Little Sprouts: ‘I Spy Spring’

North Carolina Botanical Garden 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

Spring has sprung! What’s blooming? Who’s singing? Let’s explore the garden for all things springtime – frogs, flowers, new leaves, nesting birds – and enjoy stories and a craft, too.

$10

Longneedle: Meet the Author & Craft Paper Critters

North Carolina Botanical Garden 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

We're celebrating the amazing longleaf pine habitat this spring! Join us for a special program with author and illustrator Anne Marshall Runyon. Anne will read excerpts from her wonderful picture book, Longneedle, about the 300-year life of a single longleaf pine tree in the North Carolina Coastal Plain – how it survived fire and hurricanes and its connections with other plants and animals. See original illustrations and learn about the inspiration behind the book, too. Following the reading, families will have the unique opportunity to craft paper sculptures of the two charming squirrels featured in Longneedle – the fox squirrel and the southern flying squirrel.

Hybrid Lunchbox Talk: The Longleaf Pine as a Source of Food, Medicine, and Craft for Tribal Nations of the Southeast

North Carolina Botanical Garden 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

This talk will explore how the longleaf pine, a native tree of the Southeast, provides food, medicine, and craft materials for various tribes such as the Lumbee, the Waccamaw Siouan, and the Coharie. Nancy Fields will share examples of how the longleaf pine was historically used and continues to be used today in various aspects of tribal life, culture, and history.

The African American Legacy in Gardening and Horticulture Symposium

Hayti Heritage Center 804 Old Fayetteville St, Durham, United States

The African American Legacy in Gardening and Horticulture Symposium will explore the unsung historical legacy of African American plantspeople, horticulturalists, residential gardeners, and gardening clubs. These personal narratives and generational gardening practices have all too often been ignored, overlooked, or not fully appreciated within the framework of American landscape history, global ethno-botanical viewpoints, and contemporary environmental writing.

This one-day symposium brings together a cadre of horticulturalists, historians, beautification advocates and plantspeople to celebrate the contributions made by these gardening innovators and modern-day practitioners, while further educating and enlightening the public and future generations of plant lovers.

Spring Break Camp

North Carolina Botanical Garden 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

Spring has sprung! Send your nature lover to a week full of hands-on outdoor discovery celebrating the change of season. What’s stirring in the pond, sprouting from the soil, and emerging in the trees? Participants will explore different habitats for signs of animals and plants that come to life in spring, enjoy games and stories, and express creativity through themed arts/crafts. Camp features a blend of indoor and outdoor learning, a camper to staff ratio of 4:1, experienced environmental educators and naturalists, and loads of fun!

$360

Annual Evelyn McNeill Sims Native Plant Lecture with Bill Finch

North Carolina Botanical Garden 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

The longleaf pine ecosystem has often been described as North America’s most diverse forest ecosystem, and longleaf, like few other ecosystems, fostered diversity within and outside its canopy. But understanding the diversity of that diversity will be critical not only to maintaining longleaf pine but also to restoring forest ecosystems that can survive the dramatic changes of the next century, while more equitably serving the people who live there.

Free

Bluets: Preschoolers Exploring Nature – Spring Series

North Carolina Botanical Garden 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

Learning comes naturally during this fun-filled series that fosters a sense of wonder for nature and science. Preschoolers will get their hands dirty learning about seeds, dip in the pond for tadpoles, observe birds up-close, pretend to be pollinators, and more through hands-on activities, outdoor exploration, stories, crafts, and group play. Healthy snack provided. Program is led by experienced early childhood environmental educators.

$144

LighterWood Farm Tour – How the Natural History of the Sandhills Created the Rich Cultural History

North Carolina Botanical Garden 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

The North Carolina Sandhills is a natural strip of land straddling the Piedmont and Coastal Plains. It also lies in the natural zone between the Northern US and Southern US plant communities. This geological location has created a suite of plant and animal adaptations unique to the Sandhills of North Carolina. This tour explores how this natural history has created the cultural history. LighterWood Farm is a great example for how the natural history informed and created much of the highland Scot’s culture of the Sandhills, such as the naval stores economy and even the architecture of the Scots.

Drop-In Discovery Station: Pine Power!

North Carolina Botanical Garden 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

We’re celebrating the amazing longleaf pine habitat this spring. Drop in at the discovery station for a celebration of all things longleaf pine trees! How do they grow? Why do they need fire? What animals depend on them? Find out! Try your hand at pine needle painting and cone stamping, and then enjoy a scavenger hunt for a prize.

Free