The Dirt Blog

Meet Patrick Craft, a TLC volunteer Trail Guide who regularly leads evening walks at Horton Grove.

TLC staff recently took a field trip to the American Tobacco Campus in Durham to see the “Barrier Breakers” exhibit brought to the Triangle by Resilient Ventures. Curated by the negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the exhibit highlights baseball’s integration pioneers along with obstacles players of color faced and how they overcame them.

Every time you take a walk at Johnston Mill, White Pines, Horton Grove, or Brumley, you are seeing work from Matt Rutledge. Incredibly kind and generous, Matt teaches me the names of all the trees. Matt has walked hundreds of miles monitoring easements, led volunteer workdays, and created and rerouted numerous trails. He has also planted thousands of seeds and hundreds of plant plugs over the years to set the stage for improved habitats on TLC lands.

For many TLC members and enthusiasts, Robert “Bo” Howes is Triangle Land Conservancy. Always quick to remind us that our work can’t be summarized in merely “bucks and acres,” Bo is responsible for thousands of acres conserved and millions of dollars raised. Yet, his investment in the human side of TLC may be his biggest impact of all as Bo is incredibly generous with the wisdom he’s gained from his 15 years of experience.

One of TLC’s greatest unsung heroes is Leigh Ann Hammerbacher. Her steady perseverance and deep knowledge of conservation in North Carolina allows her to weave strategies out of red tape and chisel masterpieces out of apparent stonewalls. We are immensely grateful for all of Leigh Ann’s accomplishments during the past 16 years!

First-grade students from Trinity School in Durham hiked at Johnston Mill and designed a special map for other visitors their age.

In June, TLC permanently conserved 248 acres of undeveloped, forested land located between Fearrington Village and Jordan Lake. This beautiful property contains wetlands, streams, and steep slopes that are unusual for the area and critical to the region. The property directly abuts the B. Everett Jordan Dam and Lake, one of the largest sources of […]

On Saturday, October 21, TLC welcomed over 100 community members and 15 local outdoor organizations to Brumley Nature Preserve in Chapel Hill for a day of outdoor exploration and activities. Part of TLC’s popular Wild Ideas series, Wild I.D.E.A.s Gets Outside was the first iteration to be held at a nature preserve, with guided hikes […]

By Laura Warman, Grants Manager Spooky season might be past us, and we’ve even had the first freeze of the year, but as the growing season winds down late summer and fall are great times to spot spiders and their webs. Spiders, overall, are a fascinating group of creatures that have been around for about […]

By Cara Lewis, Senior Communications Manager Often described as an urban oasis, Swift Creek Bluffs Nature Preserve is a hidden gem inside the rapidly growing Triangle metropolis of Cary, NC. One of TLC’s smallest preserves, this precious and protected space is bound by housing developments, a golf course, and the increasingly busy Holly Springs Road.  […]