Office
364 Leigh Farm Rd.
Durham, NC 27707
919 489-0900
919 493-0988 (fax)
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Adult Nature Series and Ancient Ways Programs
Fall 2010 Adult Classes
We are offering two different series of programs this fall. Our new Ancient Ways Series will focus on survival skills and aboriginal studies. Our popular Nature Series brings you an in depth naturalist focus on the Piedmont. These programs are adult oriented but we welcome people of all ages who have a deep interest in the natural world.
Registration and Program Details are listed at the bottom of the page.
Nature Series classes are listed in green. Ancient Ways classes are listed in purple.
Wild Basketry Instructor: gumby Join gumby as he delves into his favorite primitive skill- basketry! Weaving baskets is a meditation and an endlessly useful art. gumby will teach you some basic styles with natural materials, which are best, and how to gather them. Bring a snack, a drink, and come on out for some good conversation and basket-weaving in the soft grass under a shade tree. You'll be glad you did!
Saturday, September 11th
10:00am - 12:00 Noon
Weird Wild World of Fungi
Exploring the Wild Mushrooms of Our Area
Sunday, September 19th
10:00am - 12:00pm
Instructor: gumby
Are you, like most Americans, afraid of wild fungi? Come face your fungi phobia as we investigate these beautiful, unique, sometimes delectable life-forms! Learn the ecological roles of mushrooms, the fearful myths, and the true dangers. Learn how to collect and identify mushrooms, including the 1 family responsible for 90% of all mushroom poisonings and all that bad publicity. If we're lucky, we may find one of the many safe, tasty species. Bring a basket and wax paper. Happy hunting!
Art of Tracking
Experiential Field Workshop
Saturday, September 25th
10:00am - 2:00pm
Special Price for extended workshop: $20 members, $25 nonmembers. $5 off for additional family members
A special four hour field workshop brings you beyond the basics so that you can learn to see the landscape with new eyes. Can you tell a dog track from a coyote track? Do you know how to find and identify a squirrel hair on the forest floor? Join this weekend workshop to explore the art and science of interpreting animal signs. You will learn how to find clues in the forest that most people miss. We will find out how to answer the six questions of tracking: Who lives here? What were they doing? When did they come by? Where did they go and why were they here? How does it feel to be this animal? Get into the “mind” of the animals and learn how they feel and what their tracks can tell you about their experience. Join our team of detectives as we solve these mysteries and follow wherever our questions lead us... This is an adult themed workshop but people of all ages are welcome. We especially encourage people with an interest in tracking and wildlife to join us. Both beginners and advanced trackers will come away from this workshop with new skills and experiences!
Wildflower Walk
Take Time to Smell the Wildflowers
Saturday, October 3rd
10:00am - 12:00pm
Explore the world of wildflowers and other fall plants at Leigh Farm Park. Stroll through the forests and fields, and experience the diversity of the season. Learn about the science and lore surrounding our local plants and discover simple tricks to identify and understand these botanical treasures around us.
Mother Earth and Father Sky
Sunday, October 10th
2:00 - 4:00pm
Instructor: gumby
If the Earth were a globe, our entire atmosphere would be no thicker than the enamel that covers it. We are all creatures of that ocean of air, tucked snugly between Earth and Sky. Come learn about our "ocean", the weather patterns that affect us all and the soils that sustain us. We'll learn how to predict and understand the weather by observing clouds and wind. We may even learn a few things about the twinkling night sky. Hope to see ya there!
Wild Edible Plant Walk and Feast
Sunday, October 17th
2:00 - 4:00pm
Ever tasted the leaves of Meadow Beauty? Ever tried the fruit of the pickerelweed? Every season brings a different bounty of wild foods to harvest. In this class, we will delve into the wild tastes of autumn plants. We will experience a number of the edible wildflowers, berries, fruits, shrubs and trees that are common to the Piedmont. We will gather and prepare a small feast from the landscape around us and celebrate the diversity of our local edible plants.
Way of the Herbs
A Healing Experience
Saturday, October 9th
10:00am - 12:00Noon
This class is an introduction to some of the principles of herbal medicine with a focus on meeting and understanding the actions of the medicinal plants that grow locally here in the Piedmont. We will sample a few different plant preparations and we will go on a walk to get to know some of the healing plants that grow in the gardens, fields and forests all around us. In this experience, we will weave together traditional folk medicine, modern science and botany.
Red in Tooth and Claw
Explore the Wild Hazards of Our Area
Sunday, October 31st
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Instructor: gumby
Mother Nature has been described as ferocious and most people think that there is much to be feared in the natural world, but actually the hazards out there are surprisingly few. Do you know the one venomous mammal in our area? Can you spot a tick bed before you're in it? Join us as we separate fact from fiction, learn to identify some of the real hazards out there, and meet some of the poisonous look-alikes to useful edible and medicinal plants. We may even get to sample some safe wild edibles!
Art of Invisibility
Saturday, November 6th
10:00am - 12:00 noon
Instructor: Sarah
In this class, we will explore the arts of camouflage and silent motion in the tradition of the aboriginal scouts. We will share a simple routine that you can use every day before you enter the forest to help you blend into the natural sights and sounds of the landscape. We will offer techniques to expand our sensory awareness beyond its normal range. These practices allow us to come closer to wildlife in its natural habitat and they can also help us to experience some of the more subtle wonders of the forest as we slow down and integrate into the greater surroundings. We will explore ways of walking, ways of reading the landscape and ways of using natural camouflage to blend and flow with the forest. After exploring these concepts, we will practice the art of invisibility through a few challenges and gentle games that bring all of these skills together.
Autumn Ecology
Sunday, November 7th
2:00 - 4:00pm
Instructor: gumby
Join us for a walk in the cool, crisp woods of Autumn as Mother Nature prepares for Winter. The mushrooms are reaching the peak of their season as many of our Summer birds are heading South, while many others are joining us from the mountains. Most of our local insects are dying ,but leaving behind interesting eggs, cocoons, and galls. Under falling leaves, we'll explore the tracks and sign of deer as they gear up for mating season, as well as other animals. Let's see what we can find! LOST! Saturday, November 13th
Exploring Orienteering and Navigation
10:00am - 12:00Noon
Instructor: gumby
Why do some people have a better "sense of direction" than others? They pick up subtle clues from the sky and the landscape to help guide them, sometimes so naturally that they're not even aware of it! This program will teach you how to use some basic orienteering tools like map and compass as well as some of the ancient techniques of reading the land and developing an amazing sense of direction without any tools. You'll also learn what to do if you do become lost and how to "lost-proof" your children. The next time you get lost in the woods, make sure it's because you choose to be!
Nature Mentoring
Sunday, November 14th
2:00 - 4:00pm
Instructor: Sarah
Nature Mentoring: Joyfully fostering connections with nature for people of all ages There is a growing movement across the country that has arisen to help restore the dwindling connection that people of our times feel to the natural world. This workshop is designed for anyone who would like to help be a part of the solution to the critical problem of Nature Deficit disorder in our community. We are offering techniques for parents, teachers, and anyone who wants to help people of any age engage with the natural world in a creative way. We will explore how to use questions, stories and challenges and adventures to help inspire people to deepen the quality of their connection to the natural world. We will share philosophy, goals, games, stories and resources to help you reach out to the people in your life who wish for a deeper connection with nature.
Earth Arts
Sunday, November 21st
2:00 - 4:00pm
Instructor: Sarah
Explore creative techniques once used by our ancestors. Travelling back across 30 thousand years of human history, we will revisit the dawn of creative expression. Working with clay, bone, pitch, shell, stone, wild fibers, natural pigments and gourds, we will explore how our ancestors created art from the most basic materials. We will share how to make rope or “cordage” out of wild plant fibers, how to make pigments out of crushed stones and dye plants, how to make pine pitch glue, and how to work with natural gourds. These skills were once central to the physical and cultural wellbeing of all people. After surveying a few techniques, we invite you to begin a small project of your own inspired by the earth and by the arts of our earliest ancestors.
Owl Prowl
A Nocturnal Experience
Friday, December 3rd
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Instructor: Gail Abrams
At Mason Farm Biological Preserve in Chapel Hill (see note at bottom)
Local owls are coming back to their nesting territory to find heir mate and get ready to build their nest to get ready for their new family. Come to the Mason Farm Biological Preserve to listen and look for signs of screech, barred, and great horned owls. You will have the chance to see live Owls up close! You'll also learn why owls are so important to the environment and what you can do to help protect them. We’ll try several owl calls to see if we can get any wild owls to come check us out and call back. This program is co-sponsored by the NC Botanical Garden. (The Mason Farm Preserve is normally only open from dawn to dusk so this is a special opportunity for you to visit the preserve at night!)
Art and Science of Fire
Saturday, December 4th
10:00am - 12:00Noon
Instructor: Sarah
Building Fire is a lost art and a lifesaving skill. There is more involved than just lighting a match. In this class, we will explore both primitive and modern ways of making and tending fire. In this primer on the whole spectrum of fire building in a wilderness setting, we will cover the magic, mystery, and practical skills that are all involved in bringing fire to life. We will share a few uncommon tricks that can help you build fire in most any conditions. We will cover the secrets of fire construction, finding materials for tinder, steps for making successful one match fires, skills for making flint & steel fires, magnesium steel fires, and more.
Stars and Stories
Saturday, December 4th
7:00 - 9:00pm
Instructor: gumby
Bring cozy sweaters, thick blankets, and your imagination for a story filled night beneath the glimmering sky. As we lie in the soft grass, we will guide you through the stars, telling tales and pointing out constellations as we journey through the story of the galaxy. Details for all Fall Programs Fees: Members of Piedmont Wildlife Center: $10 ($5 for additional family members). Duke employees qualify for the members discount. Non-Members: $15 ($10 for additional family members). The Art of Tracking class is priced separately (listed above). Directions: All weekend programs take place at Leigh Farm Park in Durham except for the Owl Prowls, which take place at Mason Farm Preserve in Chapel Hill (Mason farm is also accessible by entering "100 Old Mason Farm Road" in most GPS units). Enter the parking lot for Finley Golf Course Clubhouse off of Old Mason Farm Road, or Finley Golf Course Road (it's the corner where they merge) - we will meet at the back of that parking lot and proceed into the preserve from there.
Piedmont Wildlife Center's Weekend Programs are offered in the Fall, Winter and Spring of each year.
If you would like to join our email listserv for the nature series programs, please send us your contact information, and we will email you an announcement when each program season is ready to begin. Here is a preview of a few of the classes coming up this spring:
- Winter Ecology
- Introduction to Survival Skills
- Backyard Naturalist---bring your questions and mystery items
- Secrets of Plants (Botany and plant taxonomy basics)
- Raptors up close
- Exploring Native weapons (atl-atl, throwing stick, blowgun)
- If you have topics to request, please let us know!