A Visit to the Top of Old Smoky” with Stephen Lyn Bales
Register for Zoom Link and a Copy of the Recording
Thursday May 7th, 7pm on Zoom
Join us on May 7 for an hour-long vacation! The highest elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains are like another world. The environment is more like Canada than the East Tennessee Valley! Consequently, you find different birds there, species like ravens, saw-whet owls, peregrine falcons, black-capped chickadees, winter wrens, and many more. We will meet these birds and discuss where you might find them!
Join the UT Arboretum Society via Zoom as Michelle Campanis, education coordinator at the University of Tennessee Arboretum, and naturalist/author Stephen Lyn Bales give us a tour “On Top of Old Smoky.” This May meeting of the First Thursday Nature Supper Club is free and Zoom a copy of the recording will be sent to everyone who registers. Closed captions are available. You provide your supper and we provide the nature! You do not even have to put on your shoes.
The class is free, but you must register to receive the Zoom link and recording to watch at your own convenience. If you are unable to watch at the scheduled time, the program will be recorded and sent to everyone who registers. Closed captions are available.
This First Thursday Nature Supper Club presentation is co-sponsored by the UT Arboretum Society (UTAS) and the American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE) as part of their ongoing Citizen Science Birding Program.
Please contact Michelle at mcampani@utk.edu for any questions or registration issues.
.
Photo by: Clare Dattilo
Saw-whet owls are even smaller than a screech owl and you may hear them calling at the highest elevations in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Guided Bird Walk: Wednesday, April 15 at 9am
Register to Reserve Your Spot
The American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE) and the University of Tennessee Arboretum are partnering together to launch a new Citizen Science Birding Program to connect community members with hands-on science, local biodiversity, and ongoing conservation efforts. The December Guided Bird Walk will be held at the UT Arboretum on Wednesday, April 15 at 9:00 am. Please meet at the kiosk outside of the UT Arboretum Visitors Center. This guided walk will be led by volunteers from the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge. The event is limited to 25 participants and registration is required. No pets please. Please wear comfortable shoes, bring hiking poles and binoculars if you wish. There will be a limited supply of loaner binoculars on a first come basis at the hike.
“Bird watching is now North America’s second most popular outdoor activity (second only to gardening).” Says AMSE educator Corky Witt. “There must be something to it—so come out with us and find out why!”
For questions or more information please contact Courtney Beard at cbeard@amse.org or 865-385-6081
Location: 901 S. Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830
Creating Beautiful Blues and Patterns: Indigo and Shibori with Jan Quarles
Register to reserve your spot! Class Limit 12
Saturday, May 2, 9am-4pm, Fee $185 includes all supplies
Join us to discover the amazing transformations of indigo, the enchanting natural blue dye that is centuries old! You will learn and create among nature’s beauty in the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge on Saturday, May 2, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In this unique and intimate setting, limited to 12 students, fiber artist Jan Quarles will be your guide for an exploration of indigo and basic shibori – Japanese patternmaking techniques. Pre-registration is required. You’ll learn about the history of indigo dye and how it’s been used around the world. We will use two kinds of indigo vats, and you will learn how to make a small vat for home use. You’ll explore folding and clamping (itajime) and wrapping (arashi), traditional Japanese techniques, and learn other ways to make marks on natural fabrics. The full-day of instruction workshop fee of $185 +fee includes all supplies for your take homes of a silk scarf, two tea towels, an organic bandana, and sampling fabrics, as well as gloves, notes, a list of resources and extensive practice using provided shibori tools. UT Arboretum Society members receive a 10% discount. Wear clothes you don’t mind getting dye on (indigo can be a messy process). You may bring 2 small items of your own to dye as well, bandana, a t-shirt etc. This class is not suitable for children – age 16 and up.
We will begin the day inside our auditorium for a history of indigo dying and then move outside to the covered Sharp Program Shelter for the dye portion of the class. The class is planned from 9am-4pm – please bring your own lunch, snacks, and drinks for the day. No refunds will be available unless the class minimum is met or we are able to fill your spot from a waitlist.
Jan Quarles is a long-time fiber artist who works with the beauty of the natural world. She has worked for over 30 years with fiber and color as a dyer, knitter, spinner and weaver. For the past 10 years she has focused on indigo in its many forms and on botanical printing. She is a former journalist and professor of mass communication in the United States and abroad. She has studied from expert teaching artists at craft schools like Arrowmont, Shakerag, Penland, John C. Campbell and Aya Studio. She studied in Japan in 2023 and in North Carolina in 2024 with her shibori teacher. Jan also collects textiles from around the world and will bring examples from her own indigo collection to share with the class.
For questions or registration issues contact UT Arboretum Education Coordinator, Michelle Campanis at mcampani@utk.edu or 865-483-7277.
Location: UT Arboretum Auditorium, 901 S. Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
