![Brooke Pedersen [second from the right] and Luis Reyes [right] hold banners during the Wrap The Woods event.](https://thebluebanner.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ELIZABETH_PRITCHITT_IMG_3470-1200x804.jpg)
Over 340 Asheville community members and UNC Asheville students stood together in an hourlong pop-up art installation in protest of the proposed development of the university’s Urban Forest.
“Just because a piece of land doesn’t have buildings on it doesn’t mean it’s not developed,” said Alli Marshall, the event’s lead organizer. “There’s really nothing more developed than a mature forest, in terms of everything that it does for purifying the air, managing storm water and keeping us cool. I mean, it’s a highly developed and highly intelligent piece of property.”
Marshall said she has lived in Five Points, the neighborhood encompassing the woods, for almost 30 years. She said she used to walk her dogs in the Urban Forest and even got proposed to there.
“We had this wild hope that maybe we could wrap the entire perimeter of the 45-acre woods. That’s like 1.3 miles to do that. So we knew it was a pipe dream, but we really hoped that we could get from the roundabout at W.T. Weaver Blvd. down to the corner of Broadway and then turn on Broadway and go to North Street,” said Marshall. “We did that, so we met our goal.”
According to Marshall, the event’s main goals were spreading awareness about where the forest is located and to show the university that a large group of people care. She said their efforts are funded almost entirely through donations, which made their purchase of a billboard on Merrimon Ave. and their recent hiring of a Charlotte lawyer possible.
“We’re receiving a lot of donations, but a lot of them come in small, you know, $5 and $10. Then occasionally we have somebody donate $5,000. You can do a big project with that,” said Marshall.
Marshall said that Save The Woods welcomes student involvement and does not hold any hard feelings towards students.
UNCA environmental science student Anele Saige attended the Wrap The Woods event and said she was initially concerned that she would not be welcomed as a student but she was surprised with how friendly everybody was.
“Immediately, there are people there to just be like ‘spread your sheet out, here let me clip it.’ There was help, support immediately,” said Saige. “Every couple of minutes there’s people going around asking, like, are you okay? You’re good? So that was nice. My favorite part has got to be the pep band that they brought to walk up and down the line. They were sick.”
Saige said she knows of students who did research projects in the woods, including ones who discovered the environmental benefits the forest provides for the surrounding area.
“I felt like these woods are part of this campus. I have been in those woods and I care about them,” said Saige. “Students have one of the most powerful voices on campus because, what can they do about it? We can threaten to leave and they got to listen. They can’t fire us.”
According to the Spring 2025 UNCA Student Organization Open Letter to the UNCA Administration, UNCA professors conduct research in the woods with their students.
“It’s the gem of their campus. This could be the hugest draw for STEM students imaginable but these people are so lacking in creativity, community spirit and environmental stewardship,” said Heather Rayburn, a leading member of Save The Woods. “I think they’re incompetent.”
The butterfly enthusiast said effects of developing the forest include a decrease in insect population, destruction of the habitat for an endangered species of bat and increased urban heat and flooding problems.
“Insects are disappearing so fast that the scientists call it an ‘insectageddon,’” said Rayburn. “Insects are the basis of our food web. You lose insects, you lose the caterpillars and the food for birds and up the food chain, so it’s really alarming. And I’ve seen it in my own yard.”
Rayburn also said taxpayers are getting no say in what happens with the land despite the woods being taxpayer property and the developers not having to pay taxes .
“I feel like every student on that campus should be fighting hard for these woods because you guys are going to have to live with the things that are coming down the pike,” said the UNCA mass communication alumna. “Everybody’s pretending like it’s not happening but I see it happen on my porch.”
Save The Woods has biweekly general body meetings that are open to students. They will also hold a benefit show at the Grey Eagle on Sept 22.
According to Chancellor Van Noort, “we have heard clearly from members of our campus and the broader Asheville community that they want more opportunities to engage in a structured, transparent conversation about Millennial Campus development options.”
The university recently put out a press release saying they will pause the development of the Urban Forest property.
“While this is not a moment for reflexive opposition to any particular idea, nor for blanket assertions that UNC Asheville should forgo development altogether, we do want to ensure the strongest possible process, the clearest possible information, and the broadest possible support while considering the best interest of the university, the UNC System and the region,” said Van Noort.
