Science Slam

Hudson Library 554 Main Street, Highlands, North Carolina

Highlands Biological Station and UNC-Chapel Hill's Institute for the Environment students invite you to enjoy a selection of poetry and creative writing created during their semester studying the diverse environments of southern Appalachia while in residence at HBS.  This COVID-safe event will take place at Hudson Library in Highlands on Wednesday, December 8th at 1:00 PM.

Highlands Field Site Students’ End-of-Semester Project Presentations

Bats and hemlocks and salamanders, oh my! Join us as we celebrate the four months of hard work our 12 Highlands Field Site students have accomplished. These talented and determined students have been working hard to contribute to the understanding of the incredible biodiversity of our region. You can join them for their end-of-semester celebration […]

Identification of Southern Appalachian Grasses

Highlands Biological Station 265 North 6th St, Highlands, NC, United States

Instructor: Dr. Paul McKenzie (US Fish and Wildlife Service Emeritus) The purpose of this class is for participants to know the differences between grasses, sedges and rushes; obtain a thorough knowledge of the grass flower and variations among different grass Tribes in the SE Appalachians; have extensive practice using dichotomous keys in lab; and examine […]

Conservation Biology

Highlands Biological Station 265 North 6th St, Highlands, NC, United States

Stay tuned for course description and syllabus. Visit https://highlandsbiological.org/2022-academic-course-schedule/ for more information.

Biology of Plethodontid Salamanders

Highlands Biological Station 265 North 6th St, Highlands, NC, United States

Instructors: Dr. Joe Pechmann (Western Carolina University) and Dr. Ken Kozak (University of Minnesota) Stay tuned for course description and syllabus. Visit https://highlandsbiological.org/2022-academic-course-schedule/ for more information.

Fish of the Southern Appalachians

Highlands Biological Station 265 North 6th St, Highlands, NC, United States

Instructor: Dr. Mollie Cashner (Austin Peay University) Stay tuned for course description and syllabus. Visit https://highlandsbiological.org/2022-academic-course-schedule/ for more information.

Fireflies 101

Highlands Biological Station 265 North 6th St, Highlands, NC, United States

Dr. Luiz Silveira (WCU) Did you know… That fireflies are beetles?  That our planet is home to over 2,200 firefly species? That all firefly species make light as larvae (immature stage), but many don't do it in the adult stage? That many fireflies can be identified by their species-specific flash pattern?  That over a dozen […]

Vascular Flora of the Blue Ridge

Highlands Biological Station 265 North 6th St, Highlands, NC, United States

Instructor: Dr. Paul Manos (Duke University) The course is designed for students of all sorts, professional biologists, and amateur enthusiasts. The goals are to introduce plant diversity with a community-based approach through field observations of the flora of the Blue Ridge: to emphasize basic distinguishing features among lycophytes, ferns and seed plants; to focus on […]

Diversity and Identification of Southern Appalachian Leaf Litter Arthropods

Highlands Biological Station 265 North 6th St, Highlands, NC, United States

Instructors: Dr. Mike Caterino (Clemson University) and Dr. Paul Marek (Virginia Tech) A hands-on introduction to field and lab methods for the sampling and identification of arthropods living in leaf litter. Litter sifting will be practiced in multiple habitats. Following Berlese extraction of specimens, students will learn to identify the major groups and conduct preliminary […]

Geology of the Highlands Plateau

Highlands Biological Station 265 North 6th St, Highlands, NC, United States

Bill Jacobs, Author of Whence These Special Places? The Geology of Cashiers, Highlands & Panthertown Valley  This workshop has grown out of Bill Jacobs’ book, Whence These Special Places? The Geology of Cashiers, Highlands & Panthertown Valley.  As reflected in both the book and his talks, Bill is particularly fascinated with how geologic processes, some dating back more […]