{"id":997545,"date":"2025-03-14T09:34:55","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T13:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/?p=997545"},"modified":"2025-03-16T13:53:47","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T17:53:47","slug":"margaret-bloomquist-rebuilding-together-after-helene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/news\/margaret-bloomquist-rebuilding-together-after-helene\/","title":{"rendered":"Margaret Bloomquist: Rebuilding Together After Helene"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Margaret Bloomquist fills many roles through her work in agriculture and community development. Research scholar. Project manager. Lead organizer. Co-director. In short, her natural role is \u201cgo-to person.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those skills serve her well as a research scholar with the North Carolina Alternative Crops and Organics Program<\/a> led by Jeanine Davis, an associate professor and Extension specialist with the Department of Horticultural Science<\/a> at NC State University. With research on commercial vegetables, organic agriculture and emerging crops such as hops, hemp, elephant garlic, truffles, artisan materials, and loofah gourds, the program helps identify options for small- and medium-scale farmers in the mountains of western North Carolina. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A team member for 14 years, Bloomquist is based at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center<\/a> (Mountain Hort.) in Mills River, North Carolina, just south of Asheville. Medicinal herbs and forest farming are among her specialties. Bloomquist is a lead organizer for Western North Carolina Medicinal Herb Growers and the Woodland Stewards, its subgroup. She serves as co-director of the Appalachian Forest Farmer Coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love working for NC State and for Dr. Davis’s program because it merges a lot of my interests,\u201d Bloomquist says. After studying food, fiber and medicinal plants around the world, she came to North Carolina to be near family. A temporary summer job grew into a full-time position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot only do I get to work with the plants, but I also have great connections to our community and direct impacts as people develop new enterprises around here,\u201d Bloomquist says. \u201cWe have some ingenious farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last fall, her work on every front halted following devastating flooding and landslides from Hurricane Helene. Knowing that heavy rains were expected ahead of the storm on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, the NC Alternative Crops and Organics team had battened down their projects and laboratories and planned to work from home. It would be days before they could return. <\/p>\n\n\n\n