When: March 29, 2025 @ 9:30 am
Restore native habitat while foraging!
Garlic Mustard is a nonnative, invasive plant that thrives in shade and rich soils. It densely colonizes our forest floors, pushing out our diverse native wildflowers and confusing native insects, including pollinators. This plant spreads aggressively by seed, but is easy to pull by hand. It’s also pretty tasty! Join Mainspring, the Forest Service, and the Nantahala Hiking Club to hike into Bly Gap and forage as much Garlic Mustard as we can carry back. As we hike, we will enjoy the spring curiosities we find along the way including wildflowers, ferns, mosses, and perhaps a few early migrating warblers!
During this event, we will hike up to the Bly Gap AT Crossing/water source, where we’ll pull up as much Garlic Mustard as we can carry back. This is a strenuous 1.75 mile (3.5 miles round trip), 1200ft elevation gain hike. Participants are encouraged to bring some Garlic Mustard back to their kitchens; recipes for Garlic Mustard Kraut and Garlic Mustard Pesto will be available to take home (recipes provided by Wildcraft Kitchen.) Tools and snacks will be provided, but bring plenty of water, snacks and a lunch, and your own work gloves if you have them. No experience is necessary; Garlic Mustard is easy to ID even if you are a beginner botanist, and all participants will be given a brief ID lesson. Please note that Garlic Mustard is a low growing plant, so this event will involve a lot of bending, stooping, and walking off trail on uneven footing.
We will meet at the Clay County Fire and Rescue Station 6 (18 Eagle Fork Rd, Hayesville, NC 28904) just before 9:30am on Saturday, March 29th. See the map below for the exact location. From there we will caravan to the parking area, about 10 minutes down the road. We will be out until around 3:00pm.
MEET YOUR LEADER
As Mainspring’s Conservation Outreach Director, Skye Cahoon inspires people to connect with their local landscape and value the conservation efforts that protect it. As a kid, she could often be found climbing trees, hunting for salamanders, or chasing fish at her local swimming hole. Her passion for nature grew with her, and in 2020 she earned her Zoology B.S. from the University of Maine. Integrating her experience in wildlife research with her excitement about the natural world, Skye now strives to make science fun and accessible. She leads a variety of educational programs here at Mainspring, and enjoys continuing to learn about the creatures that call the Southern Appalachians home.
Fill out the form below to register for this event. Please leave pets at home. This event is weather-dependent. Email Skye with any questions.
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