In a first for the nonprofit, The Pisgah Conservancy opened up to the public naming rights for a connector trail last year, and the contest drew almost 300 entries from 11 states to name a 20-mile loop route connecting Pisgah National Forest, Bracken Preserve and the City of Brevard. Public engagement is core to Pisgah Conservancy’s mission, and still the participation in the naming effort came as a delightful surprise to the organization.
“We were blown away—not just by how many submissions we received but by the creativity and thoughtfulness behind them,” says Marielle DeJong, donor engagement officer for The Pisgah Conservancy. “The response far exceeded our expectations and underscored something we see every day: people from near and far care deeply about Pisgah, value Western North Carolina’s opportunities to get outside and are eager to play a role in shaping the Forest’s future.”
The chosen entry, Pisgah Passage, came from Brevard resident Maria Whitehead. The name will appear on wayfinding signs all along the route. “It’s exciting and an honor to be part of this vision and a deliberate effort to connect the town of Brevard to the National Forest,” Whitehead says. She and her husband and three daughters are frequent users of the trails that are, in essence, part of their “backyard,” she says.
“My husband and I run or walk our dog, Fern, on Bracken Preserve trails almost every day,” says Whitehead. “My 8-year-old asks to roller skate on the bike path every chance she gets. Our kids learned to ride bikes and river swim along the Davidson Estatoe Trail. My running buddies and I venture into Pisgah every Sunday morning. What the loop trail represents is a way of life here, and we just feel fortunate to be part of it.”…