CNP - Spring Wildflowers Hike (E)
Public Welcome Paid Event Program/Speaker Presentation Nature Walk/Hike Free Public Parking Lots of Physical Activity
Certificate in Native Plants - Elective Class - Spring Wildflowers Hike with Dr. Richard Clements
Description: The course will explore in depth the ecology, spring wildflowers, and temperate deciduous forest of the North Chickamauga Creek State Natural Area. Topics will include local geology, the forest system, plant interactions, wildflower life histories, and wildflower identification. The class will take place along a 1⁄2-mile trail from the parking lot to the crossing of North Chickamauga Creek, with two short side trips.
Tentative Class Outline
1. Parking Area
a. Cumberland Plateau and Ridge and Valley
b. The Pennsylvanian Period (~320 mya)
c. Ice Age Remnants (~12 kya)
2. Kiosk
a. Environmental Systems
b. The Forest System
c. Temperate Deciduous Forest Structure
d. Spring Ephemerals
3. Side Trip 1: North Chickamauga Creek Edge
a. Sandstone Boulders
b. Parasitic Plants: American Cancer Root (Conopholis americana)
c. Quiet Forest Time
4. Main Trail
a. Commensal Interactions
b. Wildflower Identification
c. Spring Ephemeral Ecology
5. Ecological Shift: Mountain Laurel
a. Limiting Factors
b. New plants
c. Poking Around in the “Laurel Hell”
6. North Chickamauga Creek
a. Acid Mine Drainage
b. The Blue Hole
c. Area History and Management
7. Side Trip 2: Eastern Hemlock Holocaust
a. Hemlock Wooly Adelgids
b. Invasive Exotic Species Primer
c. Where are the Exotic Plants at NCCSNA?
8. Return to Parking Area
a. Wildflower and Plant ID
b. Q & A