News
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Study Adds to Knowledge of Fire-enhanced Fungi
By Frances Figart, Creative Director
Our park has among the highest diversity of fungi in North America. There are more than 3,000 documented species, probably a significant underestimation of the true numbers according to fungi experts, or mycologists.
A mysterious type is called pyrophilous fungi. It has long been thought that their
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Bat garland for Bat Week
By Valerie Polk
Halloween will be just a bit different at our house this year. Since we aren't going to our normal, crowded Trick or Treat spots, we're creating our own festive flair at home. My daughter, Emily, is nine now, and she loves this holiday. She also loves bats! So, when I found this cute and simple bat garland on Good Housekeeping's
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Bat Week Shines a Light on Smokies’ Endangered Bats
by Aaron Searcy
This year’s Bat Week (Oct. 24–31) comes at a time when bats in the Great Smoky Mountains are particularly busy. Hibernating species will continue to feed as much as possible in anticipation of the long winter ahead, and on cool fall evenings, bats may swarm in groups to find a mate or locate safe places to
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New Horace Kephart Collection Showcases Previously Unpublished Writings
A new book released by University of Tennessee Press presents the most extensive collection of writings in print to date by early Great Smoky Mountains National Park advocate and author Horace Kephart. Edited by Mae Miller Claxton and George Frizzell of Western Carolina University, Horace Kephart: Writings provides a perfect companion to Great
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Image for the Asking: Liquid Gold
Story and image by Don McGowan
Perhaps the reason I am so attracted to the music of a flute is that the notes of this instrument remind me of tumbling water. And one of the primary reasons I am so intensely drawn to these old mountains of the blue mists is because of my love of water. Who knows, maybe there actually is some kernel of
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New Assassin Bugs Discovered to Exist in the Smokies
By Frances Figart, Creative Services Director
Since 1998, nearly 11,000 species have been added to the park’s diversity checklist—and behind each discovery is a unique story. Will Kuhn made one such discovery earlier this year in his office at Discover Life in America (DLiA), which manages the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI
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Sorghum Inspired Recipes from Smokies Area Chefs
Chefs from Blackberry Farm (Walland, TN) and Knox Mason (Knoxville, TN) generously shared sorghum-inspired recipes from their own collection. Click the recipe cards to download.
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Share Your Photos for Science! DLiA to Host Talk on Community Science SnapIt & MapIt Project
Photo by Valerie Polk
Did you know you could be using your phone to help study the exceptional biodiversity in Great Smoky Mountains National Park?
Join Discover Life in America (DLiA) Science and Research Director Will Kuhn on Friday, October 16, from 1 to 3 p.m. for a crash course on Species SnapIt & MapIt—a unique community
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Sorghum Season Comes to the Smokies
For many families living in and around the Smokies before the creation of the national park, fall was the season for harvesting and processing sorghum syrup—a sweet treat that shines particularly when combined with butter on hot biscuits and pancakes or mixed in porridge and grits.
Today, the smell of simmering syrup still summons
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Come one, come all to the Salamander Ball
By Steve Kemp
Longtime park partner Discover Life in America (DLIA) has announced its first-ever Salamander Ball on Wheels! This fun, family-friendly event will take place at the Parkway Drive-in Theater in Maryville, TN, on Thursday, October 15, 2020. Activities will include live music by guitarist Bill Mize, videos highlighting DLIA’s
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