6/1/2019
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

FREE First Saturday Tour: Carnivorous Plants
It is, no doubt, a surprising fact that a whole group of plants should subsist partly by digesting animal matter…~Charles Darwin Our carnivorous plant collection is one of the finest in the Southeast and includes pitcher plants, sundews, bladderworts, and the amazing Venus Fly Trap. Join a Garden Guide and learn about the fascinating lives of these beautiful and strange plants.

6/2/2019
1:30 PM to 4:30 PM

Native Southeastern Medicinal Plants
Explore the beauty of native southeastern medicinal plants through field identification. Using the expansive resources of the NCBG display gardens and the Piedmont Nature Trails behind the Garden, students take in the abundant medicine that our local flora has to offer. Topics include field identification, ethical gathering and harvesting, history and lore of each plant, therapeutic and medicinal uses as well as preparations. No prerequisites.

6/5/2019
1:00 PM to 6/26/2019 4:30 PM

Advanced Expressive Watercolor
This course reviews and builds on Intermediate Expressive Watercolor techniques. Using a live plant and/or reference photographs of their choice, students will create a small series of paintings of a native North Carolina plant. Prerequisites: Intermediate Watercolor, Integrating Composition and Color Theory

6/8/2019
9:00 PM to 10:30 PM

Moth Night
Event is Full: Accepting Wait List Registrations
Moths are among our most diverse, colorful, and ecologically important groups of organisms. Approximately 2,700 species occur in North Carolina, but most people only ever see just a few and are startled when they first see a Luna Moth or a Polyphemus Moth, never having suspected that there were such species flying around in the night. Moth Night shines a light on this amazing group of organisms. We'll use two common techniques to sample moth populations – blacklights and baiting – to take a look at the local fauna. Bring your cameras, with best results obtained using a flash.

6/10/2019
9:00 AM to 6/14/2019 12:00 PM

Sensing Nature - Nature Explorers Summer Camp (ages 4-5)
Event is Full: Accepting Wait List Registrations
Curious preschoolers will love this camp, designed to provide playful, hands-on experiences with the natural world in a small group setting. Young campers will use all of their senses to watch for frogs, listen for birdsong, smell the flowers, touch slimy worms, and taste from the vegetable garden. A new theme will be introduced each day through nature walks, crafts, stories, puppet shows, and group play. Snack included. Session has 10 campers. Fee: $145 ($130 Members)

6/13/2019
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Pitchers & Pitchers
Pitcher plants and pitchers of beer at dusk in the Garden, it doesn’t get much better than that! At this event, guests are invited to enjoy tasty brews and relax by our Carnivorous Plant Collection courtyard. Speak with conservation & horticulture staff who research and protect these fascinating species, and learn about the fascinating relationships that carnivorous plants have with pollinators and other insects. Attendees must be 21 years of age or older. Registration is required.

6/22/2019
9:30 AM to 7/27/2019 12:30 PM

Summer Flora
Event is Full: Accepting Wait List Registrations
This course is intended for a broad audience as well as for students who are enrolled in either of the NCBG certificate programs. Field trips and exercises provide experience in the use of identification keys and recognition of plants in a natural setting. Upon completion of this course, students will have an understanding of basic plant morphology, naming conventions for plants and the history of scientific naming, how to identify the prominent plants of the season using a dichotomous key and field characteristics, all through a season-specific lens.

6/22/2019
1:00 PM to 4:30 PM

Butterflies in Colored Pencil
Event is Full: Accepting Wait List Registrations
Celebrate National Pollinator Week with this half-day introduction to drawing with colored pencils, using one of North Carolina's many butterflies as the reference. Students are given step-by-step instruction. During the course, information about our native butterflies is also provided. No prerequisites.

6/27/2019
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

LUNCHBOX Talk: Where was Scott's Hole? A Chapel Hill/Morgan Creek Mystery
Scott’s Hole was a well-known Chapel Hill fishing/swimming place in the 1800s, but knowledge of it has all but disappeared today, and no physical description or exact location is known. According to Kemp Battle, the hole was named “for a man who drowned in it”. Its importance today is as a landmark near where several rare plants and a number of Herbarium samples were found. Come find out what we know so far and perhaps contribute to solving the mystery.

7/8/2019
9:00 AM to 7/12/2019 3:00 PM

Things with Wings - Nature Explorers Summer Camp (ages 6-7)
Event is Full: Accepting Wait List Registrations
Learn about native bats, birds, bugs, and even seeds that fly as we search the gardens, forest, and ponds for nature's winged wonders. Campers will investigate the lives and habitats of our high-flying neighbors and enjoy hikes, games, stories, and crafts. Session has 16 campers. Fee: $285 ($256 Members)

7/27/2019
8:30 PM to 10:30 PM

Moth Magic - FOR FAMILIES!
For ages 10 & up with accompanying adult. Join us during National Moth Week to observe some of our night-flying neighbors – MOTHS! Discover how to attract moths and their caterpillars in your home landscape, hear some of their fascinating adaptations, and get tips on how to identify some of our common species. $10 ($9 Members) per child; no fee for accompanying adult

8/3/2019
9:30 AM to 8/24/2019 2:30 PM

Botany
This course is introductory in nature and designed for a broad audience. It covers basic principles of botany including taxonomy, anatomy, morphology and physiology. Class time is divided between lectures and examining/dissecting samples. There are also opportunities for making observations in the gardens.

8/6/2019
1:00 PM to 8/27/2019 4:30 PM

Beginning Drawing
An introductory level course of drawing for beginners and those wishing to refresh their skills. Includes using a sketchbook for line drawing exercises on seeing to draw, quick sketching, mapping for accuracy, and other basic principles of drawing. Prerequisite for Intermediate Drawing, Beginning Watercolor, and Beginning Colored Pencil. Note: This class involves homework assignments. The amount of time students need to spend on homework varies and usually ranges from five to 15 hours per week.

8/8/2019
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

LUNCHBOX Talk: Here There Be Dragons
Dragonflies and damselflies are a common sight along most bodies of water, a gorgeous sign of summer in North Carolina. Join Chris Goforth from the NC Museum of Natural Sciences to learn which dragonflies travel in front of storms, the crazy acrobatics required to reproduce, and the fantastic way that dragonfly nymphs live up to “dragon” in their name. Dragonflies and damselflies are truly unique animals, so come get to know a few local species and hear all about the amazing biology, behavior, and body parts that make these creatures so fascinating!

8/24/2019
9:30 AM to 12:30 PM

iNaturalists in Action
Join us for this hands-on introduction to recording plant and wildlife observations with the iNaturalist mobile app and website (inaturalist.org). We’ll meet in the classroom for a brief overview of the application and a discussion of photographing flora and fauna for identification. We’ll then carpool to nearby Mason Farm Biological Reserve to make observations, and we’ll return to the classroom at the end to take a closer look at some of them. We'll provide suggestions for recording observations on your own and contributing observations to citizen science projects. To participate, you will need to bring a digital camera, smartphone, or tablet.

9/7/2019
10:00 AM to 9/14/2019 12:00 PM

Gardening for Wildlife
Are you interested in attracting more pollinators and wildlife into your garden? Gardening for wildlife can establish sustainable landscapes that promote life of all kinds. Lauri will share ways to provide essential habitat elements like food, water, cover, and places to raise young while also creating beautiful, colorful gardens that appeal to various aesthetic preferences. Learn how to make your garden a mini nature preserve for birds, butterflies, and other pollinators and wildlife.

10/5/2019
10:30 AM to 3:30 PM

Field Trip: The Sandhills Gamelands
Ever wanted to see a pitcher plant in the wild? Now’s your chance! Come explore one of the finest examples of a longleaf pine ecosystem in North Carolina, home to rare and fascinating plant communities, with expert botanist Bruce Sorrie. We’ll discuss the role of fire (natural and managed) in maintaining the various plant communities in this 60,000 acre public reserve and how the species on the reserve have adapted to the ecosystem’s nutrient-poor soils and frequent disturbance. Transportation to the Sandhills is not included in the timing or in the trip fee. Field trip begins at 10:30 a.m. and ends between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. in Hoffman, NC (just outside the Game Land). Participants must get themselves to Hoffman (about 80 miles or 1.5 hours south of Chapel Hill).