Community Calendar

This popular shutterbug weekend includes presentations from top nature photographers, hands-on field courses, a friendly contest and the rare opportunity to photograph the mountain’s spectacular scenery before and after regular business hours.

This popular weekend welcomes all levels of photographers, making it fun and engaging no matter what your skill level is – while better connecting participants with the wonders and unique ecology of Grandfather Mountain. This year, more than ever, we hope to not only help participants learn about photography, but to also inspire them to preserve the natural world. Activities begin Friday evening and conclude Sunday midday. Registration opens April 9 at 10 a.m. and closes June 4 at 12 p.m. or when the event sells out. Advance registration required.

This popular shutterbug weekend includes presentations from top nature photographers, hands-on field courses, a friendly contest and the rare opportunity to photograph the mountain’s spectacular scenery before and after regular business hours.

This popular weekend welcomes all levels of photographers, making it fun and engaging no matter what your skill level is – while better connecting participants with the wonders and unique ecology of Grandfather Mountain. This year, more than ever, we hope to not only help participants learn about photography, but to also inspire them to preserve the natural world. Activities begin Friday evening and conclude Sunday midday. Registration opens April 9 at 10 a.m. and closes June 4 at 12 p.m. or when the event sells out. Advance registration required.

This popular shutterbug weekend includes presentations from top nature photographers, hands-on field courses, a friendly contest and the rare opportunity to photograph the mountain’s spectacular scenery before and after regular business hours.

This popular weekend welcomes all levels of photographers, making it fun and engaging no matter what your skill level is – while better connecting participants with the wonders and unique ecology of Grandfather Mountain. This year, more than ever, we hope to not only help participants learn about photography, but to also inspire them to preserve the natural world. Activities begin Friday evening and conclude Sunday midday. Registration opens April 9 at 10 a.m. and closes June 4 at 12 p.m. or when the event sells out. Advance registration required.

The focus of this 10-hour workshop is to prepare participants from a variety of educational backgrounds and experiences in both the formal and non-formal sectors to use exemplary Environmental Education teaching methods. Participants will learn about a variety of teaching techniques, methods and instructional strategies; and the workshop will include multiple interactive components. This is a required workshop for all NC Environmental Education Certification candidates. This workshop may also count for Continuing Education for those educators who are already certified. This workshop is free to attend, although advance registration is required. Tickets for this event go online on Grandfather Mountain’s website April 13 at 10 a.m.

The focus of this 10-hour workshop is to prepare participants from a variety of educational backgrounds and experiences in both the formal and non-formal sectors to use exemplary Environmental Education teaching methods. Participants will learn about a variety of teaching techniques, methods and instructional strategies; and the workshop will include multiple interactive components. This is a required workshop for all NC Environmental Education Certification candidates. This workshop may also count for Continuing Education for those educators who are already certified. This workshop is free to attend, although advance registration is required. Tickets for this event go online on Grandfather Mountain’s website April 13 at 10 a.m.

Join Shannon Burbridge, an experienced movement instructor and educator with over 37 years of experience in the fitness and wellness field, to immerse yourself in a full day of yoga and grounding techniques to help you ground deeper into yourself and the nature around you. Along with a warmup flow, peaceful hike and longer, more in-depth, yoga practice, you will gain a basic understanding of foot reflexology, spinal connection, self-myofascial techniques and grounding rituals to connect yourself to the natural world around you. Tickets for this event go on sale online on Grandfather Mountain’s website April 20 at 10 a.m. Advance registration required.

This workshop is open to individuals studying for the NC Environmental Education Certification or those needing CE Credits to maintain their certification and will focus on bears in North Carolina. Hosted by Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation’s own Interpretation and Education staff, this workshop will teach participants about the life history and management of black bears, as well as how to incorporate activities about bears into the N.C. Curriculum. Participants will also get to meet the black bears who call Grandfather Mountain home and what it takes to keep them healthy and happy. N.C. EE Certification Credit: Criteria II or III and CEU credit are available upon completion of workshop. Tickets for this event go online on Grandfather Mountain’s website May 29 at 10 a.m.

Join us for an in-depth exploration of the natural community types found on Grandfather Mountain. In this class, you’ll learn to recognize distinct habitats by studying their characteristic flora, fauna and environmental conditions. Guided by ecological principles and scientific tools, we’ll examine how factors such as elevation, topography, soil composition and microclimates shape these unique ecosystems and provide habitats for some of the rare and endangered species that we’ll see during our exploration. This workshop will enhance your ability to classify habitats and deepen your understanding of the complex interplay between species and their environments. Tickets for this event go on sale online on Grandfather Mountain’s website June 1 at 10 a.m. Advance registration required.

The southern Appalachians are world-renowned for different types of fungi, from mushrooms to lichens, and are home to more than 2,000 species. Here’s a chance to learn about the lifestyle and habitats of fungi, as well as observe many kinds of fungal fruiting bodies, including mushrooms growing at higher elevations. Participants will learn how to identify them by size, shape and color. You will also inoculate a log with shiitake mushroom mycelium to take home with you. After an interactive introduction to the fungi kingdom, which includes inoculating the logs, we’ll take a short slow stroll in search of mushrooms growing on the mountain to collect representatives of different fungal families to study back in the classroom. Through this workshop and field exploration, you’ll learn about fungal habitats, toxicology and the important roles fungi play in the forest ecosystem. The workshop is designed for beginners, but veteran foragers will also glean new insights. Tickets for this event go on sale online on Grandfather Mountain’s website June 8 at 10 a.m. Advance registration required.

The hardy settlers who made these mountains home were resourceful and made what they needed from what was at hand, and what was at hand was wood. We will examine the types of things Appalachian people have made for themselves from the forests around them like chairs, bowls, spoons, tool handles and more. We will also observe the tools they used to make these items. After taking a walk through the forest which was the pioneer’s lumber yard, where we will identify trees and some of their uses, we will focus on a hands-on project – each participant will make an example of that ubiquitous piece of pioneer woodcraft, the hook. Made from a small, forked tree branch, often of rhododendron, these hooks were found in homes, barns and outbuildings to hang cloths, tools, horse harness and more on the wall in an organized fashion. Tickets for this event go on sale online on Grandfather Mountain’s website June 12 at 10 a.m. Advance registration required.