Connect with us

Events & Outings

Piedmont Land Conservancy hosts various events that are designed to connect people with nature. Outings include hikes, farm visits, paddle trips, and more. We would be happy to talk with you or your organization about hosting an outing for your team or group!  

Get alerts about upcoming events and outings by joining our email list or following us on social media.

Sign up for our monthly enews to keep up to date with PLC events!

Upcoming Events

Volunteer Workday at Emily Allen Wildflower Preserve

Volunteering in the Garden

We’ll need lots of help in early March to gear up for Open Garden Days. All March workdays are 12:30-3:00 pm (We will start with lunch at 12:30 pm, then work in the garden from 1-3:00 pm). 

Saturday, March 9
Monday, March 11 (and Garden Refresher for guides/docents)
Monday, March 18
Monday, March 25

Forsyth Creek Week Long Creek Trail Wetlands Walk in Bethania

Sunday, March 17th | 2:00-4:00pm

Long Creek Trail Park | 5801 Bethania Tobaccoville Rd · Pfafftown, NC

NC Sierra Club Foothills Group outings leader Henry Fansler will lead a fun and informative walk exploring the wetlands of Long Creek. We will be joined by Ken Bridle, the Conservation Advisor of Piedmont Land Conservancy and a Ph.D. in plant physiology and natural product chemistry. Together we will learn why the quality of our water sources begin with wetlands. We will only hike a portion of the trail. Remember to dress for the weather and wear trail walking footwear.
Register by sending an email to Henry Fansler at henryfansler@windstream.net or 336-473-0283. Participants under 18 must be with a parent or guardian.
Meet at the Long Creek Trail parking lot off 5801 Bethania Tobaccoville Road. MAP
 

Trail Running 101

Saturday, March 23rd | 9:30-11:30am

Caraway Creek Preserve

Curious about trail running but not quite sure where or how to begin? Start the spring with a hop in your step and join this fun “Trail Running 101” event at PLC’s Caraway Creek Preserve to learn more about trail running, to ask questions, and to learn important tips from trail and ultrarunner Ciara Wilder Massingale, founder of Wilder Uwharrie Trail Running in Asheboro, NC!
 
This “Trail Running 101” event will cover up to 3.5 miles in distance on trails and last approximately 2 hours, depending on how the group is feeling! This is a beginner friendly group and the trails are easy to moderate in difficulty. There will be short bursts of trail running mixed throughout the hike. If you want advice on trail running, have questions about fueling, hydration, trail shoes, or simply want to give trail running a try, please sign-up below.
 
Please wear comfortable running shoes/trail running shoes and bring water and a snack. We are limiting the group to 25 people.
 
More about our outing leader:
Ciara Wilder Massingale is a stay at home mom, trail and ultrarunner, Uwharrie National Forest and trail enthusiast, Uwharrie Trailblazers board member, and amateur nature photographer who lives in Asheboro, Randolph County, NC. She is the founder of Wilder Uwharrie Trail Running and Wilder Uwharrie Photography in Asheboro, NC. She encourages others to spend time on trails, to follow their true passions, and to challenge themselves. 
 

Forsyth Creek Week Creek Crawl at Bethania's Black Walnut Bottom

Saturday, March 23rd | 2:00-4:00pm

Black Walnut Bottoms | 5393 Ham Horton Lane

NC Sierra Club Foothills Group outings leader Henry Fansler will lead a fun and informative creek crawl along Bethania’s Black Walnut Bottom Trail, where creeks feed into Muddy Creek. We will be joined by Ken Bridle of the Piedmont Land Conservancy, whose group helped to preserve Walnut Bottoms.
We will meet at the picnic tables beside the Bethania visitor center for an overview of the creeks of Wachovia. We will then hike the Black Walnut Bottom Trail and see what makes a healthy creek, explore the area bordering the creek, and consider why the Moravians made their second settlement here.Along the hike, we will search a creek for macro-invertebrates whose presence will tell us about the water quality. In water quality, “buggy is better.” Anyone wishing to join in this activity must have boots or water footwear and expect wet and muddy conditions. Towels and spare socks and shoes are recommended. The trail is 1.4 miles in length and rated easy by the Foothills Group.More details of the area can be found at http://townofbethania.org/trails/black-walnut-bottom-trail/.  Note that the Sierra Club requires all outing participants to sign a standard waiver. Participants under 18 must be with a parent or guardian.Meet in the parking lot for the Bethania Visitors Center, 5393 Ham Horton Lane (near the intersection of Bethania Road and Main Street). MAP
 
Register by sending an email to Henry Fansler at henryfansler@windstream.net or 336-473-0283.
 

Wildflower Walk at Fall Creek Falls at Mayo River State Park

Saturday, April 6 | 10:00-11:30am

Deshazo Mill Access at Mayo River State Park | 113 Deshazo Road Stoneville, North Carolina 27048

Join this guided hike lead by Mayo River State Park Ranger, Tim Abee. Tim will lead the group on a partially off-trail hike, creating a 1.5 mile loop. The focus of this hike will be spotting and enjoying early spring emphemeral wildflowers.

The group will leave from the parking area at 10:00am and will hike a loop up into the Virginia portion of the park, back down to the river, then follow the river to Falls Creek, up to the Falls, and finally back to the parking area.  Some of this hike will be off trail through the woods and on a public road.  This loop is considered moderate to strenuous.

The outing is open to the public but has a limit of 25 participants. Sign up soon and come eager to learn!

 

Wildflower Identification Workshop

Friday, April 12 | 1:00-4:00pm

Emily Allen Wildflower Preserve in Winston-Salem

Join PLC Conservation Advisor, Dr. Ken Bridle, to learn the tools to use and plant traits to look for when identifying spring wildflowers. Workshop includes some classroom discussion of keys, guides and apps, basic plant structures, and then a scout in the garden to find fresh examples and refine your skills.

Cost: $30 (free for Emily Allen Wildflower Preserve Volunteers)

Space is limited to 25 participants.

iNaturalist Workshop

Friday, April 19 | 1:30-4:00pm

Emily Allen Wildflower Preserve in Winston-Salem

Learn about iNaturalist with Ann Walter-Fromson, a certified North Carolina Environmental Educator and graduate of the North Carolina Botanical Garden’s Native Plant Studies program. iNaturalist is an easy-to-use citizen science app via mobile device (or website) that connects you to a community of nature enthusiasts and researchers to identify and collect data on plants and animals. By recording and sharing your observations, you add to a permanent record of research-quality data for scientists so that we can all better understand and protect nature’s biodiversity. The workshop will start with a classroom presentation and then move into the garden for practice using the apps.

Prior to the workshop: Please set up an iNaturalist account and install these two free apps on your mobile device, iNaturalist and Seek by iNaturalist. You can do this from the webpage www.iNaturalist.org or through your mobile app store (Apple App for iOS or Google Play for Android).

Cost: $30 (free for Emily Allen Wildflower Preserve Volunteers)

Space is limited to 20 participants.

Understanding and Identifying Wild Birds of the Piedmont

Saturday, April 27 | 9:00am-12:00pm

A partnership between Piedmont Land Conservancy and the Deep River Folk School

Come out for a walk along the Deep River State Trail with Fuzz Sanderson.

Fuzz is an endangered species biologist, Earthskills teacher, musician and storyteller. Since 1989 he has followed his calling as a wilderness instructor, naturalist, and research biologist for organizations such as 4H, National Wildlife Federation, US Fish and Wildlife Service, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, US Forest Service, US Park Service, and the Green River Preserve. Fuzz coordinated the Earthskills Rendezvous for 8 years and has now founded the Piedmont Earthskills Gathering in central North Carolina.
 
Go ahead, ask him about birds.

The outing is open to the public but has a limit of 25 participants. Sign up soon and come eager to learn!

More about the Deep River Folk School:

Started in 2019, the Deep River Folk School offers educational programming that provides knowledge, skills, and tools for Sustainable, Resilient Living. The Deep River Folk School is a partnership between Living Well Earth Stewards nonprofit and Sustenance Farm. Programming covers a wide range of topics with a focus on building your own housing, growing food,  developing essential skills, and connecting to the natural world. At the Deep River Folk School we are excited to partner with Piedmont Land Conservancy for this series of free, community workshops along the Deep River State Trail focused on the natural and cultural resources and history of the Deep River area. For a more complete list of 2024 workshops and resources offered by the Deep River Folk School go to https://www.deepriverfolkschool.com/.

 

Boulder Exploration at Ridges Mountain

Sunday, April 28 | 1:00-3:00pm OR Monday, April 29 | 11:00am-1:00pm

Asheboro, North Carolina

You have two chances to explore a unique landscape in the Uwharrie Mountains with Piedmont Land Conservancy. This guided hike will be led by past PLC board member and avid hiker Matt Perry. Note that Ridges Mountain is not open to the public. PLC has reserved this group hike through the NC Zoo.

We will be hiking somewhere between 2 to 3 miles. Some of this hike will be on an old road, some trail, and some off trail through the woods. This hike is considered moderate to strenuous. There will be an opportunity to explore the big rocks at your own risk.

The guided hike will pass by a few upland pools. Upland Pools are rare, isolated wetlands in upland settings, with water deep enough to prevent the formation of a forest canopy across the basin. Water stands well into the growing season, though it often dries by the end of summer. These pools are breeding habitat for several amphibians.

The crowning feature of Ridges Mountain is the boulders (some are as high as 50 feet) located within the Monadnock Forest at the top that provide great viewing locations of the surrounding Randolph County.

Originally established in 2000 with a PLC and NC Zoo partnership, the preserve just grew again with as the NC Zoo added an addition 139 acres, making the preserve 423 acres in total! Read more in this press release.

Sign up for you date of choice below. Both hikes will be limited to 25 people.

Consider giving to

Piedmont Land Conservancy

to protect more special places.