Category Archives: Nature programs

This weekend: A Day to Get Out and Celebrate Mother Earth 

A previous night hike at Mount Jefferson State Natural Area

It’s little surprise that there’s lots going on in the great outdoors this Earth Day weekend. Saturday alone (the actual Earth Day), the N.C. Office of Environmental Education lists more than 50 events on its calendar. Lots to choose from; here are some we especially like. read more

This weekend: Hop like a bunny — there’s lots going on

The view north from Elk Knob

Hey, like the headline says: find your adventure (below) and hop to it.

Coast

Fess up: how many plastic bags of shells to you have from beach foraging sessions past? Lots, no doubt.

Did you know there are things you can do with those shells? Crafty things, things you might not have thought possible that you could use to spruce up your home or office? Better still, for those long week beach vacations, things that could keep the kids busy for an afternoon or two. read more

This weekend: Free ride? 

Milky Way (photo courtesy NASA)

Weird weather (Friday snow in the mountains?) precedes a mellow, springlike weekend. A weekend good for so many adventures, from heeding the advice of Edgar Winter and taking a free ride to gazing into the night sky.

Coast

A satellite view of the eastern seaboard at night is startling not so much for the artificial light that illuminates the region, but for the one spot that remains dark: far eastern North Carolina. A blink here and there, but mostly darkness. One night around 11, lying on a gravel road just outside Columbia, we saw the Milky Way with nearly the clarity I’d seen it years earlier camping at 9,000 feet in the Rockies. read more

This weekend: Sunshine returns

Huggins Island (photo courtesy N.C. Coastal Federation)

The raindrops falling on many of our Tarheel heads (speaking of which, “Go Heels!”) as the work week draws to a close should dry up by the weekend. This week’s weekend recommendations come from the comprehensive events calendar kept by our friends at the N.C. Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs. See the calendar section below for more info on the NCOEEPA. read more

This weekend: Variety is the spice of adventure 

There’s a biathlon at the coast, a lucky bike ride in the mountains, and salvation — or at least a way to save yourself from getting lost — in the Piedmont.

Coast

Before you go tri, perhaps you should try bi.

It only makes sense that instead of going directly to three sports, you should ease yourself in with two. Say, standup paddle boarding and running? read more