It’s the holiday season, which means time with family, great food, gifts, and colorful decorations. But did you know it’s also the most wasteful time of year? According to Vanderbilt University’s sustainability guide, “Americans throw away 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.” In the newest edition of “The Dirt” we will explore […]
Photo by John Lillis Across from the Great Barn at Horton Grove Nature Preserve, there is a stand of trees with a mysterious fruit that dates back to the last ice age. This bright green fruit is about the size of a softball, with a texture similar to that of a cat’s tongue. This mystery fruit […]
Winter has arrived! While temperatures may be cooler, North Carolina still boasts a plethora of fun outdoor activities. Outdoor Ice Skating Whether you are a novice or experienced skater, you must check out Raleigh’s signature outdoor skating rink as part of the city’s two month winter celebration, Ipreo Raleigh’s Winterfest. The ice rink, open from […]
This fall, Triangle Land Conservancy staff stepped out of the office for a few hours on an afternoon adventure in preparation for an upcoming special event at Horton Grove. Our first stop, however, was Pompieri Pizza in downtown Durham, a restaurant making just about everything from scratch and mostly from locally-sourced ingredients. Owner Seth Gross, […]
By Gphoto [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons The fairly common native American persimmon tree (Diospyros virginiana) grows from Connecticut south to Florida and west to Kansas. Scattered throughout woodlands as well as home gardens, these attractive trees provide a brilliant fall display of leaves and orange, hanging fruits. The fruits, which persist after the […]
As we enter the holiday season, shoppers everywhere should consider buying local, not only for holiday presents but also for produce, meats, and dairy for holiday meals and celebrations. However, it is often difficult to know where to start when shopping for local, sustainable gifts. In this addition of TLC’s “The Dirt” blog, we will […]
Several weeks ago, I took my daughter Harper to our Horton Grove Nature Preserve in northern Durham County to hike some of the new trails our Conservation Corps just completed. It was a gorgeous, sunny fall day and the beeches beamed bright yellow. We stopped at the new wildlife viewing platform by the “prairie” and […]
Photo by Chelsea Clifford It was a perfect afternoon as the three Duke Conservation Society volunteers and I stepped out of the car. It was just after 12 p.m. on a Wednesday, with the temperature hovering around 70 degrees. No clouds blocked the sky, and the sunlight streamed through the leaves that were just beginning […]
Although people are generally dismayed with politicians and Congress, there is real, broad support for open space protection around the country. In total, voters approved over $29 billion in funding for land and water protection across a range of states and local governments last week. Some of the examples include: ● Rhode Island – voters […]
by Kyle Obermiller Earlier this week, I spent an entire workday by myself at White Pines Nature Preserve in Chatham County, and by the end of the day, my handheld GPS unit had logged 7.5 total miles of walking. This trip continued my mega-monitoring-Monday extravaganza, designed to complete routine maintenance of the hiking trails on […]
