The Navitat team is full of interesting people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Once you get to know us, we’re sure you’ll agree that we’ve gathered the highest quality, highest energy folks around—and together, we’re creating a high-flying, educational, amazingly fun adventure experience that is second to none!
This week, meet Dylan Burt, a proud partner in the business who leads as Navitat’s General Manager.
Name/Nicknames: Dylan Burt, Dylan, The Dylan, and “Sir” (Just kidding about that last one…)
I stay busy with: Generally managing. Ha! But really, I spend a lot of time and energy making sure that every aspect of our operation is flawless… not to say that I always achieve that, but that’s my goal. Everything from documentation to training, to the philosophy behind the way we treat our employees, to the way that we move a carabiner from point A to point B. That’s my job.
I also spend a lot of time simply thinking about and taking suggestions on how we can improve our business and create the best guest experience possible.
I love my job because: I really like working with the people on our team, and I love being outdoors. I love the idea that we are sharing something with other people and helping to educate others.
I think that what makes Navitat different is: Everything! We put more energy into finding places that people will truly love than anybody else that I’m aware of. We also put more energy into creating a true experience than anybody else I’m aware of. We work with the greatest builder in the industry, and they put so much energy into creating canopy tours that are, bar none, the greatest canopy tours in the world. We also put a lot of energy into finding the most experienced people in the industry and creating an employment situation that benefits them, benefits our company, and ultimately benefits our guests.
My favorite experience while working in this industry would have to be: Getting to know amazingly creative people who genuinely care about developing educational opportunities and fun experiences all while focusing on sustainable living. And, getting to work with my wife everyday… that’s pretty fun, too.
We’ve just announced our biggest news yet! Navitat Canopy Adventures will open its newest location this summer in Wrightwood, California, only 90 minutes from the heart of Los Angeles. All you West Coast dwellers and visitors, get ready to explore the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains in a brand new way — from the treetops!
Located at the Wrightwood Guest Ranch, the Navitat Wrightwood tour will feature many of the same elements that have made our Asheville, NC tour famous. Adventure seekers will experience artfully constructed tree platforms connected by a series of suspended sky-bridges, zip lines, and rappels on a tour that is both thrilling and educational in nature. Expect beautiful views, big zip lines, and big-time fun. We can’t wait to share it with you, and we’re excited about sharing our story with you as this new location comes to life!
Check back often for more information about Navitat Canopy Adventures – Wrightwood, California!
a few of the Navitat crew explore the Wrightwood, California, tour site
Evan (our Wrightwood Site Manager) and a BIG TREE!
Calling all nature lovers, adrenaline junkies and night owls! We’re finally ready to share some big news, and if you fit into any (or all) of the previous categories, you’re going to be thrilled.
Starting this Spring, Navitat will be running nighttime canopy adventure tours! That’s right–the same soaring zip lines, sky-high platforms and canopy views you’ve experienced in the bright light of day will be open for a different kind of fun. Starting at dusk on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, evening tours are certainly not for the faint of heart! By the end of the tour, you’ll be careening around the sky in almost total darkness, making what’s normally a heart-pounding experience even more exhilarating.
Action-fans aren’t the only ones who will find something to love about our new night tours, though. We’ll still be offering lots of interesting information and showcasing the flora and fauna that make Moody Cove so unique. You’ll just have the chance to see it all in a very different light than ever before. With artfully illuminated trees and the shine of millions of stars in the sky, you’ll have the opportunity to experience Navitat as only bats, possums and raccoons have so far!
Night tours are intended for guests who have already completed a daytime canopy adventure at Navitat, and will be offered in smaller groups beginning in April. Tours go on sale February 15. For more information about Navitat at Night, click here.
Though we may not be open to the public during our off-season, Navitat’s staff is just as busy as ever! We’ve been working on exciting new offerings we can’t wait to tell you all about… so stay tuned! There’s big news comin’!
In the meantime, know that as our 2011 season opens on April 1, we’ll have increased our commitment to enhancing the environmental programming we offer. With Sarah Marcinko now on staff as our full-time Environmental Programming Leader, outdoing what we offered last year should be a snap.
On a behind-the-scenes note, we’re proud to announce how much we’ve grown since we started here a year ago! What was originally a year-round staff of only 2 has become a year-round staff of 10, and we have officially outgrown the Welcome Center. We’re dedicated to keeping our core operations local, though, so some of us have recently moved into a cozy office space right on the main drag of Barnardsville.
Finally, we’ve also been busy talking with meeting planners and local tour companies about incorporating Navitat as a part of corporate and family events, and we’re also working with area hospitality businesses to bring more visitors to the area. We’re thankful for a great 2010 and it looks like the 2011 season is shaping up to be a big one… and we haven’t even gotten started yet!
Planning your visit to the Asheville area? (If not, you should be!) The Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau just released their official 2011 travel guide. It’s chock full of all the details you’ll need to know to plan the perfect trip, like where to stay, what to do and where to eat. Whether you’re after a relaxing weekend full of scenic views or an exhilarating adventure you won’t soon forget, your first stop (after Navitat’s website, of course) should be the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau website, where you can order their new 2011 travel guide for free: www.exploreasheville.com.
Once you have it in hand, be sure to check out the beautiful full-page photo of Navitat in the “What To Do” section! We’re looking forward to seeing you soon.
The Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is the most shade tolerant and long-lived tree in Eastern North America. The dense, evergreen canopy of mature hemlock forests provide important habitat for white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, turkey, songbirds, and other wildlife. In addition, a variety of aquatic species, including North Carolina’s only native trout, the brook trout, is more likely to be found in streams drained by hemlocks than those drained by hardwoods. Hemlocks help moderate stream temperatures and regulate water flow. They are also an important commercial tree to rural communities.
Eastern hemlock forests have significantly declined since the accidental introduction of the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) to the Eastern U.S. in the 1950’s. Native to Asia, this aphid-like insect consumes precious nutrients from hemlock needles and causes the tree to drop its leaves. Without needles, hemlocks cannot grow or produce new shoots, which can result in tree death within just a few years. The hemlock woolly adelgid attacks trees of all ages and sizes, and infested trees seldom recover without intervention.
The loss of eastern hemlocks is expected to have dramatic and long-term ecological impacts on southern Appalachian forest structure and function, including the loss of wildlife habitat and changes in hydrologic processes. Moreover, the reduction in shading may increase stream temperatures and produce conditions unsuitable to the survival of the brook trout and other cold water species. Increased nutrient inputs as a result of erosion following extensive hemlock mortality can result in the deterioration of water quality in watersheds that provide public drinking water.
The small white balls, seen here, are easily identifiable as egg sacks of the hemlock woolly adelgid.
Nearly all of the hemlocks in Moody Cove are infested with the hemlock woolly adelgid. Navitat is committed to saving as many of our trees as possible, and we have established a long-term hemlock woolly adelgid management plan. We have identified priority trees for treatment and have begun control using soil injection methods. Our hope is to preserve the character of Eastern hemlock forests here in Moody Cove and raise awareness about this ecologically important species.
You’ll often hear those of us at Navitat rave about what an amazing home we have. Moody Cove is a 242-acre slice of solitude and beauty that we love sharing with folks. It really is special.
We’ve intentionally built our business, from the canopy tour to our Welcome Center, in the least invasive way possible so that we can preserve the natural beauty we find here. We’re serious about minimizing our impact on the land and, in fact, Navitat is busy finding ways to be good stewards to the home we’re so fortuante to have. We want to someday leave this place (hopefully many years from now!) better than we found it.
One of our main goals at Navitat is to create a place where people can learn about our natural environment in a new and totally different way. A second goal is to create a place where respect for the land translates into deep care for the plants and animals that call this place home. To that end, our Environmental Programming Leader, Sarah Marcinko, is leading the way for Navitat in terms of environmental education and land management.
From plans to erradicate harmful invasive plant species in Moody Cove to treating the Eastern Hemlocks currently affected by the hemlock woolly adelgid, Navitat is investing in our home in ways that will positively affect the environment for years to
As our first season comes to a close, reviewing the media attention we’ve had is an amazing treat! Of course, we all love Navitat, and most of our guests have come to love it as well. But when respected members of the national media highlighted us (over and over again) in their publications and websites, it was an incredibly thrilling feeling! We’ve met some wonderful people as a result of the media attention, and look forward to meeting more, both in the few weeks we have left in this season, and next year.
Most recently, Navitat was featured in the New York Times Sunday travel section, in the article “36 Hours in Asheville,” where we were pegged as one of the city’s must-do activities. This national exposure, coupled with the buzz we received a few weeks ago from USA Today’s coverage, has exploded our customer base! We’re now getting calls from across the country as people plan to include Navitat in their upcoming travels.
If you’ve learned about us through some of this national press, or even through the exciting coverage we’ve had locally, don’t hesitate to call and book your adventure! There are still a few more weeks to participate in a Navitat tour before we close for the season!
As we built Navitat, we tried very hard to be intentional about everything we did. We thought long and hard about any change we made to the natural environment. And now that we’ve lived with our decisions for a season, it’s easier to reflect back on the choices we made. The Welcome Center is a great example of what we were trying to do, and it has been a big success.
One of the things we loved about the property was that there was already a large, empty meadow, which allowed us to build the Welcome Center and parking lot without plowing down any trees. (Though we did have to relocate a cranky, old horse to a new home.) The only thing on the site was an old barn, and we used that as our inspiration for the new Welcome Center. We built in its footprint, and even used quite a bit of the wood that was salvaged from the barn during our construction.
We worked with a LEED accredited architect from right here in Asheville, Mark Allison, to design a building that would use as little material as possible. The Welcome Center features an open plan that allows for maximum air flow and light circulation, which is very important since we chose not to use climate control or much artificial lighting, except in a few back office rooms. The result is a center that fits in seamlessly with the environment, just like the rest of our course.
Meet Sarah Marcinko, Navitat’s Environmental Programming Leader. We’re pleased to announce the recent addition of Sarah Marcinko to the Navitat team. As Environmental Programming Leader, Sarah will lead Navitat in further developing interpretative educational programming for Navitat guests, and providing environmental resource analysis and management of our home, Moody Cove.
Sarah is a great addition to our team. She brings expertise in conservation, environmental management and education, which is a perfect complement to our commitment to provide an authentic tree canopy tour experience with as little impact on the natural landscape as possible.
Prior to joining Navitat, Sarah was a plant ecologist and project manager with Equinox Environmental Consultation and Design in Asheville. She holds a master’s of science in ecology from UNC-Chapel Hill, a bachelor’s of science in biology from James Madison University and a diploma of horticulture from Haywood Community College. She lives in Asheville with her husband, Rob and dog, Luna.
