Sumac: A Winter Spice

The bright red berries of the sumac plant add color to the winter landscape. While poison sumac has earned a bad reputation, other varieties of the plant have a long and multicultural history of use, including as a spice and as a dye or tanning agent.

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Land through the Lens

Photographs of Appalachia’s wild wonders have shaped our relationship with the mountains since the early 20th century, and witnessing the destruction of the region’s land and waters has long stirred residents to defend our natural heritage. – Compiled by Molly Moore George Masa’s stunning landscape images from the 1920s and ‘30s are credited with raising…

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“Kids In Parks” Gets Kids Outside

by Jessica Kennedy There is a growing distance between children and nature, says Jason Urroz, director of Kids In Parks, an innovative program working to get children outside, active and connected to nature near their communities. A joint effort between the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina…

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Guardians of our Public Lands

Larry Trivette Superintendent, Elk Knob State Park, N.C.

The employees of our state parks, national agencies and conservation organizations are committed to preserving the land we all own and enjoy. The future of our forests, air and water is in their care, and their work to protect our public lands deserves recognition and respect. Taking Community to the Summit By Jesse Wood “He’s…

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Last Stand for the Southern Spruce-Fir?

Ancient Mountaintop Species Are Most Vulnerable As Appalachia Warms By Molly Moore At the nonprofit park atop northwestern North Carolina’s Grandfather Mountain, Director of Education Jesse Pope surveys the park’s cold-loving plants, keeping an eye out for the brassy Weller’s salamander and small Saw-whet owl, two of the many creatures that depend on the mountain’s…

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