Saving Our Savannas Kickoff Lecture – Fire and Life: Longleaf Pine Natural Areas and Their Conservation

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

Join us for the kickoff of our 6-month long exhibition - Saving Our Savannas: Stories of the Longleaf Pine. We will introduce the exhibition and share about upcoming series of programs. Our kickoff speaker is William (Bill) Owen, a private landowner who has restored his own longleaf pine forest at Raccoon Creek Pinelands. Bill will provide an overview of the pre-settlement condition of the longleaf pine in the United States, its near demise, and the current efforts to restore not only the tree but the ecosystem. He will also share his personal journey of restoration and offer some recommendations for the future of this vital natural resource.

Hybrid Lunchbox Talk: A Virtual Field Trip of Longleaf Pine Communities of the Southeastern United States

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

Longleaf pine natural areas are one of the most diverse and endangered ecosystems in North America. Join Alan Weakley, Director of the UNC Herbarium, at the North Carolina Botanical Garden as he takes you on a virtual field trip of these amazing habitats. You will learn about the history, ecology, and conservation of longleaf pines and their associated plants and animals. You will also see some of the beautiful and rare species that live in these fire-adapted communities. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the longleaf pine forests of the Southeastern United States!

Hybrid Lunchbox Talk – Land of the Longleaf Pine: One Tree for Many Communities

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

Did you know that longleaf pine habitats are home to thousands of other living things? The longleaf pine landscape supports vast groundcover plants which in turn hosts hundreds of insects, birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Beyond its iconic biodiversity, fire-maintained longleaf pine forests provide numerous benefits to our communities. Join us to learn more about why longleaf pine conservation and restoration is critical for the future of the Southeast.

Annual Darwin Day Lecture with Dr. Mohamed Noor

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

Annual Darwin Day Lecture: Using science-fiction depictions to learn real-world evolution concepts With Mohamed Noor, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, Interim Vice Provost, Duke University Moderated by Damon Waitt, NCBG Director...

Free

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.

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

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

Explore Natural and Cultural History at the Green Swamp Preserve

Brunswick County, NC

The Nature Conservancy’s Hervey McIver and Debbie Crane will join Julie Moore, coordinator for the Venus Flytrap Champions program, and Sue Jacobs and Darlene Jacobs, coordinators of the Waccamaw Siouan Healing Green Space, to learn about the area’s amazing natural and cultural history of the Green Swamp. This will be a particularly interesting time to visit the preserve, which was completely burned during a wildfire last summer, which is having an amazing effect on its many fire-dependent plants.

$18

Spring Native Plant Sale

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

Pre-registration required 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Register for your spot starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 20. The link for registration will appear on this webpage at that time. No registration required 1:30 – 3 p.m. Join the North Carolina Botanical Garden and other local native plant nurseries for our annual Spring Native Plant Sale! Shop from...

Carolina Moonlight Garden Party

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

“The Best Party in Town!”  — Gail Perry, NCBGF Director and gala planning committee member Buy Tickets You are invited to dress in your best floral attire and join us for the 12th annual Carolina Moonlight Garden Party. Enjoy live music, a sponsored opening reception, dinner on-site amongst the native wildflowers, and a spirited ‘Fund...

$200