Scientific Excursions
Scientific Excursions will be offered in the afternoon on Tuesday, April 15, and the full day on Thursday, April 17.
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Exploring Raleigh's Urban Greenspace
4/15/2025 | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Capacity: 30
Fee: $60.00
Participants will first travel to the North Carolina Museum of Art for an exploration of the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park, which blends art and nature and features self-guided experiences through permanent and temporary art installations within a sustainable landscape that includes 4.7 miles of walking trails through native plants, including gardens, a terraced pond, open areas and forest.
The second stop on this field trip is the nearby Carl Alwin Schenck Memorial Forest, a 245 acre urban forest. Established in 1937, Schenck Forest is a working research and teaching forest that is open to the public for recreation. Mr. Garret Sumner, the Forest Manger, will lead the tour and highlight forest management, including prescribed fire, in a forest in an urban landscape, adjacent to a major interstate highway (Interstate 40).
4/15/2025 | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Capacity: 30
Fee: $60.00
Participants will first travel to the North Carolina Museum of Art for an exploration of the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park, which blends art and nature and features self-guided experiences through permanent and temporary art installations within a sustainable landscape that includes 4.7 miles of walking trails through native plants, including gardens, a terraced pond, open areas and forest.
The second stop on this field trip is the nearby Carl Alwin Schenck Memorial Forest, a 245 acre urban forest. Established in 1937, Schenck Forest is a working research and teaching forest that is open to the public for recreation. Mr. Garret Sumner, the Forest Manger, will lead the tour and highlight forest management, including prescribed fire, in a forest in an urban landscape, adjacent to a major interstate highway (Interstate 40).
Urban Ecological Restoration at Walnut Creek Wetland Park
4/15/2025 | 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Capacity: 30
Fee: $50.00
Join us for a walking tour of the Walnut Creek Wetland Park, as we explore the urban ecology of Raleigh, North Carolina and learn about the history of urban ecological restoration here. Located in southeast Raleigh, the wetland park plays a vital role in the hydrological cycling of the city and provides important habitat for diverse wildlife. The wetland park and its community partnerships that support the park have also been important facets of the history and development of the surrounding neighborhoods. The trip will be both a history lesson on the on-going legacies of ecological justice efforts, as well as an opportunity to observe the diverse flora and fauna that these urban wetlands support. Attendees may even get to see a great blue heron perched in the vegetation under rows of cypress trees! The walking tour will be guided along maintained pathways (gravel, wooden walkways, some bare ground) through the park, so participants should wear clothing and shoes comfortable for walking outdoors.
4/15/2025 | 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Capacity: 30
Fee: $50.00
Join us for a walking tour of the Walnut Creek Wetland Park, as we explore the urban ecology of Raleigh, North Carolina and learn about the history of urban ecological restoration here. Located in southeast Raleigh, the wetland park plays a vital role in the hydrological cycling of the city and provides important habitat for diverse wildlife. The wetland park and its community partnerships that support the park have also been important facets of the history and development of the surrounding neighborhoods. The trip will be both a history lesson on the on-going legacies of ecological justice efforts, as well as an opportunity to observe the diverse flora and fauna that these urban wetlands support. Attendees may even get to see a great blue heron perched in the vegetation under rows of cypress trees! The walking tour will be guided along maintained pathways (gravel, wooden walkways, some bare ground) through the park, so participants should wear clothing and shoes comfortable for walking outdoors.
Behind the Scenes at the Nature Research Center
4/15/2025 | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Capacity: 30
Price: $25.00
The Nature Research Center (https://naturalsciences.org/exhibits/permanent-exhibits/nature-research-center), one of two buildings at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) campus in downtown Raleigh, highlights exhibits that explore not just what we know about the natural world, but how we know it: the tools, techniques, and scientists that study the past, present, and future of our planet. The NRC provides hands-on activities and visitor-viewing of scientists working in the NRC’s five research labs, which are part of the museum's Research and Collections department. The NRC was in the news in 2024 with the opening of “Dueling Dinosaurs,” a permanent exhibition and laboratory devoted to the discovery of the most complete fossils of a tyrannosaur and Triceratops ever found, locked together at the time of death. Field trip participants will walk approximately a half mile from the conference hotel to the NCMSN, where they will split into two groups to tour the NRC collections. There also will be time to tour the rest of the museum and its extensive exhibits. The NCMNS (https://naturalsciences.org/) is the largest institution of its kind in the Southeastern United States and, with over a million visitors a year, North Carolina’s most visited museum.
4/15/2025 | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Capacity: 30
Price: $25.00
The Nature Research Center (https://naturalsciences.org/exhibits/permanent-exhibits/nature-research-center), one of two buildings at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) campus in downtown Raleigh, highlights exhibits that explore not just what we know about the natural world, but how we know it: the tools, techniques, and scientists that study the past, present, and future of our planet. The NRC provides hands-on activities and visitor-viewing of scientists working in the NRC’s five research labs, which are part of the museum's Research and Collections department. The NRC was in the news in 2024 with the opening of “Dueling Dinosaurs,” a permanent exhibition and laboratory devoted to the discovery of the most complete fossils of a tyrannosaur and Triceratops ever found, locked together at the time of death. Field trip participants will walk approximately a half mile from the conference hotel to the NCMSN, where they will split into two groups to tour the NRC collections. There also will be time to tour the rest of the museum and its extensive exhibits. The NCMNS (https://naturalsciences.org/) is the largest institution of its kind in the Southeastern United States and, with over a million visitors a year, North Carolina’s most visited museum.
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Landscape-scale Longleaf Pine Conservation in the North Carolina Sandhills
4/17/2025 | 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Capacity: 60
Fee: $100.00
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) once extended across 90 million acres in an arc stretching from Virginia to Texas. Less than 5 percent of longleaf pine forest remains following the long-term disruption of historical fire regimes coupled with land conversion and overharvesting. Remaining longleaf pine forests – often open woodlands with a highly diverse and grass-dominated understory – harbor several rare and threatened animal and plant species. The Sandhills region of south-central North Carolina encompasses more than 250,000 acres of conservation lands, about 70,000 acres of Safe Harbor properties, and many more acres of other private lands that contribute to a network of longleaf forests. On this field trip, participants will visit multiple locations (Sandhills Game Land, Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, and a private longleaf tract) to learn about the ecology of the longleaf pine ecosystem and the species that depend on it, the importance of prescribed fire to maintain and restore longleaf pine forests, and the ongoing landscape-scale partnership to conserve the longleaf pine ecosystem in the Sandhills region. This partnership has worked for 25 years to share resources and information and address common goals. It includes state and federal agencies (including the Department of Defense and North Carolina State Parks and Wildlife Resources Commission), non-profit organizations (including The Nature Conservancy and Quail Forever), and private landowners. Field trip participants should wear sturdy shoes for easy to moderate hiking and clothes appropriate for a variety of weather conditions. They should bring binoculars if they have them. Lunch will be provided.
4/17/2025 | 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Capacity: 60
Fee: $100.00
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) once extended across 90 million acres in an arc stretching from Virginia to Texas. Less than 5 percent of longleaf pine forest remains following the long-term disruption of historical fire regimes coupled with land conversion and overharvesting. Remaining longleaf pine forests – often open woodlands with a highly diverse and grass-dominated understory – harbor several rare and threatened animal and plant species. The Sandhills region of south-central North Carolina encompasses more than 250,000 acres of conservation lands, about 70,000 acres of Safe Harbor properties, and many more acres of other private lands that contribute to a network of longleaf forests. On this field trip, participants will visit multiple locations (Sandhills Game Land, Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, and a private longleaf tract) to learn about the ecology of the longleaf pine ecosystem and the species that depend on it, the importance of prescribed fire to maintain and restore longleaf pine forests, and the ongoing landscape-scale partnership to conserve the longleaf pine ecosystem in the Sandhills region. This partnership has worked for 25 years to share resources and information and address common goals. It includes state and federal agencies (including the Department of Defense and North Carolina State Parks and Wildlife Resources Commission), non-profit organizations (including The Nature Conservancy and Quail Forever), and private landowners. Field trip participants should wear sturdy shoes for easy to moderate hiking and clothes appropriate for a variety of weather conditions. They should bring binoculars if they have them. Lunch will be provided.
Duke Forest/North Carolina Botanical Garden Field Trip
4/17/2025 | 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Capacity: 25
Fee: $125.00
The Research Triangle area (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) is at the eastern edge of the Piedmont with rolling hills covered by highly diverse mixed hardwood and pine forests. Spring is a particularly scenic time in Piedmont forests, with the blooming of dogwoods, redbuds, and ephemeral wildflowers. This field trip will visit two locations that focus on the conservation of North Carolina’s forests and plant life: Duke Forest in Durham and the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill. Duke Forest encompasses 7,000 acres of forest and has been owned and managed by Duke University since 1931. Here, tour participants will learn about the forest’s stewardship and restoration of its Piedmont forests. The North Carolina Botanical Garden cultivates more than 1,100 acres of garden and conservation areas, safeguards rare and endangered plant species from extinction, and educates new generations of plant lovers and environmental citizens. Participants will tour its collection of native plants and will have the opportunity to visit the Piedmont forest it conserves. Field trip participants should wear sturdy shoes for easy to moderate hiking and clothes appropriate for a variety of weather conditions. They should bring binoculars if they have them. Lunch will be provided.
4/17/2025 | 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Capacity: 25
Fee: $125.00
The Research Triangle area (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) is at the eastern edge of the Piedmont with rolling hills covered by highly diverse mixed hardwood and pine forests. Spring is a particularly scenic time in Piedmont forests, with the blooming of dogwoods, redbuds, and ephemeral wildflowers. This field trip will visit two locations that focus on the conservation of North Carolina’s forests and plant life: Duke Forest in Durham and the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill. Duke Forest encompasses 7,000 acres of forest and has been owned and managed by Duke University since 1931. Here, tour participants will learn about the forest’s stewardship and restoration of its Piedmont forests. The North Carolina Botanical Garden cultivates more than 1,100 acres of garden and conservation areas, safeguards rare and endangered plant species from extinction, and educates new generations of plant lovers and environmental citizens. Participants will tour its collection of native plants and will have the opportunity to visit the Piedmont forest it conserves. Field trip participants should wear sturdy shoes for easy to moderate hiking and clothes appropriate for a variety of weather conditions. They should bring binoculars if they have them. Lunch will be provided.