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“What did you learn today?” At the beginning of our Wild Child adventure, I tell my students to be prepared to answer this question. None of us really know what the response will be. A lot can happen during a few hours in the Jocassee Gorges. At the beginning of our exploration, I tell them…

Goldenrod It’s early autumn. This is the season when goldenrod blooms. Why, we wonder, does this beauty not grace our own garden, realizing not that throughout summer we have willfully removed it, or poisoned it with chemical spray, deeming it a weed not worthy of the wait. We (or our paid gardeners) discard goldenrod to…

“Welcome to the Jocassee Gorges! This is YOUR place.” I smiled and held my arms out toward the beautiful cloud-kissed wall of mountains in front of us. The Jocassee green waters shimmered all around. The slightly awkward 6th graders on my boat were from Oconee County. “We are going to get to know your place…

Harvey   Her name was Harvey. She appeared between steps and banister one mid-September morning when the rising sun slanted through the porch and illuminated her perfect web. We stopped in our tracks, not willing to damage her handiwork; carefully, we traced our fingers under the orb, feeling for her long anchor threads. Remarkably, there…

  “Look carefully and tell me what you see, but don’t use the common name for it.” I hand fifth grade students from a local school some objects that I have gathered from the forest floor. The eager voices shout out the words you would expect. Leaf. Pinecone. “Those are good answers but now look…

Dacusville Elementary They might not remember the name Attakullakulla. They might not remember feldspar. They might not remember which pines have the shortest needles, or the name of the tree with the big leaves. But they will remember finding salamanders on wet rock under a waterfall. They will remember how amazing sand looks under a…

  September mornings on the lake sometimes start with a light breeze and a little chop in the main basin. As we leave the dock, most folks, including myself, have a light jacket or sweatshirt on. However, it doesn’t take long this time of year before the sun warms everything sufficiently. The jackets come off,…

Zugunruhe There’s a restless edge under these bright blue skies as summer is being nuzzled by autumn. Autumn is like that dog you’ve allowed on your bed, only to find your furry friend is stretching across your space, pushing with all four paws until you are sleeping on an outside sliver of mattress, centimeters from…

Sometimes the best memories aren’t made under clear skies—they’re made when you’re laughing through the rain. Whether it’s creating cool ideas, lending a hand, or braving the elements, Jay and Dawne are always there with big smiles and bigger hearts. This photo says it all: caught in a Jocassee rainstorm, wrapped in ponchos and laughter,…

More Vultures ‍Saturday was Vulture Awareness Day. Perhaps you missed the memo. For future reference, this falls on the first Saturday of September, every year. Along the base of the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment, we are blessed with two species of vultures. They are often seen together, black and turkey, cleaning up the morning roadkill….

  Well, we made it through the fun and busiest part of the summer and now we’re gearing up for a busy fall (700+ JWC school kids coming). THANKS to all of you who have graciously contributed to make this happen! As naturalists, we pay close attention to everything happening around us here in the…

Vultures It takes a special kind of person to love a vulture, but on the dock at Devils Fork State Park, here we are, standing together in our admiration of the one bird who makes most folks shudder with disgust. The vultures are, in our collective opinion, magnificent. Dozens of them roost in the narrow…