Articles

Native pollinators

Fruits and vegetables that taste like summer—tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, blueberries, raspberries, melons—are swelling and ripening in gardens and farms of our region. These crops would be far less abundant without the buzzing chorus of pollinating insects that provide their services for free.

Box turtles

My mom was putting out mulch about this time last year when she noticed a box turtle digging a hole in the dry, red clay under the eaves of the house.  Eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) appear in many types of habitat, making them a natural choice for our state reptile.  Since they’re most plentiful in mature, moist forests with lots of undergrowth,...

Charlotte region ages around a youthful core

In 1960, the median age for the United States was 29.5 years, meaning that half the population was older than that, and half was younger.  In the 2010 Census, the median age for the country moved up to 37.2 years, reflecting what many demographers refer to as the “graying of America”.  As with other changing demographics, however, this trend is not occurring evenly.  Some places...