Events

Wild Ones of Central North Carolina Chapter and the North Carolina Sierra Club Foothills Group, in collaboration with the Town of Lewisville, NC and the Gateway Nature Preserve in Winston-Salem, NC, are pleased to invite you to this extraordinary program focused on the importance of ecological restoration. 

This multi-event program on November 8-9th, 2024 consists of:  

1.  A lecture, titled Oaks, Fire, and Climate Change, by renowned conservationist and author, Heather Holm.

2. A panel discussion, titled What’s the Buzz about Ecological Restoration, with Heather Holm, Dr. Ken Bridle, President of the NC Native Plant Society, and Dr. Gary Gunderson, Professor of Divinity at Wake Forest University. The discussion is moderated by Dr. Stan Meiburg, Executive Director, Sabin Family Center for Environment and Sustainability at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC. 

3. A tour of the Gateway Nature Preserve in Winston-Salem, NC led by Salvador Patino, Co-Chair of the Preserve.

4. A tour of the grounds of the Mary Alice Warren Community Center led by Jon Hanna, Director of Public Works for the Town of Lewisville, NC.

Heather Holm, National Honorary Director for Wild Ones, sets the stage for this program by stating: “Natural landscapes in the US and Canada have been drastically altered by human activities such as infrastructure development, logging, overgrazing, introduction of invasive species, and fire suppression. With the current threat of climate change, it is crucial to understand the past and present ecological conditions of these landscapes to inform future restoration efforts.”

In the tour of  the grounds of the Mary Alice Warren Community Community Center, Heather Holm explains how that in urban environments, natural landscapes that were once biodiverse and contiguous have been transformed to small and often highly degraded fragments. What potential do these sites hold for ecological restoration, pollinator habitat, and public demonstration sites? How does one go about restoring a site such as this? Step one is developing a plan that includes goals, objectives, and methods. Heather will address these steps and highlight some of the challenges, opportunities, and amazing outcomes that have unfolded in her neighborhood corner lot restoration. She will also discuss pollinator habitat enhancement and management considerations and celebrate the diverse pollinator populations that can thrive in the landscape. 

The program is free. See registration links below. 

For more information, please contact Siham Muntasser: [email protected].