SPRING WILDFLOWERS AND WALKER SISTERS’ HOMESITE
DAY HIKE
The wildflowers of spring were a sign that winter had passed and life would be easier for the Walker sisters. Join your experienced naturalist guides for an easy three-mile hike and learn about emerging flowers, plus trees, and the lives of these legendary pioneers. Two connecting trails will lead us from Metcalf Bottoms to the historic Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse and on to the famed Walker sisters’ homesite where the “Five Sisters” lived off the land. This is a great opportunity for a family nature outing or time to spend with a friend to learn from the experts. Instructors: Joel and Kathy Zachry, both M.S., are husband and wife naturalists with more than 50 combined years of backcountry identification and hiking experience. They have led Field School sessions since the early 1980s.
This course is no longer available. Please select another course.
Fee: $49
Sat., April 11, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet at right hand parking lot just inside Metcalf Bottoms Picnic area.)

SPRING WILDFLOWER AND NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
If you want to develop your technical and visual skills in nature photography, this workshop is for you! We will be concentrating on the two main subjects of spring photography in the Smokies: wildflowers and landscapes. The principles of composition, perspective, exposure, light, and proper use of equipment will be covered during this workshop. Classroom instruction will be held during the morning and field instruction during the afternoon. This workshop is applicable to both digital and 35mm SLR formats. You should bring lenses that have close-up capabilities and a tripod that can be used close to the ground. Instructor: Kendall Chiles is a freelance nature photographer with more than 20 years of photography experience. His photos have appeared in numerous books, magazines, and brochures, and he has taught various photography workshops.
This course is no longer available. Please select another course.
Fee: $49
Sat., April 18, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet in training room at Sugarlands Visitor Center.)

THE PERFECT HIKE
If you enjoy seeing waterfalls, vistas, old farms and home sites, unique geologic features, and spring wildflowers (we counted more than two dozen on this trip last April), then this is your kind of hike! It is relatively easy—about five miles roundtrip, and not too steep. About 90 percent of the hike is on old trails, with the rest through open woods to a great overlook. As far as physical exertion is concerned, if you can make the round trip to Alum Cave Bluff and back from the Newfound Gap Road, you should be just fine with this hike. If the weather cooperates, this feature-packed trip truly will be “The Perfect Hike.” Instructor: Ron Click is retired from the National Park Service and GSMNP, where he worked for 33 years as a ranger, interpreter, maintenance employee, and volunteer.
This course is no longer available. Please select another course.
Fee: $49
Sat., April 18, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet on porch at Park Headquarters Bldg.)

INCREDIBLE EDIBLES AND TRADITIONAL MEDICINALS
Climate and age of the Appalachian chain created a diversity of plant species that is greater here than anywhere in North America. This diversity of life has sustained Man for 10,000 years. Spend a day discovering how to identify plants and trees Native Americans and early settlers used for dye, food, medicines, crafts, and other items of daily life. Sample delicious wild flavors appropriate to the seasons. The instructor will share the herblore from “medicine men” and “granny women” while the group searches the woods and fields of this temperate rain forest for its hidden treasures. Instructor: Ila Hatter is an interpretive naturalist, artist, storyteller, and wildcrafter with nearly 30 years of experience teaching the cultural heritage of native plants. Hatter is author of Roadside Rambles, a wild foods cookbook, and a video series: Wild Edibles and Medicinals of Southern Appalachia and Mountain Kitchen. She hosted three Folkway programs for PBS/UNC-TV, and has appeared on CNN, Turner/South, RFDTV, and A&E.
This course is no longer available. Please select another course.
Fee: $49
Sat., April 18, 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet at the barn at Oconaluftee Visitor Center, Cherokee, N.C.)

This apple denotes Knox County Teacher Center approval for in-service credit.

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