"The charge for the Blue Wall Center project is to heighten awareness of its special ecology. It should inspire visitors with the wonders of the
interconnected web of life that exists here, and in doing so fuel the enthusiast, make stewards of the uninformed, and convert the mal-intentioned.

The Center should particularly strive to educate school-age children, because they will inherit the pressing crucible of climate change. Sloping downward from the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Blue Ridge Escarpment is home to over 400 endemic species and more tree species than can be found in all of Europe. This biodiversity is the result of the complex geologic history of the Appalachian Mountains (of which the Blue Ridge form part of the southern section) coupled with the specific hydrology and climate of the Escarpment edge.

Annual rainfall here is high, averaging 80 to 90 inches. In addition, the Escarpment’s elevation change (2000 feet in less than two miles) is the steepest in the eastern United States, and therefore the temperature changes significantly from the base to the top, allowing for a multitude of specific habitats for plants and animals. Within this rich life are reminders of the area’s more ancient past: exfoliating domes of rock that are home to many of the rare plants in the area."