Events Calendar

Member hikes are a great way to learn about native plants! Southeastern Grasslands Institute ecologist/botanist Zach Irick will lead an educational tour of the native wildflowers, shrubs and trees of Town Creek as it courses over Sand Mountain in N.E. Alabama. You will come away with ideas for natural rock gardens and rain garden designs, siting and growth patterns, as well as identification of many native plants that are often available for the landscape.

We will visit the creek at 2 sites, which include High Falls Park and an unnamed glade complex just upstream. As we return from the creek, we will visit Chitwood Barrens Preserve, a nearby site with numerous flowering species, which protects the green pitcher plant (Sarracenia oreophila).

Town Creek scours along its sandstone margins during flooding events, creating glade complexes which are quite visually appealing with floristically rich plant communities that prefer acid soils. There are several uncommon species and endemics to the region such as Lookout Mountain coreopsis (C. pulchra), longleaf sunflower (H. longifolius), Smallhead blazingstar (Liatris microcephala), Nuttall's rayless goldenrod (Bigelowia nutallii), Little River Canyon onion (Allium speculae), threadstalk guara (G. filipes), several Lobelia (L. puberula, L. spicata,L. cardinalis), ironweed (Vernonia flaccidifolia, V. gigantea), Cumberland and rose pink gentian (Sabatia capitata, S. angularis), Curtiss's milkwort (Polygala curtissii), and many more.

Hike Leader: Zach Irick is the Southern Appalachian Grasslands Ecologist for the Southeastern Grasslands Institute. Zach has broad experience in field botany, plant taxonomy, plant community ecology, and restoration ecology throughout the interior southeast. Through his affiliation with SGI, he has worked with federal, state, private, and non-profit entities to lead research and restoration projects in the Southern Appalachian region. In his spare time, he likes to study the plants of the southern Table Plateaus (Lookout and Sand Mountain), southern Ridge and Valley (Coosa valley area), northern Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee (Big South Fork and Obed), and anywhere else really. He also enjoys drinking coffee all day every day.

Rating:  Easy to moderate.

Distance:  Comprised of 3 - 1 mile explorations with creek and waterfall overlooks. Out and back trails.

Duration: Approximately 7 hours due to driving and lunch break between stops. Participants will have the option of departing early or staying on for extra viewing as desired.

General: Bring snack/water/lunch, insect repellent, sunscreen and hat, appropriate shoes for light trail hiking and, if desired, hiking poles for some slick uneven stone surfaces. Not pets on any of our Wild Ones hikes please.

This program is free and open to Wild Ones members and their guests.