A question almost every child asks. A question that has confounded and frustrated parents and teachers for many, many generations. As adults, we flee from this inconvenient question and instead reply, “that’s the way things are,” or “because I said so!” Have you ever tried answering a barrage of “whys” from a child only to discover that any statement you make, even your most cherished convictions, inexorably lead to an exasperated “I don’t know!”? Try it - it’s a profound thing. At the heart of it all, we…don’t…know. How uncomfortable and humbling... More
Any time of year is a good time to get outside and go camping, either alone or with friends, but to me, autumn is ideal camping weather. The bugs aren’t biting as much, and you can really appreciate a nice, warm campfire. I used to be a major “camping snob.” I thought tents, camping equipment, and park campsites were for sissies. I had to be alone in the deep wilderness, sleep in a debris hut, eat tubers and leaves, and I still felt guilty about the small backpack’s worth of stuff I carried... More
Happy Autumn!
Howdy, folks! We’ve made it through another hot, humid NC summer, and now we get to begin another autumn; a time of fungi, hurricanes, sunsets, and reflection. Once again, we can appreciate the warmth of a fire, the scratchy coziness of wool, the rich aromas of rotting leaves, cold rain, and the slow, sad beauty of long slumber and longer death, as some in the natural world prepare for hibernation while others expire.... More
Chapel Hill News Articleby Deborah R. Meyer
January 21, 2010
A jar containing bird feathers. Field guides illustrating wildlife, their tracks and scats. An album filled with fur samples including rabbit, rat, and skunk.
These are some of the tools that educators use when teaching the skill of wildlife tracking. Sarah Haggerty, an educator at Piedmont Wildlife Center, said tracking greatly enhances an understanding of the natural world and strengthens our connection to it....
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