News & Events

UNC Asheville Holds 38th Annual Spring Wildflower and Bird Pilgrimage

April 15, 2010

UNC Asheville's Biology Department will celebrate Appalachian nature with its 38th annual Spring Wildflower and Bird Pilgrimage April 30-May 2. Fourteen special events, including talks and guided tours, will focus on local flora and fauna. All are open to the public.

The popular annual celebration begins with registration at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 30, in the lobby of UNC Asheville's Rhoades-Robinson Hall. The registration fee is $5 for adults and $1 for students and covers all events.

Following registration local naturalist Ron Lance will present "Blue Ridge Wildflowers: Habitats and Natural History," at 7:30 p.m. in UNC Asheville's Robinson Hall Auditorium. The talk will include an indoor sampling of wildflowers found in the Balsam Mountain Preserve, where Lance serves as land manager.

Events on Saturday, May 1, include nine guided tours and activities. The outings feature both morning and afternoon half-day adventures such as a birding trip through Craven Gap, a beginner's wildflower identification trip and a nature walk to Ray Mine.

The day will conclude with a presentation on lichens by science teacher Jennifer Love at 7:30 p.m. in UNC Asheville's Robinson Hall Auditorium. Her talk, "Learning to Understand and Appreciate Lichens," will include information on the basic ecology, identification and natural history of lichens. Love has presented her basic lichen class at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute, the North Carolina Arboretum and the Coweeta Hydrologic Lab.

Events on Sunday, May 2, include a birding trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway starting at 7:30 a.m., a trip to the Craggy Mountains to explore old growth sites at 9 a.m., and a wildflower walk in the Shinn Gardens at 2 p.m.

Coinciding with the Spring Wildflower and Bird Pilgrimage is the "A Day in the Gardens" festival. The two-day celebration includes plant and craft vendors, food and entertainment from 1-6 p.m. Friday, April 30, and from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, May 1, in the Botanical Gardens at Asheville, 151 W.T. Weaver Blvd., adjacent to campus.

For more information about UNC Asheville's Spring Wildflower and Bird Pilgrimage, call David Clarke, UNC Asheville associate professor of biology, at 828/232-5151 or visit www.unca.edu/biology.