat resident, John Johnson, approached Montreat Landcare to initiate a grassroots Hemlock protection project called “Save the Hemlocks along Flat Creek.” John worked with Landcare to disseminate information and conduct a fundraising campaign to treat all the hemlocks along Flat Creek from the gate to the lake that had not been treated by the Conference Center. This effort resulted in $6,600 being raised for treatments. An attempt was also made to treat hemlocks from the lake to the Greybeard trailhead, but most were already dead, except for 28 treated in the campground.

Appalachian Arborists performed the work in two separate treatments along the creek and in the campground. With extra funds remaining, a large stand of Carolina Hemlocks above Chapman Road was also treated. Appalachian Arborists, at their expense, also treated some along Puncheon Creek on the way up the Lookout Trailhead. In total, 526 hemlocks were treated.

In 2015, another Save Our Hemlocks project was launched in cooperation with a collection of Western North Carolina organizations entitled the Hemlock Restoration Initiative. A Montreat Task Force of Joe Standaert, Rusty Frank, John Johnson and Philip Arnold conducted a $15,000 fund raising drive from local organizations and individuals and also obtained a NC State grant for $5,000 to educate the community of the value of the hemlock tree, the devastation caused by the woolly adelgid and the benefits of bio control offered by the Laricobius nigrinus predator beetle.

Montreat College students produced a portable poster to use at displays and also a permanent trail sign located by the Post Office parking lot. Individuals were encouraged to chemically treat hemlock trees on their own private property. On public lands, green spaces, and property of not-for-profit organizations, Appalachian Arborists chemically treated an additional 231 large hemlock trees, and the Task Force, working through the Landcare Committee and the Town of Montreat, purchased and released 2,700 Laricobius beetles, at $5.00 each, through October 2016. A report on the grant activities can be downloaded here.

In 2025, the Montreat Tree Board, in collaboration with the Hemlock Restoration Initiative (HRI), developed a project to treat hemlocks between Assembly Drive and Flat Creek from the gate to the field. This effort followed the 2024 treatments by MRA of approximately 80 of their trees. In April 2025, after an educational session, 13 volunteers used the systemic soil drench method to treat over 120 hemlocks under the close supervision of HRI specialists. In the fall of 2025, professionals treated via injection an additional 15 hemlock trees in the same area thanks to the efforts of Ashley Manson. The 2025 projects would not have been possible without volunteers and donors, especially the support of Joe and Mary Standaert.

Adelgid Treatment Options

The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) can be treated in several ways, depending on the size of the tree and funds available. All chemical treatment options require continued re-treatments, even if 3 to 5 years apart. Since the HWA has its cottony, protective “cocoon” for most of the year, some of the treatment options require timing for the two periods of the year when the insects are “out” of their protection. Systemic treatments can be done at any time, but are better when the trees are actively growing and pulling soil water from the ground. Options include:

• Small trees: A homeowner with small trees (less than 20 feet) can effectively treat the trees by using a handheld sprayer and drenching the branches. The ideal time is mid-March to mid-April and again in September and October. You can use an insecticidal horticultural soap or horticultural oil. The insecticidal soap kills by contact, and the oil sprays kill by suffocation. You must drench all the branches for ideal coverage.
• Larger Trees: You can use a systemic soil drench. This is applied, based on tree diameter, by pouring (or injecting) the insecticide at the base of the tree. The tree absorbs the chemical into its vascular system, and the feeding insects are killed. It can be applied from March to June or September to November. It will last for two years. Common brands are Bayer Tree & Shrub Insect Control Concentrate or Merit insecticide that contains the chemical Imidacloprid. For very large trees, a professional can do a soil injection or an injection in the trunk of the tree.
• Biological Control: There is a predatory beetle, Laricobius nigrinus, native to the northwestern United States that feeds on the adelgid. Not for the homeowner, but the National Parks and the Forest Service have been raising and aerially releasing populations of this beetle in large areas like the Smokies. Results have been mixed, but with considerable success in Avery County, NC.

Resources:

An internet search for “Hemlock Woolly Adelgid” will produce many articles and websites regarding the insect, its effects, and treatment options.

A select few sites are:

• Wikipedia, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Fact Sheet
• Hemlock Restoration Initiative (HRI)
• HRI – Chemical Treatments for Landowners

For information about managing trees in Montreat, consult the Tree Management Guide. Also Available through the town office.

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Welcome to the Montreat Landcare Committee’s Beautiful Day webpage!

Here you will find information and resources that may be just what you or someone you know could use during these stay-in-place days to brighten a connection with the out-of-doors. The aim of Landcare is to post material online through occasional pages that focus on subjects of interest to the Montreat community. Our hope is that year-round and seasonal residents as well as the many friends of Montreat will find something beautiful, inspiring and useful as they engage with nature, even if remotely, online or perhaps in the yard outside the door.

Whether it’s a video of blossoming, local native flowers, or ideas for creating a wildlife-friendly garden in your yard, or a virtual tour of a park or botanical garden, Landcare is working to select and provide to the community materials you’ll enjoy. You may be seeking publications on selecting plants for the garden, or how to “Firewise” your home, or how to prune a tree while “distanced” in your yard.

The Landcare team is made up of citizens who represent the community. We’re employed and retired, younger and older, and are missing certain access to outdoor spaces. So, while we are practicing “stay-at-home-stay-safe” practices we still want to stay in touch with the natural world. We welcome your ideas on making this happen!

To celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the planet’s Earth Day, we offer our first Montreat Beautiful Day page, on native plants; click here for MONTREAT BEAUTIFUL DAY: PLANTS IN ALL THEIR GLORY!

TAKE A VIRTUAL WILDFLOWER WALK CLOSE TO HOME

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Certifying a site is as simple as providing the four habitat components: food, water, cover and places to raise young, in addition to practicing sustainable gardening techniques. Any site can be recognized as a certified wildlife habitat regardless of size. Whether it’s your backyard, a community garden, a school-yard, or a business site.

Six Simple Tips to Get Started

1. Put out a bird feeder and fill it with sunflower seed.
2. Plant a shrub with flowers for butterflies or berries for birds and small animals.
3. Put out a birdbath. Even small water features will be used by wildlife.
4. Provide dense shrubs, wildflower gardens, rock walls and evergreens as cover for wildlife.
5. Hang a birdhouse, plant hose plants for butterfly caterpillars or install a frog pond to provide places to raise young.
6. Put away the chemicals. Natural gardens are better for you and your family as well as wildlife.

Why Certify?

Aside from offering wildlife a wonderful place to thrive you’ll be eligible for the following benefits: A certificate for your wildlife habitat. A free one-year membership to National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and subscription to National Wildlife magazine. A subscription to the Habitats e-newsletter. An optional press release to your local newspaper announcing your certification .Inclusion in NWF’s National Registry of Habitats.

The Montreat Landcare Committee wants to recognize all efforts to restore habitat for wildlife.

We invite you join your neighbors in rolling out the welcome mat for birds, butterflies, and other small wildlife species that shares our land.

Montreat is the first Town in North Carolina to join the ranks of a few select communities across the country that are certified as a Community Wildlife Habitats by the National Wildlife Federation

You can Certify Your Habitat by visit www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife directly online.

5 Reasons Birds Will “Tweet” About Your Fall Yard

From the National Wildlife Federation

Fall is a great time for bird-watching. Many birds are looking for an inviting place to stop over during their winter migration or even stay for the season.

Here are five helpful tips that are sure to have all the neighborhood birds “tweeting” about your yard this season:

1. Provide running water. Birds require water year-round. The sound of running water in a birdbath or pond will be heard by birds from some distance, draw them in for a drink, and possibly a quick dip as well.
2. Clean out birdhouses. Make necessary repairs to birdhouses in preparation for species that roost during fall and winter. In many areas, bluebirds, chickadees, nuthatches and winter wrens may take up nightly residence in birdhouses to keep warm and safe.
3. Create brush piles. Save your fall clippings of branches and twigs. Then, pile them in a corner of the yard to create cover for birds that prefer habitat on the ground — such as dark-eyed juncos, tree sparrows and white-throated sparrows.
4. Increase the number of feeders. In the cooler days of fall, birds increase their food consumption and will continue to do so as the temperature drops.
5. Plant evergreens. Planted near feeders and birdbaths, evergreens are perfect for providing cover for birds after deciduous trees lose their leaves.

It Isn’t Good to Fool Mother Nature

We have seen what happens when we modify our environment…floods, landslides, roads washed away. As hard as we try we can’t change the laws of nature. Before we try modifying our environment for any reason we need to think about how it will affect the laws of nature. Will it affect our streams? What about the water we drink? The air we breathe? The birds, butterflies and other wildlife you enjoy in our own yard or garden?

You can help Mother Nature by having your yard certified with the National Wildlife Federation. It’s easier than you might think. There are four basic components of habitat needed by all wildlife: food, water, cover, and places to raise young.

Visit www.nwf.org/bwh for more tips on attracting wildlife. For questions call 1-800-822-9919 or certify online at www.nwf.org/bwh.

The Town of Montreat is an official “Certified Wildlife Habitat” recognized by the National Wildlife Federation — the first town in NC and the seventh community in the USA. For more information, visit www.montreatlandcare.org/projects/certified-wildlife-habitat.

O’Neil Tate, Landcare Community Wildlife Habitat coordinator

Did You Know? NC Wildlife Federation

North Carolina has the most comprehensive wildlife certification program in the country. Montreat was the first community wildlife habitat certified in N.C. Now the NC Wildlife Federation has staff and chapter members working all over the state.

Our local chapter is Mountain Wild in Asheville. If you are a member of the local chapter you are automatically a member of NC Wildlife Federation. These chapter members have been enhancing wildlife habitats while improving property values and improving property values and providing a place for children and adults alike to connect with nature. You can find out more information by contacting Christopher North at chris@newf.org

Hot Out? Help Wildlife Keep Cool

A recent e-newsletter from the National Wildlife Federation highlighted some ways you can invite your backyard wildlife to keep cool in the summer heat.

“Simply providing a water source in your backyard is one of the best ways to care for and attract local wildlife, from turtles and frogs to birds and butterflies.

Here are a few helpful hints for turning your yard into a haven for wildlife this summer:

• Provide a bird bath on a pedestal or a shallow dish at ground level to attract birds and other animals.
• Make a puddling area where butterflies can gather and take in nutrients.
• Clean and refill your bird bath or water dish every few days to prevent your water source from becoming a breeding habitat for mosquitoes.
• Create a pond, if space permits, to provide habitat as well as a water supply for frogs, dragonflies and more.“

When you’re inside enjoying your A/C, don’t forget about your friends in heat!

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Many Montreat residents, as well as absentee property owners and visitors who watched from a distance, can remember the 2016 wildfire that was so near to us–and the smoke drifting into the community–at Chimney Rock.  A couple of years earlier Montreat saw up close the fire in adjacent Ridgecrest, pictured here.  It can happen all too easily in our environment!

(Image North Carolina Forest Service)

Fire can spread rapidly, often fueled by dead leaves and two very flammable plants, rhododendron and mountain laurel.

Montreat’s Landcare Committee, with agreement from the Town Council, is sponsoring the Firewise initiative, designed to raise our awareness of this issue and help reduce the probability of a damaging fire.  Firewise (www.firewise.org) is a program sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association and supported by the North Carolina Forest Service. Representatives from the Forest Service have spoken to our community about this issue at recent Native Plant Sales and the 2017 Cottagers Meeting.

There is nothing mandatory about the Firewise program.

As a public service, it encourages residents to clean leaves out of gutters, get leaves away from houses, stack wood away from houses, and prune vegetation near houses (especially rhododendron and mountain laurel).  Eventually the Landcare Committee would like for Montreat to be recognized as a Firewise Community, one that regularly hosts awareness-raising events and takes steps to reduce the flammable materials near our houses. Montreat homeowners yard debris totals increase after wildfire safety program. (Image N. Midgette)

Every month the Firewise Committee will send out helpful emails explaining how to prune shrubs, reminding us about the importance of getting leaves away from our houses, asking people to report volunteer hours that they work on these projects, and additional information.  How can you help?  Follow the suggestions for clearing brush and report your hours to Nancy Midgette (midgette@elon.edu).

See pruning tips provided by Dr. Midgette below.

**********

Let’s keep our beautiful Montreat home safe for all of our inhabitants!

Montreat’s Firewise Initiative and Tips on Pruning Plants

Montreat has plenty of fuel for a fast-spreading wildfire – in particular, leaves, mountain laurel, and rhododendron.  Our initiative is designed to raise awareness among Montreat residents and to encourage each other to do what we can to reduce the potential for a destructive fire.

Link to a very helpful publication that is downloadable in PDF format:  “Firewise Landscaping in North Carolina.”  http://content.ces.ncsu.edu/firewise-landscaping-in-north-carolina.pdf

Tips for Pruning a Mountain Laurel

After the mountain laurel in Montreat has just about finished blooming, it is time to prune.  If you wait until late fall or winter, you will diminish the amount of blooms that will appear the following growing season.  Remember that mountain laurel is an extremely flammable plant, so cutting it back from your house is a very good idea!

(Image USDA/Smithsonian)

Tools

Simple hand tools will suffice, unless you plan to prune only the tops of very tall plants.  For the most part, a set of loppers for larger branches and hand clippers for small branches will do nicely.  If you plan to cut it down to the ground, then some branches might be so thick that you will need a saw.

Pruning

You may not have to prune very much off of your mountain laurel, but you can prune it all the way back into a leafless wood that is 2 to 4 feet off the ground. This can take 2 to 3 years to fully grow back, but the result is a beautiful and full bush. By the next growing season, new shoots will begin to form as long as the plant is healthy and well maintained.

You will otherwise need to use a thinning and renewal method on your shrub. Remove dead branches to improve the light infiltration which will bring out the actual exquisiteness of your mountain laurel.

Heading

Shaping shrubs consists of simply shortening each individual branch in a method known as heading. This involves pruning the branch right above a bud or even another branch. To ensure that your evergreen will be able to rejuvenate, be sure to leave some kind of foliage when thinning.

Beware of dead zones of needles that have withered away on the inside of your mountain laurel. These needles have not gotten the right amount of sun to flourish. It is very important that all of the pruning that takes place on your mountain laurel is above its dead zone. Any cutting that is done below it could completely disfigure your shrub.

Tips for Pruning Rhododendron

Wondering when to prune rhododendron?  Right after the bushes are finished blooming is the best time to do any pruning they may need. (Image Cooperative Extension, North Carolina State University)

Tools you need are simple – hand clippers and loppers.  If you need to remove larger bushes, then a saw may be required.

These shrubs make blooms that flower on the prior year’s wood. So you have to be careful when pruning them since buds for next spring will be made this summer, and you don’t want to prune those off. Don’t wait to prune your rhododendrons until late summer or even later, or you probably won’t get the flowers you’re looking for next year.

For rhododendrons with large leaves, you want to prune right above their “growth joints,” the place where the plant is starting to grow. Just beneath that point is where dormant buds are, so take care not to cut them off. Small-leafed rhododendrons can be pruned anywhere along their stems.

Cutting back a rhododendron heavily can stop the plant from flowering for a year or two. There are, however, two advantages to heavy pruning.  First, they will come back low and full, and then you can keep them that way if they are close to your house.  Second, you can prune pretty heavily if needed to get better shape for your bushes.  The objective of our Firewise program is to have them at least 10 feet from your house; more is better.

What should you prune away? Check the inside limbs for any that are dead or look weak. Any limbs on the ground or crossing over other limbs should be pruned away, too. You’ll be giving your bush better air circulation and a less hospitable environment for insects and disease.

**********

Remember that the Town of Montreat will haul away brush every other Wednesday. See guidelines at http://townofmontreat.org/sanitation/

So get those loppers out and let’s have healthier mountain laurel and rhododendron and less fuel for a fire!!

See http://townofmontreat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Firewise-1.pdf

Firewise Documents

Community Wildfire Assessment

Fire Wise USA Project

Individual Homeowner Assessment

Fire-Resistant Landscaping

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Experience, Fun and Education Across Generations

Our vision is that Montreat will be a place where children (and their mentors) joyfully experience a healthy outdoor environment and build caring lifelong engagements with the natural world.

The Montreat cove supplies a treasure trove of natural wonders for all. It offers healthy outdoor settings where children can enjoy creeksides and mountain trails. These experiences often lead to lifelong enjoyment of nature. In partnership with some of the region’s most successful outdoor education organizations, new and contemporary educational resources for the community’s residents and visitors have been established under a Montreat Landcare project. (Image from Montreat Conference Center.)

• ecoEXPLORE (Experiences Promoting Learning Outdoors for Research and Education) is an incentive-based citizen science program for children in grades K-8. It combines science exploration with kid-friendly technology to foster a fun learning environment for children while encouraging them to explore the outdoors, take pictures, and participate in citizen science. See https://www.ecoexplore.net/about/. Three “hotspot” signs in Montreat are at Walk Jones Wildlife Sanctuary, the Nature Center, and  Robert Lake Park (see location map at https://www.ecoexplore.net/locations/). Other locations are in Buncombe County and across the state.

• TRACK Trail is a self-guided, science-based nature walk for children in Montreat, one of 160 such trails across America. See http://www.kidsinparks.com/montreat.  Brochures for self-guided outings along Lake Susan and the Gate Trail are at the new kiosk by Moore Center. Similar facilities are nearby at Black Mountain Veterans Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center. Parents, see a list of tips for making the experiences outdoors a joy at http://www.kidsinparks.com/parents-teachers.

• Nature backpacks are not available at this time due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Landcare gratefully acknowledges the cooperation and contribution of the Montreat Conference Center in providing space and access points for these activities.

The Children Outdoors page is under construction with more information coming in late summer. Please visit our site again! (Image from St. Gabriel School, Bronx, New York.)

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