National Parks Conservation Association connects veterans to the outdoors
Tranquil water bubbles in a cold mountain stream. In the distance, hikers can be heard making their way to the trailhead. Trees are adorned with lichens and mosses. The sun is shining, and there is not a cloud in the sky. It is a fantastic day for a hike. One of the thousands of visitors […]
Mabel Meets a Black Bear teaches kids to be BearWise
As days lengthen and temperatures rise, black bears begin to move around in the woods searching for insects, nuts, and berries. They also look for food in the gateway communities outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In sync with bears’ emergence, Great Smoky Mountains Association has just released a new book teaching kids the importance […]
Bears sometimes cross roads to get our garbage
When Asheville’s Appalachian Trail star Jennifer Pharr Davis hit a huge bear with her tiny Prius, people began to pay more attention to the need for wildlife crossings in our area…
Of big views and big bears
I’m a sucker for ‘big’ views. So when Steve Kemp, GSMA’s former creative services director and the namesake for my writing residency, suggested a hike to Andrews Bald, I was psyched—especially because it was yet another trail that would be new to me…
Trailside Talk: Great bear jams I have known
No one who visits the Smokies, particularly during the summer, should be surprised to encounter that long-time park phenomenon known as the bear jam…
Bodacious bear to help BearWise Taskforce raise funds for education
Wood carver John Beaudet still remembers the first time he saw a bear as a kid camping in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “I grew up in East Texas, and for my birthday in the summer, I would ask my parents to go to the Smokies,” he said. “We always went to Smokemont Campground for […]
TedX speaker champions Safe Passage project for wildlife
When Nikki Robinson walked out onto the stage during the final dress rehearsal for TEDx Asheville last month, the spotlights of the Diana Wortham Theatre shining in her eyes, she thought, “This is what it feels like to be a deer in the headlights.” And then she smiled and relaxed a bit, realizing the irony […]
Save the Date and Save Wildlife
What is it about the humble wall calendar that explains its enduring popularity well into the digital era? I guess in the same way that physical mail now feels more novel than emails, or our printed photos have become more precious than the thousands of files stored on our phones, a wall calendar hanging in […]
