The Dirt Blog

Presenting TLC’s New Hiking Challenge!

March 14, 2015

Here at TLC, we strive to find new ways to inspire nature explorations throughout the Triangle. To this end and to incorporate a little friendly competition, we are officially launching our TLC Hiking Challenge, five hikes in each of our five nature preserves! Do you have questions? Great! Check out our quick hiking challenge Q&A. […]

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When It Rains, It Pours Wild Ideas in the Triangle

March 6, 2015

It’s often said, “When it rains, it pours.” Well, on Tuesday, we were able to put on a positive spin on that old adage because when it REALLY rains, people POUR in to hear about the things they can do when the weather is nice! Of course, I’m talking about the amazing turnout we had […]

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A Snowy Horton Grove

February 20, 2015

A few weekends ago on a crisp warm Saturday, my fiancé and I went on a nice long walk at Umstead State Park. A gorgeous warm winter’s day, it made us dream about the coming of spring. To say this week has been the polar opposite is quite the understatement. As I write this, we […]

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Tales from the Field: Fire in the Grove

February 10, 2015

When you grow up within a rocks throw of Pisgah National Forest, you end up being one of those people who would rather spend their weekends camping, spending nights under the stars around a campfire instead of inside on the couch. There’s just something about the smoke rising into the night sky, the smell of […]

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The Great Backyard Bird Count at TLC

February 6, 2015

February 13th-February 16th is not only Valentine’s Day weekend, but also the annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)! When many people think about February 14th, they envision pink hearts, chocolate, romantic dates, and Hallmark cards; but I dream of all the birds I hope to see smack dab in the middle of the GBBC weekend […]

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Why Care About Wetlands?

February 2, 2015

A few years ago, I packed my bags and moved to Bloomington, Indiana for graduate school. An eager student, I couldn’t wait to start my classes, especially my first elective, a wetlands biology and restoration class with lab. I had very little experience studying and spending time in these unique ecosystems as most of the […]

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In the Kitchen with TLC: Frittata

January 30, 2015

This week, we’re excited to bring you a recipe by Susan Reda from Learning Outside, a TLC partner organization providing outdoor environmental education experiences at TLC’s J. Logan and Elinor Moore Irvin Nature Preserve in Orange County. If you attended the December grand trail opening event at Horton Grove, you may have even gotten a […]

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Thank Goodness It’s (TGI) Hike Day Series

January 23, 2015

  (Before going outside…) People in industrialized countries, on average, now spend approximately 93 percent of their time indoors. Some sources I found claim that Americans on average spend up to 98% of their indoors, meaning as little as 30 minutes a day are spent outside. While this certainly isn’t true of everyone, and time […]

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