Events

Guided Tours of NC Plant Conservation Program preserves will be available soon. Watch for a schedule here.

Due to the fragile nature of these sites, tours will be limited to 15 participants. There are no trails, no facilities, and no water. Often, these are remote sites, so you will be asked to bring water and snacks with you.

There is no fee for Friends of Plant Conservation members; members of the public will pay $10, which may be applied to membership.

There is never, ever, any plant or seed collecting permitted on any of these walks.

We all love dogs, but as the sites are fragile, we ask that you leave your pets at home.

If you would like to arrange a walk for a specific small group, contact the NC Plant Conservation office to see if it can be scheduled. The NCPCP has a very small staff, so time is limited.

Photos from Pondberry Bay visit on November 6, 2011:

The premise of this walk was to explore Pondberry Bay (the once shallower bay that is still, on occasion and in some areas, seasonally wet) and Sister Bay (originally deep enough that locals fished the bay from boats). Sister Bay, showing few signs of its former nature, does display distinct edges and changes in plant life. Was it drained for agricultural use, has the water table dropped, is there a way to restore the bay - all are questions explored on the walk through the dry, sandy bay now covered with wiregrass and longleaf pines.

Part of the group gathers near the edge of Pondberry Bay. (A.J., Arleigh, Joan, Richard, Rob, Lesley, Nancy)

Rhexia seed vessel.

Nancy Adamson Richard LeBlond identifies grasses

Ferns, finding water and a little protection from the sun, grow in stump holes from

burned out loblolly pines.

Once a water-filled bay, Sister Bay now hosts native grasses, forbs, and longleaf pines.