Smoky Mountain Field School announces June courses

By Emily Slagle
UT Student Writer

The Smoky Mountain Field School has a full schedule of June courses set in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, including The Light Show in the Smokies, a thrilling spectacle of the fireflies that flash together in sync.

Participants will learn the history of the fireflies, synchrony in nature and bioluminescence while getting to observe this phenomenon with their own eyes. This course will be held June 5 from 7-11 p.m., and the course fee is $39.

Another fun course for June is Clear Air and Burnt Fingers: Living the Mountain Life on June 7 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) This is an informative, hands-on course where participants will experience mountain life as it was 150 years ago.

Some activities include cooking lunch over an open hearth in an authentic log cabin and launching an ancient spear. The course fee is $59.

Other June course offerings include:

Salamanders in the Smokies (June 1, $49)

Nature Sketching: Pencil and Watercolor (June 7, $49)

Early Summer Wildlife and Ferns (June 14, $49)

Day Hike to Mt. LeConte (June 14, $49)

Basic Visual Tracking (June 21, $49)

The Smoky Mountain Field School, celebrating its 30th year, is an educational partnership of the University of Tennessee and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Register online or call (865) 974-0150 for a free 2008 Smoky Mountain Field School catalog.