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“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 a little better today.” Our first stop took us on a wander through a rain-softened pine forest. The Jocassee Gorges provide a welcome stopping place for migrating songbirds in the fall. I was hoping to hear some birds. We paused for a listen. Sure enough, the short whips of a wood thrush rang out and one of the boys pointed ahead on the ground where a wood thrush was busy foraging. Next we heard the chip of a hooded warbler. I showed them a picture of the bird we were hearing and exclamations of its beauty were given. “This looks like a rainforest bird, doesn’t it?” I explained that this bird migrates from our temperate rainforest to the tropical rainforest every year. A little further down the path I noticed the canopy was busy with birds. I stopped the students and motioned for silence. I began making a soft pishing sound. Within 30 seconds we were surrounded by birds and there right in front of us was a bright yellow hooded warbler! Even the coolest kid in the group was wide-eyed. We went on to touch jelly fungus, taste persimmons, examine coyote scat, explore river otter caves, and swim with the fish. We got a small glimpse into the rich diversity found in one amazing place. On the way back in, I asked them how nature made them feel. I got the usual answers: calm, adventurous, excited. Then the one dark-skinned boy on the boat raised his hand and said, “I feel welcomed, like I belong.” ~Tricia Kyzer, JLT guide and JWC instructor.