2025 SUMMER WORKSHOPS
We are excited to announce the first of our tentatively scheduled workshops for this summer! As we get closer to summer we will be adding new workshops, so be sure to follow us on social media and sign up for the Station newsletter HERE.
Summer workshops at Highlands Biological Station are:
- Great for beginning and advanced students – most have no pre-requisites
- Hands on and engaging
- Taught by expert instructors from a variety of backgrounds
- Designed for adult learners
The Lost (and Found) Shortia
Paper Botanicals: Spring Flora
Celebrate spring with paper Trillium workshops!
In celebration of the much-loved spring trilliums, HBS will host two paper botanical workshops, featuring Trillium grandiflorum (Great White Trillium) on May 22 and Trillium vaseyi (Vasey’s Trillium) on May 24.
Participants will use crepe paper to make life-size and realistic replicas of these Trillium species, while learning about the botanical characteristics of this genus. No previous experience with making paper botanicals is needed, but the activity requires the use of scissors and good finger dexterity. Materials will be provided to complete the blooming plants, and tools will be available for use during the workshop. There will be a 30-minute break for lunch (bring your own).
Limit 12 people each workshop. Participants are welcome to sign up for both.
About the Artist:
Cynthia Woodsong makes paper replicas of flowers and plants native to North Carolina. After learning the basic concepts and techniques of making paper flowers, she began focusing on specimens that are not easily seen or have a very short bloom time. She also makes flowers that are not suited to being cut and brought indoors. Whenever feasible, the paper botanicals are rendered as blooming plants in clay pots, while others (e.g., magnolias, lilies) are reproduced as flowering stems to be put in a vase. Cynthia works with different types of paper, manipulating the surface colors and structure to achieve botanical accuracy as much as possible. Her work, which can be seen in the NC Botanical Garden’s Garden Shop, features plants found throughout North Carolina’s sandhills, high mountains and piedmont.
