JULY 13, 2021 at 5:30
by DR. KIER KLEPZIG

The Jones Center at Ichauway is a 30,000 acre working forest, wildlife preserve and ecological research center. Funded from an endowment established by Robert Woodruff (the long time CEO of Coca Cola), this property contains thousands of acres of incredibly biodiverse wildlife, insects, reptiles, amphibians and plants. I will discuss what it takes to maintain this incredible place, the research we do, and how we share the work we do.

Presented by Annie Higgins

Bullington Gardens, once the nursery of Bob Bullington, is a public botanical garden on 12 acres of rolling land providing hands-on education in horticulture and other sciences to students, youth clubs, and adults. These gardens incorporate some of the many unusual mature trees that Mr. Bullington collected and introduced to the area. 

Under a mix of sometimes blue, sometimes threatening skies on consecutive days, a total of 18 Blue Ridge Naturalist Network members set out to learn more about our local ferns and fern allies.  Our own David Phillips shared his incredible knowledge and passion in a way that was both relatable and practical, and helped to demystify these sometimes overlooked forest floor denizens.  From diminutive rattlesnake and bladder ferns to chest-high interrupted ferns we examined 23 species of ferns and fern allies and learned to look for the subtle clues distinguishing one species from the next.