On the Blue Ridge
On the Blue Ridge features conversations with people shaping the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hosted by Asheville-based journalist Jon Page, the show explores the ideas, creativity, and vision driving Western North Carolina forward.
Through long-form interviews and on-location storytelling, each episode captures the evolving story of these mountains.
On the Blue Ridge
Laura Rice on the Ecusta Trail: Community, Connection, and the Road Ahead
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Laura Rice is the executive director of Friends of the Ecusta Trail, a nonprofit organization supporting the transformation of a former rail line into a multi-use greenway connecting Hendersonville to Brevard in Western North Carolina.
In this episode, Laura shares the story behind the Ecusta Trail, from its earliest days to the stretch that’s open today, and what it will take to complete all 19 miles and connect Hendersonville to Brevard, end to end.
She talks about what you can expect on the section that’s already open, how the trail is shaping the communities along it, how she found her way into this role, and what makes her hopeful about the future of this region.
Ecusta Trail
ecustatrail.org
Theme Music
The song "Goa" was written by Lyndsay Pruett and performed by the Jon Stickley Trio.