Nature Hikes and Tours
In addition to our regular Saturday tours of the Display Gardens and Education Center, and monthly tours of Coker Arboretum (see sidebar), we offer occasional guided hikes and walks in other natural areas or campus locales. Please, always leave pets at home! (If you would like to arrange for a special private tour of the Botanical Garden Grounds, Coker Arboretum, or Battle Park for your group, please see the Scheduling Tours page.)
Tours and hikes are listed below in date order.
Register Now
Penny's Bend Wild Blue Indigo Hike
Date: Saturday, May 18
Time: 9:30 - 1:00 am
Guide: Ed Harrison, Naturalist
Ed Harrison, Penny's Bend Management Committee member, leads a hike through the spring landscape of this 84-acre natural area surrounded on three sides by the Eno River in northeast Durham. With luck, the wild blue indigo (Baptisia australis) will be in full bloom. Penny's Bend Nature Preserve encompasses mature forests and remnant diabase glades and prairies with regionally rare plants. Fee: $10 ($5 NCBG members). Directions provided after registration. Note:About 2 miles in length, much of this hike is on primitive trails over uneven terrain, with one short, steep climb up from the river. Wear sturdy hiking footwear and bring a walking stick and water.
Register NowHoney Beehive Tour
Date: Sunday, June 23 (inclement weather: July 14)
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Guide: Anne Cabell, Hobbyist Beekeeper
Come to the Carolina Campus Community Garden (CCCG) in Chapel Hill to learn about one of the world's most fascinating insects. Bees are responsible for pollinating one-third of the world's food and produce one of the sweetest treats around. We will explore a real live hive! This workshop is open to all ages. Free, but advance registration is required. For directions to the CCCG and to confirm that the workshop will be held if weather is uncertain, check this website: uncgarden.web.unc.edu/
Register NowSummer Wildflowers and Pollinators Tour
Date: Saturday, June 29, rain or shine
Time: 10:00 - 11:00 am
Guide: TBA
In observance of National Pollinator Week, we are offering a pollination-themed tour of the Garden. Come learn about the plight of our native pollinators and the role that native plant gardening plays in pollinator conservation. This 60-minute tour of the Display Gardens includes an up-close look at our new pollinator garden, and will highlight various plants that attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other native pollinators. You'll receive tips and resources to turn your home landscape into a pollinator garden. Free, but advance registration is required.
Register NowIndependence Day Pilgrimage to a Beech Tree
Date: Thursday, July 4 (inclement weather date July 5; call 919-962-0522 to confirm)
Time: 10:00 am - noon
Guide: Riverdave Owen, Durham naturalist and longtime member of the Thoreau Society
On July 4, 1845, Henry David Thoreau made his personal Declaration of Independence by moving from his family home in Concord, Massachusetts, to his hand-built lodging by Walden Pond. Participants will commemorate that important event with a local pilgrimage to a beech—the type of tree that Thoreau spoke of as a "shrine I visited both summer and winter." The walk will be a total distance of about 1.5 miles along Bent Beech Trail in Battle Park. Meet at the Battle Park/Forest Theater parking lot, S. Boundary St., Chapel Hill. Bring a day pack with water and a light cushion for sitting on the ground. Fee: $10 ($5 NCBG members)
Register NowThoreau's Adventure with Witch Hazel—a walk-and-talk
Date: Sunday, July 14
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Guide: Peter White, NCBG Director
Henry David Thoreau had great curiosity about the plants and animals that he would meet on his daily jaunts around Concord, Massachusetts. His journal is a remarkable record of his observations and thoughts. He liked to investigate and experiment, too. Reading that our native witch hazel has explosively dehiscing fruits (that is, when ready to disperse their seeds, the capsules explode suddenly), he collected some and placed then in a pan on his stove at his Walden Pond cabin. On this walk, we will hunt the native witch hazel, talk about its natural history, and tell the rest of the story about Thoreau. Fee: $10 ($5 NCBG members)
Return to the EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS page to find other public programs, such as Lectures, Classes/Workshops, Certificate Programs, etc.
Last updated by Laura Cotterman on May 14, 2013 at 12:58:21 pm.
