Pilot Mountain State Park - Joseph Rogers

Pilot Mountain State Park is located in the western part of our state, north of Winston Salem. It's main feature, Big Pinnacle can be seen for miles on the highway and the park covers a total of 3703 acres. It had been inhabited by local native Americans before the revolutionary war, until Britain allied with the Cherokee and they pushed the local natives out. The park was declared a state park in 1968. Because of the natural wildlife within the park, the Big Pinnacle (shown right) is no longer allowed to be climbed or hiked due to birds nesting on it.

I visited the park a few weeks ago to spend the day rock climbing and hiking. The weather was nice to start, but ended with some pretty heavy rain that followed us the entire drive home.

There was a local company there leading a climbing group of about 40 people. Companies such as these can make a lot of money because they the natural rock walls and accessible trails can be used without any cost. I felt that bringing such a large group of unexperienced people to the park area could be damaging to the trails, and the rock features.

At one point during the day a local guide hiked through the area where we were climbing and told us a few things about the wall. He also told me that the park recently changed directors and some new policies were coming. The director is an avid trail runner, and has been seen running frequently. Because climbers usually carry a lot of gear, and there is only one trail, the hikers often have to hike around the blocked areas and make unmarked trails. This can be a problem because the constant walking away from trails can ruin the natural landscape.

At the base of the park there is an old dairy farm. Throughout the day you could hear the mooing of cows from the distance. As well as the beautiful rock features and wildlife, the sound of the farm - without the smell - was pretty cool.

Yates Mill County Park - Xiao He

I went to the Historic Yates Mill County Park during the spring break. This park is close to where I live and it is an excellent place for a real experience of learning the historical and environmental background of the Wake County area.

Yates Mill served Wake County as a water-powered mill for more than 200 years, and it is the only gristmill still in operating condition. The water-powered gristmill was an important economic and social center for residents of Wake County back in the old times. It supported the production of crops and lumber in this region.

With the help and support from Yates Mill Associates, Inc., NC State University, and bot of public and private foundations, the park was developed and re-constructed between 2003 to 2006. Also, the A.E.Finley Center was built for regional environmental study and research purposes. The park was officially opened to public in May, 2006. Now, the Yates Mill County Park is a wonderful place for environmental studying, fishing, picnicking, swimming, gathering, and touring.

Museum of Life and Science - Jennifer Hinkley

I visited the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC. The museum has many different educational aspects and covers an array of topics. I learned about the different missions to the moon, as well as the effects of wind on Earth's weather patterns. If you venture outside of the museum you will find a variety of animals, including bears, wolves, goats, owls, and even a cow. There is also a butterfly room which houses butterflies from across the world. The have displays of hundreds of butterflies from all regions, noting Central and South America as having some of the most beautiful and colorful butterflies. I also went into the insect room and saw lots of insects from around the world. I noticed that Southeast Asia had some of the largest and creepiest looking insects that exist. I would hope to never run into any of those. ICK! Overall the experience was pleasant and I feel as though I learned a lot about the environment and its creatures.

Rocky branch- sandhya nagaraj

Rocky Branch is an urban creek that runs through the heart of the NC State University campus. The water stream was narrow and suffering from severe erosion, hence NC State University has put into operation a three-phase stream restoration plan to renovate Rocky Branch. This project aims to create a safe and accessible outdoor teaching laboratory. This plan will stabilize the creek; improve water quality, aquatic and wildlife habitat; and merge the creek into the campus environment.

In addition to fixing the creek, they are building a pedestrian underpass at Pullen Road which allows safe passage for pedestrians and wildlife beneath a major thoroughfare. The underpass runs along Pullen park- (which i usually walk through to go to the Pullen park tennis courts), through Paul Derr track, Miller fields, through sullivan drive and connects the City of Raleigh Greenway System. The creek is very pretty is some areas; for example, the area between the miller fields and carmichael gym is restored very well, but the areas close to Paul Derr track is still very foresty.

Museum of natural history- Sandhya Nagaraj

Over spring break I went to visit The National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. This museum is a part of the Smithsonian Institution and houses a national collection of more than 125 million natural science specimens. I found it very interesting to learn about the description and the history behind these artifacts.

The displays that I went through included dinosaur skeletons (dinosaurs have always intrigued me) so i was very excited to learn about the different kinds of dinosaurs that were actually available for the viewers. There was also an enormous collection of natural gems

and minerals, artifacts of early man, an insect zoo, a live coral reef and much more. Another very interesting thing I saw was the “piece of mars”, I actually got to touch it- Its hard for me to believe that the piece is originally from Mars, but I thought it was pretty cool to touch and feel an object from another planet.

North Carolina Zoo!-Meredith Shillinglaw

I went to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro in April! The zoo is really cool because they have it split into North America, and Africa. Every animal was out at the zoo the Sunday morning I went, except the rhino, so it was definitely an experience for me to see all the animals. "From our very inception, conservation has been central to the mission of the North Carolina Zoo. Within the Park, we work to reduce waste, minimizing our use of natural resources. Regionally, we are involved in initiatives and programs to improve the quality of our environment and the health of our State. Internationally, we work to protect animal habitats and help people understand the value of wild animals and wild places." This is the North Carolina Zoo's conservation statement, which I thought was awesome that they don't only care about the well-being of the animals, but also of the land they're using. I learned a lot at the zoo, but I thought the information about the wolves was very interesting (and appropriate). Wolves travel and kill in packs, and they female is the leader of the pack. Other animals that were awesome included, the otters, seals, polar bear, gorilla, baboons, chimps, and alligators! I absolutely loved my experience at the zoo, and I plan to return in the summer!

Waccatee Zoo

Waccatee Zoo Trip

This past weekend, I went to Myrtle Beach, SC and visited Waccatee Zoo. It was a very unique experience, unlike regular zoos I have visited. I went with my mom, dad, and little brother. When I walked in the place, there were many different venomous snakes from North and South Carolina. Also, peacocks were randomly walking around the zoo. You could literally go right up to them and touch them because they weren't in cages. There were many different animals I learned about, including a zonkey (donkey and zebra mixed) as well as a rabbit that looked like it was mixed with a deer. It looked very weird. There were camels, tigers, and cougars also. The cages that housed the tigers were pretty sketchy. I could walk right up and stick my arm through if I wanted. It seemed dangerous. We bought peanuts and popcorn to feed the animals. The best animals to feed were the baboons because they would do tricks so you would throw them food. Overall, I liked the experience I had.

Edward Chase Cline