We are blessed with an abundance of wild places and unique wildlife across our region. But how many of us ever get to see a bird of prey up close? Or touch the pelt of a wolf? Or understand the true nature of a black bear? Well, now you can.

Wild South is offering two new programs that directly connect people, especially our youth, to wildlife. Our hope is that a hands-on experience with wildlife will inspire an understanding of, and a responsibility towards, protecting the natural world.

For the past several years, our wildlife education efforts have focused on passive approaches, like publishing Species Spotlight and Nature Rangers articles in our quarterly newsletter and on our website. While these help to raise awareness about the wonders of nature, contact with our natural world makes a longer-lasting impression.

In 2009 Wild South offered two interactive wildlife programs to the public — Mountain Wildlife Days and Wild Things — through the inspiration of John Edwards, a leading community volunteer with a passion for reconnecting children with nature and addressing the issue of “Nature Deficit Disorder.” Mountain Wildlife Days was a hugely successful event that attracted over 500 people from across western NC and beyond.

Held in beautiful Sapphire, NC, adults and children were able to get up close and personal with native wildlife over the course of a weekend. We focused on ways parents, educators, government agencies and community organizations can work together so our youth experience the joy of the outdoors. The event included educational field trips, hikes, nature walks, raptor demonstrations, black bear programs, and even a chance to meet timber wolves, a species long extirpated from our region.

Wild South’s Mountain Wildlife Days is now an annual event. Please mark your calendars for July 16 and 17, pack the kids in the car, and join us at the Sapphire Valley Resort Community Center NC for a fun weekend of learning and adventure.

With the momentum we gained from this experience we created Wild Things, which takes many of the programs showcased at our Mountain Wildlife Days directly into communities. Wild Things brings wildlife educators to western NC schools, churches, and community centers. Educators provide unique and exciting opportunities for children to experience the wonders of nature through hands-on interaction with native wildlife. We have sponsored wolf programs, advised the construction of an interpretive nature trail, and led students on a field trip to see elk in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

John, now our Wildlife Outreach Coordinator, works with Wild South staff on a volunteer basis to coordinate Wild Things and Mountain Wildlife Days. To date, we have introduced more than half a dozen programs led by professional environmental educators in rural communities across western NC, educating hundreds of students about the importance of appreciating and conserving wild things and their habitats.

For more information about either Mountain Wildlife Days or Wild Things, please contact John Edwards at (864) 934-1935 or Ben Prater at (828) 258-2667.