Nature Hikes
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. These hikes/tours are listed below. 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.)
Unless otherwise indicated, the following tours/hikes require pre-registration and a small fee. See Registration Instructions in the sidebar to the lower right.
Tours and hikes are listed below in date order.
Penny's Bend Wild Blue Indigo Hike [REGISTRATION FULL]
Date: Saturday, May 19
Time: 9:30 am - 1:00 pm
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. Pennys 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. 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.
Pollination-Themed Tour of the Garden
Date: Saturday, June 23
Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am, rain or shine
Guide: TBA
In honor of National Pollinator Week, we are offering a FREE 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 our gardens will highlight various plants that attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other native pollinators. Participants will also receive tips and resources to turn their home landscape into a pollinator garden. Free, but please register online as with all programs!
Return to the EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS page to find other public programs, such as Lectures, Classes/Workshops, Art in the Garden.
Last updated by Laura Cotterman on May 15, 2012 at 05:20:31 pm.
