Description: This will involve a car shuttle.  May be cancelled due to Covid.  Bring masks. We will see high elevation plants along the Appalachian trail. Meeting Place/Time: Newfound Gap, 10:00 AM Eastern. Difficulty: Moderate hike of 2 miles. Lunch: Bring lunch, water, and bug spray. Facilities: at meeting place Leader:  Allen Sweetser and Larry Pounds, […]

Paula Gross has spent her career connecting plants and people through education. As the former Associate Director of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Botanical Gardens she taught university courses on botany and plant identification, lead the creation of children’s and adult public education programs, and couldn’t keep her hands out of just about […]

This talk will give you some great reasons not to ONLY use common names for plants, and then explain in simple terms how to understand and use their scientific names. We will discuss plant names from a user’s perspective – much like how most of us want to learn how to drive but only specialists […]

Description: This is a joint outing for TNPS and TCWP. This is a new powerline for our fall wildflower outing. It will require a bit more driving. Hopefully some of the bog orchids will still be in bloom but mostly we will be seeing goldenrods and asters. We will be able to mix driving and […]

Description:  We will walk through a field of ironweed, asters, goldenrods, and other colorful plants. We will discuss plants and the insects that visit them. This field is home for the uncommon Dion Skipper and Southeastern Plains Bumblebee. The walk is considered easy and kid friendly. Meeting Place/Time: We will meet in the parking lot […]

Description: This is a joint outing for Wild Ones, TNPS and TCWP. The Oak Ridge Barrens is a small property that supports at least three Tennessee rare plant species: prairie goldenrod (Solidago ptarmicoides), naked-stem sunflower (Helianthus occidentalis), and Torrey’s mountain mint (Pycnanthemum torreyi). Torrey’s mountain mint is not only rare in Tennessee but considered globally […]

Description:  We will explore the roadsides of northern Decatur County and the wildflowers along the way.  Liatris and goldenrods will be numerous, and we will be on the lookout for barbed rattlesnake-root (Nabalus barbatus), a rare plant in Tennessee. Meeting Place/Time:  Love’s Truckstop off Exit 126, I-40. 10:00 am Central Difficulty:  Easy to moderate Lunch:  […]

Steve Murphree is a Professor of Biology at Belmont University who specializes in Entomology and Ecology Research. He is a frequent contributor of articles about arthropods to the Tennessee Conservationist and has been interviewed about insects by local print, radio and television media. Since coming to Belmont, he has visited many classrooms in middle Tennessee […]

Dr. Larry Pounds earned his doctorate in plant ecology from the University of Tennessee. Since then he has been fortunate enough to make a living mostly “hiking around” looking for rare plants. He has worked as a botanical consultant for several organizations, currently TVA and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He serves on the boards of […]

Wise gardening choices in residential and commercial landscapes help ensure the health and survival of local wildlife as well as ourselves.  Recent research and in-depth observations demonstrate the value of native plants as the backbone for urban and suburban green space to attract and support the diversity of life needed for a truly functional (and […]