Warren Wilson farm experiencing comeback after Helene

SWANNANOA, N.C. — Nearly a year after Helene swept across western North Carolina, Warren Wilson College has made progress in recovery on its student-run farm and garden that were devastated by floodwaters.

The mixed-crop and livestock operation farm sits in the floodplain of the Swannanoa River, which runs 2.5 miles through campus.

When Helene hit, the farm bore the brunt of the flooding, leaving fields and crops damaged.

Although there’s some infrastructure left to fix, many of the farm operations strained by the storm are back in motion.

“It’s really exciting to see the transformation,” said student Wren Tisnado-Blake.

Tisnado-Blake is a senior, serving as cattle crew boss on the farm where she’s gaining hands-on experience for farming careers.

She been participating in cleanup efforts on the farm.

Many of the crew duties included hauling debris and helping replant fields.

“We all had to band together to get through this horrible event that happened to us,” Tisnado-Blake said. “We’ve had to work really hard to get it back to even ground floor where it was. Being able to rethink things, it’s like a fresh start for us.”

The campus garden that helped feed community members facing food insecurity was also damaged by Helene.

“Now they are finally able to grow vegetables, and I know all of them are so excited about it,” Tisnado-Blake said.

Students are celebrating the growth of a summer corn crop, ahead of the harvest season.

“There’s no way I could have seen this happening,” Tisnado-Blake said.

The college is involved in not only restoration work, but ways to build resilience against future storms.

Dave Ellum is the dean and director of The Center for Working Lands at Warren Wilson College.

On Thursday evening, Ellum led an on-campus discussion, updating the community on cleanup and restoration work.

“The students, staff, faculty have all really come together,” Ellum said. “[Since Helene hit] we’ve completed our Army Corps of Engineering work. I think Warren Wilson is going to serve as a model for how to do this type of river cleanup properly and correctly, thinking about the ecological resilience of the system.”

“There’s been a lot of I would say not best practices used around the county. We were able to facilitate the management of our river cleanup in a way that protected the ecological resilience of the land,” Ellum said.

Ellum is stressing the importance of focusing on lessons learned from Helene and strategies to strengthen ecological resilience ahead of future weather events.

“Does it mean going back to how things were before, does it mean we need to get together and bring lots of stakeholders to think about how we rebuild those ecosystems for better resiliency down the line,” Ellum said.

“I think we need to move away from ‘if this happens again’ and with climate think — this is probably going to happen again,” Ellum said.

On Oct. 4, Warren Wilson College is hosting a Fall Fest and Working Lands Showcase. It will include discussions about ecological resilience and tours of the river.

The free event will include music and activities for children.