By Angelica Edwards, Communications Intern
The North Carolina Botanical Garden is making final preparations for its Carolina Moonlight Virtual Party, an entertaining celebration of the region’s biodiversity with a focus on carnivorous plants on Saturday, May 22 from 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Derek Haynes (The Crazy Botanist) will join Garden Director, Damon Waitt, as a co-host of this year’s program.
The event will feature special presentations from speakers such as the Director of the UNC Herbarium, Alan Weakley, who will discuss southeastern biodiversity and what makes North Carolina unique. Weakley is a professor, plant taxonomist, community ecologist, and conservationist specializing in the southeastern United States.
The event will also host bestselling author and horticulturist, Brie Arthur, as she shows viewers how to grow carnivorous plants at home. Arthur is a recipient of an American Horticultural Society Award and has worked as a grower and propagator for leading nurseries. Her passions center on sustainable land management and promoting the value of gardening across the U.S., including incorporating edibles into the traditional home landscape.
Tom Earnhardt, the co-producer, writer and host of UNC-TV’s Exploring North Carolina, will showcase the diversity of carnivorous plants during his recent excursion to eastern North Carolina. Earnhardt has been described as the “steward of North Carolina outdoors.” As a lawyer, he pioneered environmental law in the state and is also an avid naturalist.
The presentation will include a dissection of pitcher plants to show the insects that can be found inside, a tour of the Garden’s carnivorous plant beds, and a debunking of carnivorous plant myths. The Garden will also answer the question, “Do Venus flytraps eat their pollinators?” In addition, the event will feature two special performances by the UNC Walk-Ons a cappella group.
Attendees are invited to make a signature Venus Flytrap cocktail to enhance their Carolina Moonlight viewing experience.
This event is open to all, and all are encouraged to register and donate to benefit the North Carolina Botanical Garden. Donations will provide resources to protect, preserve, and conserve our nature heritage by sustaining the Garden’s operations.
Register today! Capacity is limited to 500 households.
REGISTER HERE