Counting Spots

Volunteers are needed to help count salamanders. The marbled and spotted salamanders give clues about the health of their environment and the impact of nearby development. This research project of the Catawba Lands Conservancy studies the salamanders (photo at left) by catching them in buckets. Each day volunteers need to check the buckets, record the number and species of salamanders caught, and release them. The salamanders must be released daily or they will die. Each volunteer can help the project for one day a week.

They collect the data in an upland swamp in the Whitehall Nature Preserve, a permanently protected area located off I-485 at the South Tryon/Hwy 49 exit. Volunteers can participate beginning in mid-September and continuing through early April. For more information, please contact Sharon Wilson at 704-342-3330, ext. 209, or sharon@catawbalands.org for more information.

Naturalist Art

Catch the The Naturalist's World, an exhibition of paintings, photographs, and ceramics of natural beauty by artists from eight states. Showing at the Elder Gallery in Charlotte through August 30, it includes pieces from Ceramist Warner Hyde, of North Carolina, presenting a body of work that originated from Carolina elements.

Elder Gallery, located at 1427 South Boulevard, will donate twenty percent of the proceeds to the Catawba Lands Conservancy, the nonprofit land trust that works to permanently protects land, water and wildlife habitat.

Land Conservation Celebration

Here's a fun event for the whole family! On Saturday, May 31, the Land Conservation Celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Redlair Farm & Forest, 144 Redlair Lane, Gastonia, NC. It presents activities for young and old, hikes through pristine woods, and opportunities to see incredible natural wonders found in the Piedmont. Look for live music, local artisans, community groups, antique tractors, renewable energy displays, scavenger hunts and geo-caching. The event also offers archeology digs, hayrides, storytellers and singers, and live animals from the Schiele Museum. Kids' activities include a bouncer, arts and crafts, games, and face painting.

The celebration is brought to us by the Catawba Lands Conservancy. Their Annual Meeting will be held there at 11 a.m. This nonprofit land trust permanently protects land, water, and wildlife habitat in North Carolina's Southern Piedmont and Lower Catawba River Basin.