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Sliding Rock is Mother Nature’s Chilly Answer to Water Parks
Water parks are everywhere, and as the summer heats up, young kids (and their parents) start thinking about whether they would rather go to Charlotte’s Carowinds or Atlanta’s Six Flags or even one of the parks over in Pigeon Forge. When making plans for the summer, the “true” water park aficionado might also want to make plans to visit Mother Nature’s very own – and original – water park, Sliding Rock.
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Rare American Chestnut Trees Found in Southeast
A grove of very rare American chestnut trees has been discovered in Georgia. The find is exciting to the scientific community and tree lovers alike, as the American chestnut had virtutally disappeared in a blight in the earlier part of the 20th century.
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Meeting the Challenges of Forest Conservation; Our Forests, Our Way of Life
Forests are intrinsic to our way of life. We hunt and hike and bird watch in them, and depend upon them for wildlife habitat, water purification, timber and jobs. In Minnesota, for example, the timber industry is the fourth largest manufacturing industry in the state, based on employment numbers alone, and generated more than $6.4 billion in forest product shipments in 2002.
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Pack it in for the Environment: Why We Should Compost
With cold winter weather so far away, it’s hard not to think about the summer season. But with our waste problems, as well as the increasing amount of urban pollution, we can do our part to help the environment this winter while providing our gardens with excellent soil for the spring.
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Chimney Rock Park Sees Return of Peregrine Falcons
After coming a hair’s width away from extinction, the peregrine falcon is in the process of staging a remarkable comeback in the wild, untouched regions of certain areas in the US. Fortunately for environmentalists and bird watchers in North Carolina, Chimney Rock Park in Chimney Rock, NC, is one of those lucky places that is now playing host to this special bird.
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Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site is a Great Stop While Enjoying The Mountains.
The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, located in Flat Rock, North Carolina, is a great place to visit while you are enjoying the mountains. Carl Sandburg, the nationally renowned poet, biographer and folksinger, retired in Flat Rock, North Carolina, in 1945.More details
Endangered Species Spotlight- Gopher Tortoise
The gopher tortoise is one of the oldest living species, originating in North America over 60 million years ago. Today their range includes many parts of Florida, southern areas of Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and the tip of Eastern Louisiana.
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Species Respond to Global Warming
Everyone who owns pets knows how sensitive they are to the weather. Dogs and cats fidget and fuss before a big storm.
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces Recovery Team for Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Less than a month after the Big Woods Conservation Partnership partners announced the ivory-billed woodpecker had been rediscovered in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service named the first members of a range-wide recovery team that will craft a roadmap for the conservation of this extraordinary bird.
The team, which held its first meeting in June, includes representatives from state fish and wildlife agencies, The Nature Conservancy, and other conservation organizations and universities.
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Treasured Waterfalls, Mountain Scenery the Reward of Scenic Drive through Gorge
As the days get longer and the temperatures rise, many visitors to Western North Carolina find themselves drawn to any number of the region’s pristine waterfalls for the visual entertainment and cooling respite that they offer from the day’s heat. But some of these popular spots require a bit more hiking, climbing, and crawling over rocks, boulders, and trails than some folks are willing or able to do.More details
Hatcher Garden: An Oasis in The Middle of Spartanburg
Hatcher Garden & Woodland Preserve, a ten-acre green space contains a native oak/hickory forest, a series of ponds and babbling brooks, perennial display beds and a grassy front lawn. There is a tremendous population of songbirds, a family of mallards and red shouldered hawks, small mammals including squirrels and chipmunks, four different varieties of turtles, frogs, fish and the occasional raccoon and possum.
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Saving Natural Habitats Begins At Home; Learn About Sustainable Gardening Practices
Disappearing habitat is a problem worldwide. Most endangered species have that status because of habitat loss. Two thirds of the world’s forests are already gone.
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The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker; Natural History And Facts
The ivory-billed woodpecker ( Campephilus principalis) -- is among the world's largest woodpeckers. Only the imperial woodpecker of Mexico, now thought by many to be extinct, was larger than the ivory-bill.
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Pack it in for the Environment: Why We Should Compost
With cold winter weather so far away, it’s hard not to think about the summer season. But with our waste problems, as well as the increasing amount of urban pollution, we can do our part to help the environment this winter while providing our gardens with excellent soil for the spring.
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Monarch Butterfly Migration Is Fueled With Milkweed; Plant Milkweed Seeds to Aid Migration
180 Million Monarchs are now on the move! Milkweed plants are the only food source for Monarch caterpillars.
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Habitat Hightlight- YOUR Backyard!
South Carolina has more certified Backyard Wildlife Habitats than any other state! We are very proud of this honor, and want to stay at the top of this list.
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How to Grow And Make a Gourd Birdhouse
You can grow your own Birdhouse gourds, and it is so much fun! They make a beautiful addition to any sunny garden spot.
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Jocassee Gorges Passage of Palmetto Trail Another Link on Statewide Trail
South Carolina’s Palmetto Trail – currently a work in progress – will span the state with over 425 miles of hiking trails once it is completed. Started in 1997, new passages open each season, with the spectacular Jocassee Gorges Passage in Upstate South Carolina setting itself apart from many other passages with its stunning scenery and dramatic terrain.
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Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Backyard Wildlife
Habitat Site
Tiny, iridescent hummingbirds are an exciting addition to your habitat. Hummingbirds visit SC from March through November and you can attract them by planting red, tubular flowers.
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Roper Mountain Science Center is an Eye-Opening Experience Any Time of Year.
With a bird's eye view, Roper Mountain Science Center keeps a close watch on the skies over the Upstate. Owned and operated by the School District of Greenville County, the Science Center's primary purpose is to provide high quality enhancement to the Upstate's classroom curriculum. Through its numerous hands-on and attention-grabbing science programs available to school-age children, the Science Center has earned a reputation throughout the state of providing students with dynamic, entertaining and thought-provoking science programs that, no doubt, are leading many of today's students into future careers in science.
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Red Wolf, An Endangered Spcies, Is Making a Slow Come Back
Originally, the red wolf roamed as far north as Pennsylvania and as far west as central Texas. Like its relative the grey wolf, the red wolf was wiped out from its former range by large scale predator control programs.
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Caesars Head State Park is Close, But a World Away
Spartanburg is a terrific place to work, raise a family and enjoy what life has to offer, but that doesn't take away the need to get away from it all every once in a while, away from paved streets, traffic noise and all the signs of civilization. Caesars Head State Park, so close, yet so far, is the perfect day trip to what seems like another world.
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Abundance of Water, Natural Gas and Plant Sites Makes the Upstate a Top Choice For New Manufacturers.
They say you have to be good and lucky to be successful in business. The South Carolina Upstate certainly qualifies for the category of the "good and lucky." With a skilled work force steeped in the Southern tradition of a strong work ethic to complement its abundance of natural resources, the Upstate is considered by the world's manufacturers to be one of the top areas to locate a new manufacturing plant.
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Now is the Time to Attract Bluebirds to Your Backyard
"The bluebird is like a speck of clear blue sky seen near the end of a storm, reminding us of an ethereal region and a heaven which we had forgotten." Henry David Thoreau, 1859. Eastern Bluebirds are small, charming, non-aggressive birds that are a conservation success story. With their bright blue wings and heads, rust-colored breasts, and delightful array of songs and calls, they are about as appealing to the Southern summer garden as hummingbirds and butterflies.
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Wild Turkey Flock Finds Asheville, NC, To Its Taste; Pays Recent Visit to Historic Manor Inn
Veritable traffic stoppers, and the topic of much conversation around the office, a rather large flock of wild turkeys has decided, like so many others, that Asheville is the place for them. A somewhat unlikely choice, given that wild turkeys tend to gravitate toward more rural and less populated areas in which to reside, Asheville has embraced its wayward flock. The feathered tribe of maybe twenty or so can be found at any number of locations in central and north Asheville, casually strolling across parking lots and lawns - or right down the center of streets - stopping traffic all the while, as amazed and amused drivers patiently wait for the crowd "turkus maximus" to meander on their way.
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NC Arboretum Operates State-of-the-Art Greenhouse Complex Just a short Drive Up the Mountain
At the end of the short drive into the mountains of western North Carolina lies one of the finest examples of "gardening heaven" that can be found in our area. For both the regular visitor and the uninitiated, the splendor of the North Carolina Arboretum, located on the west side of Asheville just off of I-26, begins with the entry road into this massive and picturesque facility. Owned and operated by the University of North Carolina system on 426 acres in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest, the road winds gently past woodlands, trails, high stone retaining walls, and some glorious landscaping.
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Biltmore Industries Holds Distinguished Position in Appalachia's Arts and Crafts History
Biltmore Industries, for many years an exceptional outlet for traditional mountain arts and crafts and the one-time beneficiary of George and Edith Vanderbilt's generosity, is a long-running example of Appalachia's propensity toward fostering local mountain arts and crafts. The following article, posted with the permission of Asheville, North Carolina, author, historian, and antiques authority Bruce E. Johnson, provides an in-depth look at Biltmore Industries and the impact it had on Appalachia's artisans and crafts people throughout the 20th century.
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Linville Caverns a Great Addition to a Weekend Ski Trip
It all started from a inquiring nature and a willingness to explore … how could there be fish swimming out of the mountain? So began the curious journey of eastern Carolinian, H. E. Colton, and his local guide, Dave Franklin, over 100 years ago.
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Recycling Center Paves Way for Innovative Uses of Scrap Tires.
A one-of-a-kind research and outreach facility dedicated to finding new uses for old tires was dedicated
at Clemson University. Officials said the new
statewide Asphalt-Rubber Technology Service (ARTS) will pave
the way toward creating various uses for millions of scrap
tires.
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