Botany and Forestry

The Glenville State College Department of Land Resources, the GSC Foundation, and the United States Forest Service have partnered to offer internship opportunities for students within the Natural Resource Management program. An agreement was signed between the institutions to formalize this year’s initiative, according to Dr. Rico Gazal, professor of forestry and chair of the … Read more

Students at Bethany College are mapping trees across the school’s historic campus in advance of the arrival of one of the nation’s foremost experts on old-growth forests. So far, members of the school’s Tri-Beta Club have identified about 60 noteworthy trees based on qualities such as size and species, according to Ian Nelson, an environmental … Read more

Clements State Tree Nursery is taking orders for container trees, which will be available Feb. 1, weather permitting, according to West Virginia forestry officials. Located along the Ohio River near Mason, West Virginia, the nursery is owned and operated by the state Division of Forestry and produces and sells bare-root seedlings to landowners in West … Read more

To the casual observer, Japanese stiltgrass appears as a harmless, leafy-green plant that blends into the majestic scenery during a weekend hike, but plant biologists like Craig Barrett know better. “I’d visited sites to study endangered orchids in West Virginia over the past few years, and I’d noticed Japanese stiltgrass creeping in and becoming a … Read more

Enhance your survival skills and knowledge during a two-day course offered in May at New River Community and Technical College’s campus in Nicholas County at Summersville, West Virginia. Students will receive instruction on how to survive in emergency situations and learn how settlers lived without modern conveniences and technology, according to Jenni R. Canterbury, the … Read more

After winter’s passed and before the trees leaf out, the West Virginia forest bursts into a profusion of colorful flowers. No one understood this Appalachian magic better than Earl Core, the naturalist for whom the 100-acre Core Arbortum at West Virginia University is named. Core literally wrote the book on West Virginia plants in 1952 … Read more

Organizers of the sixth annual spring wildflower walk set for April 6 at Saint Albans City Park are expecting more participants as word of the event grows and ancillary programs are developed. More than 150 people joined in last year’s walk, which follows the park’s nature trail through the wooded hills that skirt the city … Read more

The 2019 guide to West Virginia ramp feasts and festivals is now available online, and many venue organizers are reporting increases in attendance as a result of the publication. According to David Sibray, publisher of West Virginia Explorer, more than 35,000 visitors are visiting the guide annually and many hosts of ramp dinners are enjoying … Read more

Participants in the fifth annual wildflower walk April 7 at Saint Albans City Park in Saint Albans, West Virginia, are invited to join in a variety of programs, including seed-planting, rain-barrel making, and photography workshops and an exhibition featuring live birds of prey. Led by experienced naturalists, registration for the hike begins at 9 a.m. … Read more