Spring Guided Walks

 

Panoramic of big island Green Swamp preserve

Spring is our busiest time of year for “guided walks”.  Groups and organizations from all over the region want to get out and see the interesting and beautiful plants of the Southeast Coastal Plain.  This spring we had garden clubs, non-profit organizations, school groups, and photographers visit our preserves hoping to get a look at something special, and boy did they ever!

Venus flytraps in bloom

Hobby Greenhouse Club

Giant sundew!

I recently did a walk in the Green Swamp for the Hobby Greenhouse Club.  They were a very fun group that was interested in seeing Venus flytraps and other carnivorous plants in their natural habitat opposed to in greenhouses where they typically see them.  We had a great walk!  Here are some of the highlights.

Rosebud orchid

Ladies tresses orchid

I also took a TNC photographer around to some of our preserves so that he could get carnivorous plant photos for a layout that will feature the Southeast Coastal Plain carnivorous plants in the national TNC magazine!  We are very excited that our region will be showcased in the national publication.

TNC photographer Christian hard at work at Shaken Creek preserve

Crazy pitcher plant hybrid

And it wouldn’t be spring without some amazing photos from our local photographer hero Skip Pudney.  We love how he captures the savannas, you can tell he really connects with the ecosystems in our region.  Thanks again Skip for showcasing all of our hard work!

Grass pink – Skip Pudney

Colic root and butterfly – Skip Pudney

Grass pink and savanna – Skip Pudney

The North American Sarracenia Conservancy

Accepting the NASC check. left to right: Mark Todd, NASC Conservation director; Sheila Stewart, NASC Treasurer; Sara Babin, TNC Conservation Coordinator.

We have some good news to share!  The North American Sarracenia Conservancy  (NASC) has raised $1,250 for a burn at our Old Dock preserve!  NASC has partnered with us on previous projects at some of our other preserves and we are happy to say that they are helping us out again.  The burn at Old Dock will be a growing season burn in 2014.  We have increased the frequency of our burning at Old Dock in the past 10 years to every 2 to 3 years and the results are magnificent.  Below are some pictures I took this week at Old Dock; it was amazing!

Loblolly bay flower

Longleaf milkweed

Yellow pitcher plant (those flies don’t stand a chance)

Hooded pitcher plant

Hybrid pitcher plant, hooded/purple

Yellow pitcher plant, copper top variety

Pale grass pink orchid

More copper tops!!

Thanks for looking!!  Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!!

Green Swamp Spring 2013

There is hardly any other place on earth like the Green Swamp in the Spring.  Cool breezes blow the tall longleaf pine trees and the warm sun wakes up the carnivorous plants and orchids…it is truly amazing.  Have a look at the Green Swamp this Spring in pictures.

Fly poison (Amianthium muscotoxicum) is commonly found in the ecotone areas of the Green Swamp. This plant contains toxic alkaloids that are poisonous to livestock. The bulbs of the plant if crushed and mixed with sugar can be used to kill flies.

Bearded grass pink orchid (Calopogon barbatus) is one of three types of grass pink orchid that grows in the Green Swamp region.

Yellow pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava) is the largest of the pitcher plant species that grows in the Green swamp. These are a variant known as copper tops because of their coppery red pitcher tops.

Spring green grass and ferns in the longleaf pine savanna.

Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula) about to bloom.

Sweet pitcher plant (Sarracenia rubra) is the smallest of the pitcher plant species in the Green Swamp region, very cute.

Pink sundew (Drosera capillaris) is a tiny little carnivorous plant. It has sticky drops of dew on its leaves to catch bugs and as you can see it does the job well.

If you would like to see the Green Swamp in person please visit our nature trail open every day from dawn to dusk.  Please contact Sara Babin at sbabin@tnc.org for directions.

Volunteers Left to right: Jonathan Babin, Frank Aaron, and Lee Butzin

I would also like to give a shout out to the volunteers that helped me clean up the Green Swam trail this weekend.  We had a great work day Saturday and cut back all of the overgrowth from the trail.  Thanks guys!

Here’s to Volunteers!!!

IBM volunteers working at the Boiling Spring Lakes preserve

I would like to dedicate this post to all of our hard-working volunteers.  It is always a pleasure working with our volunteers, whether it be on a fire or helping plant wiregrass or doing some trail maintenance, we always have a good time!

making Venus flytrap puppets at Fire in the Lakes

The Fire in the Lakes festival is a great place to see volunteers, this year we had 25 UNCW students help us out, many thanks to all of their enthusiasm!

Green Swamp trail workers looking tough!

And let’s not forget about the Green Swamp trail.  Twice a year we have to maintain the trail, and this is a great time because once we cut back all of the brush we get to enjoy the interesting plants…needless to say this work day turns into an interpretive day every time :)  Which reminds me!  This Saturday we will have our spring Green Swamp trail maintenance day, click here for more details!

volunteers on a fire at McLean savanna

Oh yeah!  Our fire program is very dependent on volunteers, without them we would have a tough time getting all that fire on the ground every year.  And what an interesting opportunity, doing ecological controlled burning, amazing!

planting away at Haw Bluff…thanks for the help ladies!

About two years ago with the help of some very dedicated volunteers we planted 3000 wiregrass plugs at our Haw Bluff preserve, and what a rainy day it was!  In fact it poured most of the time we planted, but that didn’t stop our volunteers, they plugged away (no pun intended) until every wiregrass plug was in the ground.

wiregrass plugs looking very healthy at our Haw Bluff preserve

Last week Angie and I went out to monitor the wiregrass plugs and they are doing amazing!  We think about 90% survival.  A huge success!

So here’s to you volunteers, we appreciate every bit of help we get from you!!  Let’s keep up all of the good work so our preserves will be healthy and beautiful ❤

Cheers!

Spring is in the air!

Spring bloomer purple butterwort, Green Swamp preserve

Spring has sprung here in the southeast, flowers are blooming, trees are budding and pollen is abundant!  Spring is a good time for us, fire season has come to an end and now we get to see the beautiful results of all the hard work we did this winter.  We had an incredible fire season this year; here are the numbers from 2013:

Acres burned on TNC property – 1630

Acres burned on partner properties – 6290

Total acres burned –  7920!

First burn ever at the newly acquired Pinch Gut tract adjacent to the Green Swamp preserve

These numbers reflect the best burn season we have had in years in the Southeast region of North Carolina.  We had great weather and plenty of rain, combined with an experienced fire crew and motivated partners, it marks a huge win for controlled burning.  This ultimately means we will see amazing diversity in our preserves and less burnable fuels in urban interface areas…a win for every team!

Possum Creek pickin’ away under the big tent at Fire in the Lakes 2013

We pulled off another successful Fire in the Lakes festival.  A huge THANK YOU to everyone involved!  We had the first ever Flytrap Half Hell Haul 7k trail run and it turned out an unexpectedly big crowd!  We pulled off a demonstration controlled burn before some rain showers, there were live animals galore, we had some bluegrass jams by Possum Creek, fire eaters, and yummy food.  Kids were happy bouncing in castles, making fire hats, and sitting in fire trucks.  We were very pleased overall.  Check out the Fire in the Lakes website for more details and photos of the event.

Venus flytrap, Green Swamp preserve

We would like to invite you to our annual Walk with the Meateaters hike in the Green Swamp on May 18th.  This is a guided hike by TNC staff experts in the Green Swamp preserve.  We will be looking at a many of the Spring flowering plants including the Venus flytrap and allowing the opportunity to ask questions about our program.  If you are interested in signing up for this walk please contact Sara Babin at sbabin@tnc.org.  Space is limited so sign up fast!

So here’s to Spring!  May it be mild and sunny and full of great adventures in the Southeast Coastal Plain!

What’s happening now!

Burn at McLean savanna

Oh man, there are so many things going on in the Southeast Coastal Plain these days I just don’t know where to begin!

Flowering pixie-moss blooming in the Green Swamp

Let’s start with fire.  We have been burning up a storm.  The weather conditions have been in our favor this year and this has allowed burn boss Angie Carl to fire it up.  So far just our program has burned 1560 acres of TNC preserve land!  Go Angie!  It’s still early in March so we are hoping to get a few more burns in…shooting for 2000 acres!  Keep up with where we are burning on our Google burn map.

Venus flytrap seen in the Green Swamp

I took a walk on the Green Swamp trail last week with Kelly Oten, Forest Health Specialist with the NC Forest Service.  Kelly will be doing a Palamedes swallowtail butterfly count at a site in the Green Swamp over the next three years.

Palamedes swallowtail butterfly

The butterfly count is part of a bigger project looking at Palamedes swallowtail butterfly numbers in areas where laurel wilt is present.  Laurel wilt is a tree disease spread by an ambrosia beetle that kills lauraceae species.  Red bay is a lauraceae species and the Palamedes swallowtail butterfly uses red bay exclusively for egg laying.  Scientists are expecting to see Palamedes swallowtail butterfly decline as more red bay trees succumb to laurel wilt.  Click here to read more about laurel wilt.

New Fire in the Lakes logo!

So the Fire in the Lakes festival is fast approaching!  On March 23rd from 11 to 3 bring your family out to the Boiling Spring Lakes Community Center for a free day of fire, flytraps, and fun!

As part of the festival this year we will be hosting the Flytrap Half Hell Haul 7K trail run.  The run will start at 9 at the Boiling Spring Lakes Community Center and will follow the preserve nature trail.  For more info on the festival and the race check out the website and don’t forget to like the festival on Facebook!

Hope to see y’all at Fire in the Lakes!!

Fire Festival Update!

Planning for the Fire in the Lakes Festival is well on its way and we have some great stuff lined up this year starting with the return of Creative Flame, the most amazing fire juggling team in the world!  They will be performing throughout the entire event, so exciting!

Creative Flame performer

Of course we will have the usual fun stuff…games, crafts, live music by Possum Creek, bouncy castles, a demonstration controlled burn, food, face painting, a big raffle, and lots and lots of live animals!  Visit our website and like us on Facebook for all of the latest updates.  As always the Fire in the Lakes festival is a free event so bring all of your family and friends!

Possum Creek pickin’ at the 2012 festival

We will also be hosting The Half Hell Haul 7K race and 1 mile fun run/walk on the Boiling Spring Lakes preserve nature trail.  This run will be through biodiverse ecosystems that have recently been managed using controlled burning, not something you get to see everyday!  Click here for race registration details.

I hope to see all of you at the Fire in the Lakes Festival!