ENVIRONMENT

Last week, Ruth Ann Grissom’s article focused on seed collection of longleaf pines. Few would argue with the fact that the longleaf pine ecosystem is definitely one of the most beautiful and diverse there is, with a variety of rare and really cool plant and animal species. Unfortunately, longleaf pine forests and savannahs are also […]

The ground between Roberdo and Wadeville sometimes shakes when the Warrior football team of West Montgomery High takes to the field, but last October the tremors were due to a special project on land adjacent to the campus. The “West Montgomery tract” includes an 80-acre stand of mature longleaf that the US Forest Service has […]

To learn more, read “Fall Wildflowers” by Crystal Cockman. –Photos by Bob Bailey & Crystal Cockman

This last week in September finally saw a break in the heat from our hotter than average summer this year. Bringing us out of near-drought conditions, rain finally came and with it the 60s and 70s temps we’d all been waiting for so longingly. Unfortunately for some areas this sudden rush of rainfall also resulted […]

In fall, native plants in the Uwharries offer up a bounty of fruits for wildlife and humans alike. Muscadines seemed to ripen a little early this year. My mom and I picked dozens of deep purple berries in mid-August. Their musky scent helped us locate several vines. Their flavor is just as intense. There’s nothing […]

Over the last few years, I’ve found myself transformed into a locavore. This term, which Oxford English Dictionary named its word of the year for 2007, refers to someone who eats a local diet. There are a multitude of reasons a person might become a locavore. I certainly didn’t start out with that as a […]

Is it possible to build an oasis in the desert? Not the desert that brings to mind scorched earth and stretches of hot sand miles away from water and civilization. No. The question speaks to deserts that exist in urban centers across our country. Neighborhoods in the very heart of our otherwise thriving cities where […]

I’m writing this essay because I’m worried. I’ve grown attached to America in the 27 years I’ve lived and worked here but I’m forced to look elsewhere for useful examples of government action, corporate innovation and citizen activism to meet the fast approaching crises of climate change, future declining oil supplies and sustainable energy production. […]

With our warm late summer temperatures, moist conditions from humidity and evening thunderstorms, this is certainly the time of year to spot mushrooms in the woods. Growing up in the area, I’d always took note of mushrooms, but rarely given them more than a passing glance. Then a few years ago, I overheard a biologist […]

One of the delights of an academic life is the opportunity to spend time in the summer traveling on research trips to foreign countries; there really is nothing like studious foreign travel to give useful perspectives on conditions here in America. This year I went home to England and traveled to several other European countries […]