News & Updates

A wayward salamander appeared in the Lodge one recent morning. She was motionless with her head up, blinking in the sunlight. Morning tasks for two of us came to a halt...

By Robb Turner Many readers who have enjoyed the garden tour at Southern Highlands Reserve will remember that most of the rock there was hauled up the mountain to the...

By Terry Ashley Plants and animals have developed astonishing adaptations to ensure survival in the face of changing environmental conditions. From early stages of...

With Director of Horticulture Eric Kimbrel As winter sets in, SHR staff and volunteers are cleaning seeds like a bunch of squirrels as snow falls with temperatures...

With Director of Horticulture Eric Kimbrel With groundbreaking for our new greenhouse scheduled this fall, we are emptying out the hoop houses and planting everything...

By Terry Ashley You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to conclude that plants are different from animals. Animals travel: they swim, fly, crawl, climb, run. Plants...

By Mary Miller We who call Transylvania County home know it can be a very wet place. It is the Land of Waterfalls, after all, and much of it is a temperate rainforest....

Volunteers play a critical role in helping us achieve our mission at Southern Highlands Reserve. Since launching a formal volunteer program in 2019, we have grown...

By Rowan Nygard Often, fungi are overlooked when we consider the rich biodiversity of the world around us. By design it’s easy to miss them. As a result, there are...