Thyme-leaved bluet pollinated by a fly. Photo by Will Kuhn
By Emma Castleberry
Discover Life in America (DLiA), a nonprofit partner of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has partnered with guide service A Walk in the Woods to present the third annual Great Smokies Eco-Adventure. This three-day, two-night fundraising event will take place in the park on Sunday, April 30, through Tuesday, May 2, at Camp Atagahi, on the border of the Park near Cosby, TN. “All of our fundraising, including this Eco-Adventure, goes to help better protect the park and supports our biodiversity research, education programming, internships and keeping us in business,” says DLiA executive director Todd Witcher. “We love this event because it combines our field work with community participation, which is one of the most important things we do: bring real science to an interested community.”
Linda Walker and Sabine Ehlers with oil beetle at Porter’s Creek Trail. Photo by Will Kuhn
The event includes “glamping” (glamorous camping) accommodations, fully catered gourmet meals and guided nature hikes. All hikes and programs are led by Dr. Will Kuhn, science and research director and entomologist for DLiA, and Jaimie Matzko, DLiA’s biodiversity program specialist. “When guiding hikes,” says Matzko, “I encourage the group to slow down and take time to observe the small things. One of the most unique things about the Smokies is its incredible diversity of mosses, lichens and invertebrates, which are often overlooked.”
Allison Rock attended the 2022 Eco-Adventure and says the event is very accessible. “The tent homes were comfortable,” she says, “with off-the-grid solar power for evening dining and reading in bed. The hikes were lovely and informative. The attendees were a motley and enjoyable crew, including a multigenerational family, whose teenagers inspired me to pick up my pace.”
The flagship project of DLiA is the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI), an effort to identify and catalog every single species living in the Park. The Eco-Adventure provides an opportunity for DLiA to not only raise money for this work but also educate the public and encourage awareness about its importance. “I learned that DLiA is instrumental in documenting species indigenous to the park and even new to science,” says Rock. “Their study and related inventories can demonstrate climate change impacts and promote understanding and appreciation of our natural world.” Tickets for the Eco-Adventure are limited and registration closes on Monday, April 10.
Also this month, DLiA will celebrate 25 years on Saturday, April 22, with a free, family-friendly open house at the Twin Creeks Pavilion in Great Smoky Mountains National Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A reception will be held later that day at The Park Vista hotel in Gatlinburg, TN. Tickets to the reception are $10 and the keynote address by author and conservationist Dr. Doug Tallamy will begin at 7 p.m.
Learn more, register for the Eco-Adventure, and buy tickets to the anniversary reception at DLiA.org.
