Engaging Holly Springs at Wild About Nature Festival
It was a beautiful day for the annual Holly Springs Wild About Nature festival, where SWC has participated for many years (formerly known as Turtle Fest and Bass Lake Day). Everyone dodged the cicadas that were all around and had a good time! We continued our 2024 theme of NC Mammals, with display materials and…
View post
Distributing Ground Venison in Fuquay Varina
The SWC Deer Program was blessed with the opportunity to share venison harvested by local hunters to families in need today. Eighty pounds of nutritious, safe (CWD-free certified) venison was distributed to patrons of the Fuquay Varina Emergency Food Pantry, Saint Bernadette’s Catholic Church, and Pine Acres Community Center in Fuquay Varina. The harvest of…
View post
Spreading the Wildlife Word at Tiger Fest
SWC engaged with kids at Lincoln Heights Elementary School in Fuquay Varina at their annual Tiger Fest on May 12th. This was our second year being invited to this fun event at the environmental connections magnet school, with hundreds of kids having a great time while learning about the many sides of nature and the…
View post
A Wonderful Walk in the Woods!
On April 7, 2024 a group of South Wake Conservationists and ephemeral plant lovers participated in a very enjoyable and educational walk at Swift Creek Bluffs in Cary, North Carolina! The walk was led by plant scientist Eric Pauley. Dr. Pauley has extensive knowledge and experience regarding plants that enjoy woodland habitat. He also provided…
View post
An Early April Sprucing Up of Lincoln Heights Elementary School Pollinator Garden!
On April 2, 2024 five South Wake Conservationists spent two productive hours preparing the school’s pollinator garden. They were joined by the school’s Green Team. The group removed dead growth and weeds. They also planted several trees! Thanks to Bob, Regan, Monty and Beth. Please enjoy the pictures!
View post
A Productive and Rewarding Day at Millbrook School!
On March 14, 2024 six South Wake Conservationists experienced a vigorous workday at Millbrook Magnet Elementary School in North Raleigh! They trimmed and dead-headed many perennials and did a healthy amount of weed removal! School officials were appreciative as the volunteers helped prepare the garden for the onset of spring! Many thanks to Chad, Bob…
View post
Let’s Enhance Art Park Wildlife Habitat!
Over the past few years, the North Carolina Wildlife Federation and South Wake Conservationists have beautified the North Carolina Art Park by adding hundreds of native trees, shrubs and native wildflowers. They were even considered a very competitive entry in the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for beautifying Raleigh! On March 8, 2024 they added to…
View post
Eco Kids Dig the Soil!
Back in December, the South Wake Conservationists hosted an Eco Kids event with students at Joyner Elementary in Raleigh. Together the group installed a Butterfly Highway Pitstop featuring little bluestem, slender woodoats, beautyberry, blazing star, wild bergamot, ironweed, bluestar, purple coneflower, milkweed and more!! The students plunged their hands into cow dung compost, unveiled critters…
View post
A New Home in Apex for the Purple Martins
Continuing our partnership with Simple Gifts Community Garden, we were happy to install a new purple Martin house assembly at the garden, just in time for nesting season. These amazing birds are just coming in from Brazil for the spring and early summer, as part of their annual migration. They are the largest cavity-nesting swallow…
View post
Let’s Have Some Garden Fun on a Windy Day!
On a windy February 28, 2024, six venturesome South Wake Conservationists prepared the Bass Lake pollinator garden for a rapidly-approaching spring season! The first task was to uncover the garden from a thick layer of leaves, providing the emerging plants a glimpse of sunshine. The group then engaged in a bout of intense weeding! Thanks…
View post
Spring Comes Early to Crowder County Park!
On February 21, 2024 six South Wake Conservationists celebrated a beautiful spring-like day by vigorously enhancing three pollinator gardens at Crowder County Park. The group provide two hours of weeding and dead-heading to the park’s array of native plants! They were accompanied by Park Ranger and Educator Sarah Goldsmith. Sarah received the “fast healer” award…
View post
A Chance for the Bluebirds to Go to Church!
On February 15,2024 the South Wake Conservationists broke new ground by installing four Bluebird houses on “sacred soil!” Even though the birds may not be attending traditional parish events, they will now have the opportunity to raise their chicks on the grounds of St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church in Fuquay-Varina! The installation of the houses comes…
View post
Eco Kids Explore and Sketch Waterfowl
What a great day to stroll along the shore of Bass Lake in Holly Springs and see the variety of waterfowl that call this home during the winter! The Eco Kids did a walk-and-sketch on a rare near-70-degree day, learning about these birds, observing and sketching Canada Geese, cormorants, ruddy ducks, and coots. Seagulls scouted the lake…
View post
Kids Love Red Wolves!
The room was packed with 37 kids, practicing their wolf howls, watching Champions for Wildlife’s For the Love of Wolves film, talking about red wolves, and then making personal sculptures of red wolves. This Eco Kids event was held at the White Deer Park Nature Center, in partnership with Garner Parks and Rec. Cassia Rivera brings her…
View post
Groundhog Day and All About Mammals in NC
It was a fine, spring-like day Feb. 2 in Garner, NC to hold a nature-centered festival on Groundhog Day at White Deer Park. The star of the show, provided by the NC wildlife rescue, rehab, and education non-profit CLAWS, did not see his shadow and whispered in the ear of Garner Mayor Buddy Gupton that spring…
View post
Invasives Don’t Stand a Chance at Swift Creek Bluffs Preserve!
Fifteen hard-working souls joined together on Jan. 30 as a South Wake Conservationists work party to make a big dent in removing invasive plants at the Triangle Land Conservancy’s Swift Creek Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary. The usual suspects were Japanese Honeysuckle and Chinese Privet, and in the end, twenty-four bags were stuffed full! This will give…
View post
South Wake Conservationists Fortify a “Stairway to Heaven!”
On January 23, 2024 the South Wake Conservationists (SWC) were joined by several conservation-minded partners to fortify a critical section of the Triangle Land Conservancy’s (TLC) Swift Creek Bluffs Nature Preserve in Raleigh. Specifically, the group added a rock/sand mixture around the posts of stairway railings (see attached photos) to stabilize them. The project represented…
View post
New Composting Sign at Hemlock Bluffs!
The South Wake Conservationists finished off 2023 with a sign installation at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary. The sign provides details about why composting is beneficial and how people can do it themselves! The sign pairs well with the preserve’s active effort to compost. We encourage folks to check out the new sign and…
View post
New Invasive Species Sign at Swift Creek Bluffs!
The South Wake Conservationists broke ground and installed a brand new educational sign at Swift Creek Bluffs Nature Preserve in Raleigh. The preserve is managed by the Triangle Land Conservancy and provides critical space for neck-craning beech trees, showstopping wildflowers and an abundance of native wildlife. One step to protect the preserve’s natural wonders involves…
View post
Bluebirds & Pollinators at Simple Gifts Community Garden
Two more homes for bluebirds in Wake County! We installed two bluebird houses at Simple Gifts Community Garden in Apex on a beautiful late fall afternoon December 13. This brings the total installed in Wake County this year to 31. While there, the team also took the opportunity to plant five turks cap plants and sow seeds for…
View post
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
South Wake Conservationists 