Upcoming Events & Programs
Stay updated on programs, events, and special offerings!
The Nature Center will close at 3pm on July 4th.
Highlands Nature Center
Daily Programs
Date: Daily, Starting June 2nd (Closed Sundays)
Times: Vary
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
Free | No registration required
Storytime with Ms. KK on select Tuesdays:
June 24, July 1, July 8, July 15, and July 29
All other Tuesday Storytime programs will be lead by our Naturalists.
Wednesday Garden Tours are geared toward adults, but all other daily programs are family-friendly!
Nature Center Nights
Amazing Moths
Date: Tuesday, July 1st RESCHEDULED for Thursday, July 3rd
Time: 8:30-10:30 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
All ages welcome
FREE | Registration required
(Weather dependent)
To celebrate International Moth Week we’ll put up some moth lights to meet and learn more about the amazing moths who live here.
Nature Center Nights
Hunters in the Sky
Date: Tuesday, July 8th
Time: 6:30-7:30 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
All ages welcome
FREE | Registration required
(Weather dependent)
Birds of Prey are fascinating, but are sometimes misperceived due to their predatory instincts. Meet some live raptors and learn about their day to day struggle to survive in our constantly changing world.
This program features Carlton Burke of Carolina Mountain Naturalists.
Zahner Conservation Lecture Series
Cohabitate; Living with Nature
Date: Thursday, July 10th
Time: 6:00-7:00 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
FREE | No registration required
Featured Speaker: Sonya Carpenter, Co-founder and President of Co-habitate Inc.
Nature Center Nights
Salamander Meander
Date: Tuesday, July 15th
Time: 8:00-9:00 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
All ages welcome
FREE | Registration required
(Weather dependent)
Join our Naturalists on a nighttime search for our secretive salamander friends.
Zahner Conservation Lecture Series
Lesser Known Medicinal Mushrooms of the Southern Appalachians
Date: Thursday, July 17th
Time: 6:00-7:00 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
FREE | No registration required
Featured Speaker: Christopher Parker, Mycologist and Co-Owner The Forest Farmacy
Nature Center Nights
What Bat is That?
Date: Tuesday, July 22nd
Time: 8:00-9:00 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
All ages welcome
FREE | Registration required
(Weather dependent)
Stretch your wings and tune into the sounds of the many special bats of the Highlands area! Join our Naturalists on a walk through the Botanical Garden to watch them in flight.
Zahner Conservation Lecture Series
Understanding Helene as a Geologic Event in Southern Appalachia... and What is a "Geologic Event" Anyway?
Date: Thursday, July 24th
Time: 6:00-7:00 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
FREE | No registration required
Featured Speaker: Philip S. Prince, Ph.D., Project Geologist, Appalachian Landslide Consultants, PLLC, Virginia Tech Department of Geosciences
Nature Center Nights
Salamander Meander
Date: Tuesday, July 29th
Time: 8:00-9:00 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
All ages welcome
FREE | Registration required
(Weather dependent)
Join our Naturalists on a nighttime search for our secretive salamander friends.
Zahner Conservation Lecture Series
The Good, the Bad & the BUGly
Date: Thursday, July 31st
Time: 6:00-7:00 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
FREE | No registration required
Featured Speaker: Dr. Kelly Oten, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, NC State University
Nature Center Nights
What Bat is That?
Date: Tuesday, August 5th
Time: 7:45-8:45 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
All ages welcome
FREE | Registration required
(Weather dependent)
Stretch your wings and tune into the sounds of the many special bats of the Highlands area! Join our Naturalists on a walk through the Botanical Garden to watch them in flight.
Zahner Conservation Lecture Series
Finding the Fabulous Ordinary
Date: Thursday, August 7th
Time: 6:00-7:00 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
FREE | No registration required
Featured Speaker: Georgann Eubanks, author, University of North Carolina Press
Nature Center Nights
Salamander Meander
Date: Tuesday, August 12th
Time: 8:00-9:00 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
All ages welcome
FREE | Registration required
(Weather dependent)
Join our Naturalists on a nighttime search for our secretive salamander friends.
Zahner Conservation Lecture Series
Southern Appalachian Forest Resilience in a Post Hurricane World
Date: Thursday, August 14th
Time: 6:00-7:00 pm
Location: Highlands Nature Center | 930 Horse Cove Rd.
FREE | No registration required
Featured Speaker: Megan Sutton, The Nature Conservancy, Southern Blue Ridge Program Director