Join educational hike March 18

A UNC-Asheville geology professor will lead an educational hike March 18. 

Plant trees at Tessentee

Help transform an old cattle pasture into a wildlife haven 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 24, at Tessentee Bottomland Preserve in Otto. 

Notes from a plant nerd: Barking up the right tree

To get through the winter, some plants go underground to take advantage of the earth’s insulation, while others stay above ground and protect themselves in other ways.

Prune like a pro

Learn how to give your fruit trees some love with a workshop starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at Winding Stair Nursery in Franklin. 

See the American chestnut story in film

Experience the story of the American chestnut, a mighty wonder that once sustained all forms of life in the Appalachian Mountains, with a film screening at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. 

Help the hemlocks

Keep the hemlocks of the Pisgah National Forest safe from the invasive hemlock wooly adelgid during a volunteer workday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26, at the Old Fort Picnic Area near Old Fort. 

Notes from a plant nerd: In the pines

In the Cherokee cosmology, evergreen trees were given their ability to hold onto their leaves all winter as a reward for s taying up all night long for seven days, keeping the sacred fire lit.

Forest Service enhances 128 plans with old growth protections

The U.S. Forest Service has issued a proposal that would amend all 128 forest land management plans in its jurisdiction with language aimed at better maintaining, improving and expanding old-growth forests. 

Notes from a plant nerd: Oh balsam tree, oh balsam tree

At the highest elevations of the Southern Appalachians grow two evergreen trees that give the Balsam Mountains their name — red spruce (Picea rubens) and Fraser fir (Abies fraseri).

Namesake chosen for red spruce greenhouse

A namesake has been chosen for the $2 million greenhouse the Southern Highlands Reserve in Lake Toxaway is building to propagate red spruce trees for replanting on the landscape. 

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