Are you ready to celebrate spring? Join TLC for a full day of exciting activities on March 26th in Chatham County to celebrate the first week of spring!
The first event is a hike of White Pines Nature Preserve, TLC’s first preserve located in Chatham County. The hike will begin at 1pm and will last about two hours. Phil Cox of the Grand Trees of Chatham will lead you through White Pines, where you will learn about the many trees on the property including beeches, sycamores, and of course white pines. The Grand Trees of Chatham’s mission is to increase the community’s knowledge and appreciation of the many important trees of Chatham County.
The 275-acre White Pines preserve is named after the mysterious white pines that are normally found in higher elevations and cooler climates. During the last ice age, white pines began to grow in the region, but some never disappeared as the ice retreated and the climate warmed. These white pines are able to survive where conditions create cooler microclimates like the north-facing bluffs and the cooling influence of the Rocky and Deep Rivers found at White Pines Nature Preserve. The preserve is home to 55 species of birds including wild turkey, broad-winged hawk, Louisiana waterthrush, and green heron. In an effort to promote birding in the state, White Pines is part of the North Carolina Birding Trail. If you’re lucky, you may spot some other animals that can be found in the preserve such as gray foxes, muskrats, frogs, and salamanders!
Following the hike, you can head to Piedmont Biofuels facility on Lorax Lane in Pittsboro for a quick tour before walking over to Fair Game Beverage Co. Piedmont Biofuels is a small renewable energy company that produces biodiesel with a mission to lead the sustainability effort in North Carolina by creating biofuels from used cooking oil. They also make small-scale biodiesel plants, sell seed presses, and do research on green technologies. The tour will begin at 4 PM and will last about 45 minutes.
Finally, also on Lorax Lane, join TLC at Fair Game Beverage Co. in Pittsboro from 5-7pm for the First Sip 
of Spring! Fair Game Beverage Co. is a distillery that uses the best ingredients from the Piedmont to make fortified wines and spirits. They studied old hand crafted methods for producing alcohol from Portugal, Italy, and France in order to make the best wines and spirits with a Chatham County twist. Tours will depart at 5:15 and 5:45, and include one free tasting. Stick around afterwards or pick up a bottle to take home, 10% of all purchases will be donated to TLC.
Join TLC for one, two, or all three of the events on March 26th! Don’t forget to register for the hike and the distillery tour.
