The Blue Ridge Naturalist Network is pleased to announce an upcoming Zoom presentation on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at 5:30 P.M., entitled The Architecture of the Appalachian Trail (AT).  Our speaker will be Sarah Jones Decker who will discuss the structures along America’s most famous footpath and talk about her new book “The Appalachian Trail: Backcountry Shelters, Lean-tos, and Huts”.  For the first time, she documented all of the structures in one place and will explore their differences in design, materials, location, and delve into some of their history.

Video of August Presentation

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s Kids in Parks program has been establishing a network of trails designed for kids and families with the goal of improving both their health and well-being and the health of our parks, public lands, and nature. The program, founded in Asheville, has more than 200 trails in the country, and more than 1.5 million users, and counting. During this presentation, the program’s Director, Jason Urroz, will discuss the need for the program, the history and growth of its trail network, data demonstrating its success, and what’s in store for the future. One thing is for sure, after the presentation, you’ll want to get your kids, grandkids, or random kids from the neighborhood in parks!

Ready, set, snap! Connect with fellow nature lovers from around the world in the 2020 City Nature Challenge, a worldwide bioblitz held April 24 – 27 that encourages participants to get outside and celebrate their region’s biodiversity by taking photos of plants and animals found in their communities and uploading them to iNaturalist. This year, the Challenge will not be a regional competition but rather a four-day global citizen-science collaboration that embraces the healing power of nature and supports scientists worldwide. The Arboretum will be serving as the lead institution for the Western North Carolina region and will be offering a variety of online programming for adults and youth in conjunction with the Challenge.