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FROM STAFF REPORTS
This year’s Roan Mountain Naturalist Rally will be held the weekend of Sept. 8 and 10 and will feature programs by top-notch naturalists as well as field trips to explore the wonders of nature in the Roan Highlands.
This year’s speakers will include Meg Guy, former manager of Roan Mountain State Park, who now supports 19 parks across East Tennessee as the Regional Interpretive Specialist. She will speak on “Discovering the Wonders of Parks Through Interpretation.” She will speak Friday at &:30 p.m. following a buffet dinner at the Roan Mountain State Park Conference Center.
The Saturday evening speaker will feature Ron Hoff and his subject is “Fall Migration: A Fascinating Annual Display of Nature. Hoff of Knoxville has volunteered over the years in many positions for both the local and state Tennessee Ornithological organization. He continues as state TOS bird count compiler, a position he has held for over 20 years,
Hoff has also been interested in photography for many years and this carried over to birding. He has slowly build ups his llibrary of bird photos and has now photographed 5362 species of birds, nearly half of all the birds in the world. His program will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday
The Saturday After Lunch program at 12:30 p.m. will be presented by Cade Campbell on “Insects & Traditional Medicine.” Campbell is an ETSU undergraduate researcher and will discuss his studies with the Whitaker Lab. He has been working to document the interactions of native insects and Appalachian medicinal plants compared to species unused in the folk tradition.
From 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Conference Center, there will be Fossil Casting for All Ages with Mick Whiteclaw of the ETSU Dept. of Geology and GeoScience Club as well as a slide show by Marty Silvers.
in addition to the buffet dinner on Friday, there will also be a buffet dinner Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m. and bag lunches for lunch Saturday. The bag lunch and buffet meals are by reservation only and must be pre-paid.
Field trips are scheduled at 8:30 a.m. Saturday as well as at 2 p.m. and on Sunday at 9 a.m.
Field trips Saturday include: Birds, Beginning Birds, Wildflowers, Useful Plants, Mushrooms, Spiders, Snakes, Stream Ecology, Geology of Roan Mountain, Wildlife Tracking, Mosses & Liverworts, Salamanders, Tree ID Bingo for Kids, Appalachian Cove Forest Exploration, Birds, Rare Plants of the Roan Highlands, Butterflies and Other Insects and Birds of Prey.
All field trips will be led by people of expertise is those fields.
There will also be a Moth Party led by Larry McDaniel at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and a Night Walk at 9 p.m. Saturday led by Cade Campbell.
There is a charge for participation in the field trips. Saturday field trips for non-members is $10 as is the price for Sunday non-member participating. The Friday night and Sunday night programs are $5 for non-members. There is no charge for children and students under 18.
Meals are $13 and must be prepaid by Tuesday, Sept. 5. The Saturday bag lunch is $8 and also must be prepaid.
For more information email directors Gary Barrigar and Larry McDaniel at: friendsofroan@gmail.com.
For 61 years enthusiasts have been gathering at Roan Mountain during the first weekend after Labor Day to celebrate the natural world during the Fall Roan Mountain Naturalists Rally.
Evening and lunch programs will take place in Roan Mountain State Park’s Conference Center. Field trips will leave from the field on the left beside the entrance of the park directors.
This year’s co-directors are Gary Barrigan and Larry McDaniel.