Salamander Meander

Highlands Nature Center

June 28th (Register HERE) 9 - 10 PM FREE, all ages welcome Registration required Search for salamanders in the Botanical Garden! Discover strange and fascinating facts about our slimy amphibian friends, then join naturalists on a walk through the gardens to find local species. Please bring a flashlight for this adventure! This program is weather-dependent.

Free

Zahner Lecture 3

Highlands Nature Center

Lecture 3 - Microplastic Pollution in Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems Featured Speaker: Austin D. Gray, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences; Virginia Tech Date: Thursday, June 29th Time: 6pm – 7pm Cost: FREE Sponsored by Jennifer & Forrest McConnell and Jennie Stowers. Plastic pollution poses one of the greatest global risks to freshwater and marine ecosystems. […]

Free

A Buggy Evening

Highlands Nature Center

July 5th (Register HERE)          9 - 10 PM FREE, all ages welcome Registration required Experience the world of our smallest nocturnal creatures—insects! Learn to identify unique and beautiful insects then join naturalists to look for fireflies and nocturnal creepy crawlies in the Botanical Garden. Please bring a flashlight for this adventure! This […]

Free

Zahner Lecture 4

Highlands Nature Center

Lecture 4 - The Geology That Has Shaped the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau Featured Speaker: Bill Jacobs, Geology Enthusiast and Author of Whence These Special Places – The Geology of Cashiers, Highlands & Panthertown Valley Date: Thursday, July 6th Time: 6pm – 7pm Cost: FREE Sponsored by Anne & Dick Goodsell: The Claude Sullivan Geology Initiative The Highlands-Cashiers […]

Free

Introduction to Brightfield and Fluorescence Microscopies

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

Instructor: Dr. Bob Youker (Western Carolina University) In this lecture/lab course, students will learn how to prepare their field samples for brightfield and fluorescence microscopic examination. Students will also learn how microscopes generate images, the experimental conditions needed for optimal imaging of their specimens, and learn basic image processing techniques for analysis. The course will […]

Owl Prowl

Highlands Nature Center

July 11th (Register HERE)                                            Time: 7pm – 7:45pm FREE, all ages welcome Registration required Who-oo goes there? Join Balsam Mountain Trust for a special meeting with their live owl ambassadors and learn more about these […]

Free

Going Batty

Highlands Nature Center

July 12th (Register HERE) Time: 9pm-10pm FREE, all ages welcome Discover the nocturnal mammals who take to the skies! Learn about the fascinating world of bats, then join naturalists in the Botanical Garden to seek them out. Please bring a flashlight for this adventure! This program is weather-dependent.

Free

Zahner Lecture 5

Highlands Nature Center

Lecture 5 - History of National Forest Management in the Chattooga River Watershed, and the Compelling Case for a New Mission for the Forest Service Featured Speaker: Buzz Williams; Emeritus Executive Director & Program Specialist, Chattooga Conservancy Date: Thursday, July 13th Time: 6pm – 7pm Cost: FREE Sponsored by Bryding Adams & Bob Rathburn, Lynda […]

Free

Mushrooms of the Carolinas and the Southern Appalachian Region

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

Instructors: Alan and Arleen Bessette Due to this workshop’s popularity, priority will be given to those who haven’t taken the workshop before. This workshop will focus on the mycological diversity of North & South Carolina, and the Southern Appalachian Region. Activities will consist of lectures/presentations on topics such as (but not limited to): Identification Techniques, […]

Forest Ecosystems of the Southern Appalachians

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

Instructors: Dr. Steph Jeffries (NC State Univesity), Dr. Alan Weakley (UNC-Chapel Hill), and Dr. Julie Tuttle (UNC-Chapel Hill) Check back later for a description and pre-requisites. For more information, visit https://highlandsbiological.org/summer-2023-academic-courses/.