When: May 19, 2024 @ 9:00 am
Registration for this event has closed. Thank you for your interest!
Wander the Needmore with an entourage of local experts!
This spring, Mainspring is hosting a Bioblitz in the Brush Creek area of the Needmore Game Lands in partnership with Highlands Biological Station, Highlands Biological Foundation, and Discover Life in America! A Bioblitz is a sort of “biological census,” aiming to capture a snapshot of all the species living in a particular area.
Each day of this event (Friday 5/17, Saturday 5/18, and Sunday 5/19), local experts will lead multi-hour mini-expeditions along waterways, through meadows, and in the forest, seeking particular species or taxa. Choose your own participation level– come all day, attend one session per day, or participate in just one or two sessions over the weekend! Beginner naturalists are welcome at this event, let’s learn as we go!
Observations collected during this event will help drive future conservation in this area, fill gaps in scientific knowledge, and maybe even document a critter that hasn’t been observed here before! Want to meander through this beautiful area while searching for and learning about wildflowers, insects, butternut trees, and more with these scientists? Check out Sunday’s schedule below, then fill out the form at the bottom of this page to secure your spot! Find more details about the sessions and their leaders below the form at the very bottom of the page. Email Skye with questions.
Other important info:
- Exertion varies per session: some sessions may be easy walks along the road while others may involve traipsing through the woods off-trail. In general, wear sturdy shoes, bring a snack and plenty of water, and be prepared to walk 2-3 miles. For accessibility-related questions, email Skye.
- All sessions will leave from Lower Needmore Rd in the Needmore Game Lands near Bryson City, either from the Brush Creek Access Area or past the swinging bridge. Exact meeting location and directions will be sent out in the week leading up to the event.
- Please download and login to the iNaturalist app before this event. We will be using this app to record our observations. If you have never used iNaturalist, here is a brief tutorial.
- A bagged lunch will be provided free of charge to any participant who wants it.
Why the Needmore? This over-5,000 acre chunk of public land in between Franklin and Bryson City encompasses a fascinating array of rich, low-elevation habitats, including 30 miles of river frontage. Mainspring has contributed over 3,000 acres to these Game Lands, and we continue to carry on the legacy of protecting this area’s unparalleled beauty and biodiversity. When the Fontana Dam was installed in the 1940’s, it flooded what would have been the lowest elevation ecosystems of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and many other low-elevation areas in the Little Tennessee River watershed have been developed. The Needmore contains a special set of unfragmented ecosystems that is not well-represented in our landscape.
Registration for this event has closed. Thank you for your interest!
Wildflowers
Adam Bigelow of Bigelow’s Botanical Excursions will lead this wildflower hunt. Adam’s walks have a focus not only on identification, but also on the stories, uses, and ecological associations of wildflowers.
Adam is a self-identified Plant Nerd. While he did not grow up in these mountains, and is originally from Hampton, VA, he has lived here for 30 years and has been studying and working with the Plants of Southern Appalachia for 20 of those years. Somehow, seemingly by accident, he fell in Love with Native Plants and Wildflowers along the way. He would enjoy the opportunity to help you fall in Love with them too. Adam lives in Cullowhee, NC which is the home of the Cullowhee Native Plants Conference and the Cullowhee Community Garden, both of which he is involved with. His passions in life are the Native Plants and Wildflowers of Southern Appalachia, Walking in the Woods, Organic Gardening, Community Gardening, Sustainability and Eco-friendly Living, his good dog Magnolia, and making music with his friends.
Insects
Will Kuhn is the Director of Science and Research at Discover Life in America. He was born and raised in East Texas, but has lived around the Appalachians for 15+ years. He’s an entomologist by training, and an aspiring naturalist who loves learning about the diverse flora and fauna of the East Tennessee region. He’s obsessed with cataloging life on iNaturalist, including in his Knoxville neighborhood. Will directs DLiA’s scientific research and helps coordinate research with the NPS, scientists, and community scientists.
Riparian Plants and Nut Trees
Jack Johnston is a naturalist, gardener, Magnolia enthusiast, native plant propagator, meditator, and Stewartia (camellia) expert. His area of expertise is woody plants, but this session will be a fun way to explore the diversity of plants found in the riparian and rich soils of the Needmore Game Lands.
