Our team spent our final day measuring old growth trees (some close to 500 years old) at Joyce Kilmer – Slick Rock Wilderness. We measured the circumference and then calculated the diameter of each one but then also asked and tested how many of us would wrap around a tree? Which one of us is the same height as the tree’s diameter? The group loved mixing the scientific data collection with more whimsical estimates. Our final stop was Yellow Creek Falls, where we played in a cold swimming hole, swam to the falls itself, and found time to write, knowing that we would all share our writing later this evening.  We closed our day doing just that, as well as sharing our hopes for what we will take away from the Blue Ridge Institute, and our appreciation for the experience.

This is an excerpt of Sarah’s writing:

Vocabulary

New words knock through the corners of my brain,
Upturning rocks and damp crevices to new worlds unknown.

Endemic — unique to an area.
Native
Particular

Can a week of exploration be endemic?
Not to be replicated, unique to place, time, and this set of 12 humans.

Early and late succession – what comes first to the land after a disturbance,
and the sequence of events, plants, species thereafter.
Like a story — setting, conflict, rising action, climax, resolution.
Repeatable but not replicated.

Perhaps 2020 was the worldwide disturbance,
Making all of us early succession teachers and learners.
Precariously revived with the shallow but rich soil of vulnerable willingness.

Radio telemetry, pit tags, migration data banks –
One by one to the masses, seeking and finding
the spruce fir moss spider, or
gray cheek salamander, or
the mighty and ancient hellbender.

Distinct and cooperative worlds of innovation, attention, and ingenuity –
Totally unfamiliar to me.

What other worlds and passions are beyond my scope of vision?
What else will arise that I didn’t know I loved.

Spotting scope, jewel loupe, bug box
The earthy smell of moss and compelling whiff of hickory nut.

What else?

Kinglet! Thrush! Junco! Warbler!
Bird songs of “here I am” and “chicken chicken chicken chicken”

And?

Spruce or fir?
No…. A hemlock.

Blue and black cohosh, wine berries, skunky galax and endless rhododendrons.

Here’s to the next world of detailed delight.
Here’s to the next succession of teachers and learners to take this journey.

To see photos from our final day check out @ncmnsteachered on Instagram

Twas the day before the yurts when all through the mountains,
the teachers were packing and filling up water from water fountains.

The clothes were so smelly, the boots oh so dirty,
but the smiles of each teacher was quite bright and purty.

First on the schedule was to drive the rest of the Parkway,
and on our way we realized, we only have two nights left to stay!

We explored through the Smokies in hopes to find elk,
when what to our wandering eyes should appear,
but an elk similar to a reindeer!

Back in the van on the drive to meet Freeman Owle,
we had 30 more minutes to see a bear and may hear its growl?

Alas we have made it down to the water, the land of the Cherokee,
to watch all the children play with glee.

Freeman Owle began to tell stories of the past,
sharing all the traditions and celebrations in hopes that they last.

He gave us a tour as we drove through the land,
and brought us to the burial site of those who lived beforehand.

Freeman cared so much about his people
and challenged the group of teachers to have the vision of the eagle.

Up the steep hill, our view at the yurts was so nice
and for dinner we shared great conversation over rice.

Reflecting on our day we realized we now had one day left,
so we planned to make it the best one yet!

See photos of our day on our Instagram feed @ncmnsteachered

1

Early morning sunrise on the grassy summit of Black Balsam Knob with views of mountains in all directions.

2

Wild hellbenders we discovered under rocks in the Davidson River with Ben, a biologist with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, one of which we were able to capture, measure, PIT tag and release.

3

The amount of overlooks along this high elevation stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway we stopped at to take in the majestic views.

4

The time we had to wake up so we could hike the Art Loeb trail to our sunrise viewing location.

5

The number of layers we SHOULD have worn to go snorkeling in the Davidson River. (The two or three most of us were wearing weren’t quite sufficient to keep us warm in the chilly water.)

6

The number of petals and stamens on the orange-colored, native Turks-cap Lilies, which we studied in the early morning light.

7

The number of folks who shared sketches made during our plant time machine activity, where we looked at how a flower developed from a bud to blossom to fruit.

8

The number of different groups of pollinators that visited the flowers of one bush honeysuckle plant during about 15 minutes of observation.

9

The number of teachers becoming students and learning in the mountains of western North Carolina.

10

The time we will crawl into our sleeping bags and tents after a very eventful and busy day.

11

The number of loud exclamations of joy when we remembered we get to sleep in comfy beds in our yurts tomorrow night (one of us claims that she is still loving tent sleeping, but we think she will be more than happy for her yurt bed once we’re there)!

12

The number of smiling faces as we sat in a circle this evening to share about a day full of adventure and learning.

For pictures of our adventures check out @ncmnsteachered on Instagram

Melissa teaches us about Indian Cucumber-Root (Medeola virginiana).

We broke camp this morning at Briar Bottom Campground and spent part of our day at the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center with three guest experts. Brad Sauls discussed the never-ending battle against invasive species in the park as well as the endangered and threatened ones that need our protection. Illustrator Jeff Preston shared his efforts at bringing engaging images and visual messages to the public: everything from roadway markers to bear safety posters in the park bathrooms.

A highlight for many of us, though, was our writing workshop with Dr. Mildred Barya, writer and professor at UNC-Asheville. Mildred starting by asking each of us to share our relationship to writing. Just like our students, our attitudes and perspectives varied widely — some of us are poets, letter writers, journalers, science communicators; others of us disdain writing and suffer through it only when it’s demanded of us. Mildred invited us to consider and then write about the defense mechanisms and characteristics of a specific plant or animal and then use it as a way of thinking of our own. This seemingly simple prompt led to some metaphorical thinking in our group, and we loved hearing more about each other’s lives.

Skinny Dip Falls (2022) looks very different after heavy rains from Tropical Storm Fred caused extensive changes to the landscape.

We got settled at Mount Pisgah Campground — our home for the next two nights, and then took an evening hike to Skinny Dip Falls. On the way, we foraged cucumber-root and passed hikers who were foraging for chanterelle mushrooms. The site of the falls, however, was a juxtaposition of beauty and destruction. Our group leaders were there just last year, but the falls have changed drastically due to Tropical Storm system Fred, which dumped 14 inches of rain on the area in 12 hours. Massive boulders were re-distributed, trail stairs and fences destroyed, and the entire look of the falls was radically different from the photos that Chris, Greg and Melissa shared from 2021. The falls was a site and sign to consider the impact of changing weather patterns due to the global climate crisis and what can be done about it. How do we convey facts about the climate crisis to our students? How do we act communally and not just individually? How do we engage leaders regardless of their political affiliation?

Just as important as this discussion, though, was the reminder that places — swimming holes, forests, valleys — are important to who we are, our stories and our legacies.

For more pictures of our adventures check out @ncmnsteachered on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CgDaXZOLrTi/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=