¿Lees Español? Bilingual Storybook Trails have arrived in the Smokies for the summer
The Storybook Trail of the Smokies is back, and this year, the popular self-guided outdoor education series is bringing both English and Spanish reading opportunities to new trails in the park and beyond. Great Smoky Mountains Association recently partnered with the City of Gatlinburg, the Sevier County School System, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park […]
“Sepia Tones” podcast miniseries honored with national award
Great Smoky Mountains Association received national recognition at the 2023 Public Lands Alliance Partnership Awards for its podcast miniseries Sepia Tones: Exploring Black Appalachian Music, which won the award for Outstanding Public Engagement. PLA publicly announced and honored the winners of its annual Partnership Awards at a virtual ceremony on Thursday, April 27. Funded by […]
An Appalachian salamander’s glow could shed light on a biological mystery
Three years ago, researchers from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota captured the attention of biologists around the world with a surprising discovery. After observing a number of frogs, salamanders, and newts under blue and ultraviolet light, the team found that every amphibian they tested could glow, or ‘biofluoresce.’ Although biofluorescence has been studied predominately […]
Sepia Tones welcomes Amythyst Kiah and Jack Tottle
In a new episode of Sepia Tones: Exploring Black Appalachian Music, hosts Dr. William Turner and Dr. Ted Olson talk to Amythyst Kiah—an acclaimed, Grammy-nominated musician whose work blending the genres of folk, rock, and roots music has established her as a distinctive new voice in Appalachia.
Smokies volunteers chase butterflies for science
Every fall, Great Smoky Mountains National Park plays host to what might best be described as a moving miracle.
Park invites visitors to “We Are Grateful Otsaliheliga” Storybook Trail
Great Smoky Mountains National Park invites visitors to experience the We Are Grateful Otsaliheliga Storybook Trail on Saturday, October 8, through Friday, November 12, on the Oconaluftee River Trail near Cherokee, North Carolina. This unique opportunity allows visitors of all ages to learn about Cherokee culture through dual-language storybook panels along the one-mile trail beginning at the […]
A sweet harvest tradition returns
Not so long ago, many farming families in Southern Appalachia celebrated the long-anticipated arrival of the harvest season with a special treat: fresh sorghum syrup. Today, thousands still flock to see the syrup-making process and get a taste of the sweet stuff when Mark and Sherry Guenther of Muddy Pond Sorghum host their seasonal demonstrations […]
Scientist uncovers secret life of soil
Some connections in the vast web of life are little easier to see than others. In the Smokies this time of year, black bears lumber up the swaying branches of native cherry trees to feast on dark, sun-ripened fruit. Wood thrushes swoop down from their perches to snatch fat caterpillars and worms from the forest […]
‘Sepia Tones’ welcomes guest Dom Flemons, American songster
In the latest episode of the award-winning podcast miniseries Sepia Tones: Exploring Black Appalachian Music, released on Friday, July 29, hosts Dr. William Turner and Dr. Ted Olson are joined by lauded musician Dom Flemons for a compelling conversation on the many Appalachian influences…
Superintendent Cash recognized for leadership by Public Lands Alliance
Last fall Great Smoky Mountains Association nominated Superintendent Cassius Cash for the Public Lands Alliance’s prestigious Agency Leadership Award. On Monday, May 24, PLA recognized him with this honor at its virtual 2021 Public Lands Alliance Partnership Awards. “The Smokies provide superintendents with nonstop challenges that play out on a national stage under the constant, […]
