2017 Education Classes for Adults

BGA BUTLER ROOM

Join artist Jocelyn Mathewes as you create beautiful blue botanical art prints using the oldest historic photographic process, cyanotype.

In this workshop, participants will see examples of what’s possible with the cyanotype process and get an introduction to the chemicals and equipment needed. We will create images on both paper and fabric. By the end, attendees will have at least three pieces to take home, a resource list, and knowledge to make their own cyanotypes.  

Jocelyn is a fine artist working in mixed media and photography, living with her husband and three children in Johnson City, Tennessee. Her background includes English literature, graphic design, and commercial photography. Her work has been published in SHOTS and The HAND magazine. Recently, she exhibited at the William King Museum of Art. Her website, www.jocelynmathewes.com, features Jocelyn’s writings on motherhood and the creative process.

Participation is limited to 12 students. All materials are provided, but students are encouraged to bring interesting botanical specimens from their own backyard to use in their art.

Participants must pre-register and pre-pay for classes: 828-252-5190.

Cost for the workshop is $12 for members, $17 for non-members, and a $10 fee per student covers all materials.

Limit 12

BGA BUTLER ROOM

Join artist Jocelyn Mathewes as you create beautiful blue botanical art prints using the oldest historic photographic process, cyanotype.

In this workshop, participants will see examples of what’s possible with the cyanotype process and get an introduction to the chemicals and equipment needed. We will create images on both paper and fabric. By the end, attendees will have at least three pieces to take home, a resource list, and knowledge to make their own cyanotypes.  

Jocelyn is a fine artist working in mixed media and photography, living with her husband and three children in Johnson City, Tennessee. Her background includes English literature, graphic design, and commercial photography. Her work has been published in SHOTS and The HAND magazine. Recently, she exhibited at the William King Museum of Art. Her website, www.jocelynmathewes.com, features Jocelyn’s writings on motherhood and the creative process.

All materials are provided, but students are encouraged to bring interesting botanical specimens from their own backyard to use in their art.

Participants must pre-register and pre-pay for classes: 828-252-5190.

Cost for the workshop is $12 for members, $17 for non-members, and a $10 fee per student covers all materials.

Limit 12

MEET AT VISITOR CENTER

A professor in the UNCA Biology Department, Dr. David Clark is regarded as one of the premier botanists of South American floras. He has discovered dozens of new plant species while exploring for the Smithsonian Institution. David possesses an unpretentious wit and an infectious style of sharing his vast knowledge of plants. Join him for an informative walk through the Gardens – rain or shine!

Participants must pre-register and pre-pay for classes: 828-252-5190.

Cost for the workshop is $12 for members, $17 for non-members.

Limit 12

MEET AT VISITOR CENTER

Join naturalist Ron Lance for this two-hour outdoor study-walk in the Gardens.

Participants will observe trees and shrubs at a most challenging time of year when new growth replaces winter buds, yet most leaves have not matured. Enjoy the early bloomers and hone other springtime tree identification skills on this trek through the BGA. This walk is planned for rain or shine so please dress accordingly.

Ron Lance is Naturalist and Land Manager at Big Ridge, a 3000-acre property near Glenville, partly under conservation easement with the North American Land Trust. He has served previous posts in biology, natural history interpretation, environmental education, forestry, lumber trades, and horticulture for a cumulative 40 years. He has authored or contributed to 18 publications dealing with native woody plants of the Southeastern U.S., including Woody Plants of the Southeastern U.S., a Winter Guide and A Guide to the Hawthorns of the Southeastern United States. He served on the Board of the International Oak Society for 12 years, including posts as President, Secretary, Journal Editor and Conference Chair. He completed Wildlife Management and Lumber Specialist degrees at Haywood Community College.

Participants must pre-register and pre-pay for classes: 828-252-5190.

Cost for the workshop is $12 for members, $17 for non-members.

MEET AT VISITOR CENTER

Join us for an easy, early morning bird walk in the Gardens led by ornithologist Simon Thompson. As we look for, listen to, and enjoy the spring birds, we’ll learn to recognize their songs and calls. Binoculars and field guides are helpful but not necessary.

Simon owns Ventures Birding Tours, a bird watching and natural history tour company based in Asheville, NC. An international birding expert, he leads small groups of naturalists and birders both within North America and to many locations throughout the world. He serves as the ornithologist at Chimney Rock Park where he leads bird walks and has put together the park bird list. He also is active with both the Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society and the newly-formed Henderson County Bird Club. Simon was born in Malta and educated at Writtle Agricultural College in Chelmsford, England, where he received his degree in commercial horticulture in 1984. Prior to taking his degree, he lived in Ghana, Kenya and Lebanon, where his interest in birds began. In addition to traveling extensively in the US, he spent six months in China studying the crane and bird of prey migration as a member of the British “China Crane Watch” expedition.

Participants must pre-register and pre-pay for classes: 828-252-5190.

Cost for the workshop is $12 for members, $17 for non-members.

Limit 15

The Botanical Gardens and numerous local plant vendors will offer a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and flowers. BGA members will get a 10% discount on BGA-grown plants that we sell at the gazebo. As always, this event will take place rain or shine. The Botanical Gardens receives no city, state or federal funds. Instead, we receive our funding exclusively through memberships, donations, gift shop sales and the spring and fall plant sales. Free admission and parking on site or nearby. On Saturday, we have a food stand which features Sharon Turner’s world famous Chocolate Kahlua Cake.

MEET AT VISITOR CENTER

Jay Kranyik will lead this naturalist walk while exploring and demystifying the many facets of scientific nomenclature. Topics will include Latin and Greek word roots. We’ll look at the fantastic clues they reveal, and how color, form, texture, region, and even people show up in both common and scientific names. While many of the examples will be plant-based, you will be able to apply what you learn to all facets of the natural world and life in general. The material will be offered in a fun, non-intimidating way. Join us! Rain or shine – bring rain wear/umbrella.

Kranyik, BGA Garden Manager, Horticulture Chairman, naturalist, and nature photographer, has served the Gardens since 1999. He has botanized widely in the region  co-authored “The flora of Dupont State Forest.”  He is a member of the Cloud Appreciation Society and is a Blue Ridge Parkway “Junior Ranger.”

Participants must pre-register and pre-pay for classes: 828-252-5190.

Cost for the workshop is $12 for members, $17 for non-members.

Limit 24

MEET AT VISITOR CENTER

Michael Hopping, amateur mycologist and mushroom identifier for the Asheville Mushroom Club, will discuss edible mushrooms and their poisonous and sometimes deadly look-alikes.

Hopping will show us the basics of mushroom identification through the help of an online resource that we’ll use to key out mushrooms brought to the meeting. Feel free to bring mushrooms you’ve found. Mushroom field guides are also welcome. Hopping, who has a background in medicine and writing, is currently at work on Mushrooms of the Carolinas, a field guide scheduled for publication in 2018 by the University of North Carolina Press, with mycologists Alan and Arleen Bessette.

Participants must pre-register and pre-pay for classes: 828-252-5190.

Cost for the workshop is $12 for members, $17 for non-members.

BUTLER ROOM

Milkweed plant is the only food source of the monarch caterpillar and the eradication of milkweed throughout North America has really taken a toll on the monarch population. Heather Rayburn, our office administrator and the creator of the MonarchLover.org website, will discuss the milkweed’s critical role in sustaining the fragile Monarch butterfly population.

Heather will also talk about the monarch migration and highlight some of the other interesting creatures found in a milkweed patch. Finally, she will detail what to do when you find a monarch caterpillar so that you will be able to raise its odds of reaching a healthy adulthood. All attendees will get a packet of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) seeds to take home. Heather holds a B.A. and an M.S. in mass communication.

Participants must pre-register and pre-pay for classes: 828-252-5190.

Cost for the workshop is $12 for members, $17 for non-members.

MEET AT VISITOR CENTER

Using native plants in ways that create pleasing and attractive gardens can be as simple as using nature for your inspiration. Combining plants that work together in their natural landscapes, with an eye to what patterns and combinations look just right, with judicious “editing” can elevate both enjoyment of your garden and successful stewardship of your landscape, providing sustenance for you, and fellow inhabitants of your site.

The program will include a presentation (1½ hour), followed by an outdoor walk, using BGA plantings as examples.

Dr. Lisa Wagner served as Director of Education at the South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson University for over 2 decades. She does frequent presentations and classes on topics including gardening for nature, creating a native woodland garden, and native plants for pollinators (now as a volunteer). She does short landscape consultations through her non-profit outreach Natural Garden Design. A plant ecologist (Ph.D. in Botany, UC Berkeley), she’s involved with neighborhood greening efforts, gardening for nature, sustainable gardening, and naturalistic garden design. Her blog, Natural Gardening, www.naturalgardening.blogspot.com reflects her observations about gardening and the natural world.

Participants must pre-register and pre-pay for classes: 828-252-5190.

Cost for the workshop is $12 for members, $17 for non-members.

Limit 24

The Botanical Gardens and numerous local plant vendors will offer a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and flowers for fall planting. BGA members will get a 10% discount on BGA-grown plants that we sell at the gazebo. As always, this event will take place rain or shine. The Botanical Gardens receives no city, state or federal funds. Instead, we receive our funding exclusively through memberships, donations, gift shop sales and the fall and spring plant sales. Free admission and parking on site or nearby. We also have a food stand which features Sharon Turner’s world famous Chocolate Kahlua Cake.

Note: If  you would like to donate garden tools, books or other interesting items to be sold in the rummage sale, bring them by the Visitor Center 10 am to 4 pm, Monday-Friday and 12-4 on Sundays once the Visitor Center is open for the season. You’ll get a gold star in our book.

MEET AT VISITOR CENTER

Join us for an easy, early morning bird walk in the Gardens, led by Aaron Steed, expert birder and ornithologist. As we look for, listen to, and enjoy the fall birds, we’ll learn to recognize their songs and calls. Field guides helpful but not required. Bring your binoculars.

Aaron Steed has had a passion for birds and wildlife his entire life. Originally from Wilmington, NC, Aaron studied biology at UNC-Asheville and has since worked on numerous avian research projects in Kansas, Texas, Arizona and California, primarily focusing on endangered and threatened species. He currently works as a guide for Ventures Birding Tours in Asheville, designing and leading birding trips throughout the Carolinas, the USA, and Central America. Though Aaron loves traveling and birding new places, he’ll always be drawn to the wonderful biodiversity of the Southern Appalachians.

Participants must pre-register and pre-pay for classes: 828-252-5190.

Cost for the workshop is $12 for members, $17 for non-members.

MEET AT VISITOR CENTER

Jason Rodrigue, a forester and silviculturist with the U.S. Forest Service, will show us how to identify trees in the winter. This involves learning to identify trees by bark, twig arrangement and growth type. Jason holds degrees in environmental biology, resource management and forest soils. Jason’s work includes the management of forest communities to maintain and improve their health, enhance habitats, restore and protect desired conditions, and supply resources to local economies.

Participants must pre-register and pre-pay for classes: 828-252-5190.

Cost for the workshop is $12 for members, $17 for non-members.

Limit 15