Outdoors
Notes from a plant nerd: Hope for the Hemlocks
In springtime, all things are possible. Everything around you that is alive is imbued right now with the same hopeful energy.
Word from the Smokies: 'Gradient of spring' offers opportunity for exploration
By the third week of April, spring is in full bloom throughout the picturesque valleys of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Finding healing and acceptance at the end of a trail
Peter Conti seemed destined for a life of chronic pain.
For nearly two years after a devastating motorcycle accident left him with a shattered pelvis and nerve damage in his leg, Conti battled depression and suicidal ideation while struggling to manage his debilitating, demoralizing condition with dangerously addictive opioids.
Notes from a plant nerd: Invasive Plants Part II: Revenge of the Sterile Cultivar
All around Western North Carolina are thousands upon thousands of small to medium trees blooming white, stinky flowers along roadsides, fence lines and driveways.
Lawsuit challenges Forest Service timber targets
A lawsuit filed last month in a Washington, D.C., federal court alleges the U.S. Forest Service’s practice of setting “timber targets” puts the climate at risk, undermines the Biden administration’s climate goals and violates federal law.
Notes from a plant nerd: Invasive Plants
I’ve been writing this column for over a year and a half and every plant that I have highlighted and celebrated evolved and co-evolved in the bioregion of Southern Appalachia.
Soldiers for sustainability: Common fly could help address pollution, boost sustainability
They can eat just about anything and multiply like crazy. They live all over the world, in a variety of environments — wherever you go, they’re likely nearby.
Keep telling the story
When I first arrived in Western North Carolina just after New Year’s Day, 2014, I wasn’t planning to stay.
Ramsey Cascades Trail closes on weekdays
The National Park Service (NPS) will close Ramsey Cascades Trail on weekdays while trail crews finish the full-scale rehabilitation work started in 2022.