The 2023 outreach programming season is in full swing! Since the beginning of the year, we have presented several wildlife, nature, energy, and EV programs all over WNC and worked on improving our classroom. Below are some highlights:

Tips: Increase magnification to 125- 150 for the best experience and click photos to expand.

Classroom Update

Jim built new shelves for the classroom’s storage room and we teamed up to install them with some help from Momentum staff.

We used Jim’s Tesla Model Y as a “truck” to tote the shelving components to the classroom.

Tesla cars are awesome – but ENP really needs a dedicated work truck/community outreach and service vehicle – more on this later in this update.

These new super strong shelves make our storage room far more organized and much safer for our students.

THANK YOU JIM HARDY for your expert assistance, ability, and guidance with this and all our projects – without you, we could not have made any of this happen.

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Classroom Solar Project Update

This spring we received a fantastic donation from Mike Dietham of SolFarm Solar Co in Asheville, NC

– a new home energy storage battery!!-

This valuable battery – when coupled with two more just like it – will allow us to capture much of the excess solar-generated electricity we produce from our classroom array, and store it for use at night, and during the frequent grid power outages we experience in our remote location.

THANK YOU MIKE

and

SOLFARM SOLAR

for this most generous donation!!

That’s Mike Dietham of SolFarm using his 100% electric forklift to load the battery module onto a trailer.

The trailer was attached to the “Mighty” Bolt – ENP’s outreach EV.

We feel it is so very appropriate that a home storage battery, donated by a locally-owned and operated solar installation company, is destined to be used to store excess solar-produced clean energy for an environmental education center powered by solar energy produced by the center’s own solar modules, and that strives to teach ways we can make better energy choices by using locally-produced and renewably-harvested, energy sources – such as the solar panels that power our classroom. Along with all that awesome, the Mighty Bolt outreach EV is charged (fueled) by some of that excess solar-produced electricity produced by the very same classroom solar array that this big battery will be coupled with. This will make our classroom 100% net zero, energy secure, and able to withstand any grid outages – and it may even allow us to go completely off-grid!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention – the trailer is locally produced by Sylvan Sport – so cool!

Think globally, act locally.

Several students visiting our classroom on a field trip from Dr. Cabin’s class at Brevard College assisted me with the installation of this battery into its final location in our classroom/lab –

THANK YOU ALL!

However, this big storage battery system is not yet online and functioning. To make this system fully operational we need to secure the donation of two more LG RESU 16 Prime battery units and/or raise the funds needed to acquire them. If you are interested in assisting us in completing this third and final phase of this project, which my students, volunteers, and community supporters started over 6 years ago, please do contact us or visit our donation page.

All donations to our 501c3 are tax deductible.

**–UPDATE–**

We recently received an amazing grant that will allow us to purchase another LG RESU Prime 16 battery unit – we are now 2/3 of the way to our goal!! Thank you Lake Toxaway Charities for this wonderful and most generous support!!

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Outreach Programming Update

We have participated in several local renewable energy and Electric Vehicle (EV) community education programs and renewable energy education/demonstration events in our county of residence and in neighboring Henderson and Buncombe Counties with the Blue Ridge EV Club, Conserving Carolina, and the Transylvania Creation Care Fellowship. What follow are a few photos from the first half of the 2023 outreach programming season.

We started off the year in February with an EV program for Conserving Carolina.

All the participants were very interested and engaged in learning all about the joys and adaptations of driving electric.

The next photo is from a Solar Energy Fair organized by the Transylvania Creation Care Fellowship. In attendance were three local solar installation companies, several EV drivers, and Steve and the SS NaSA PoD from ENP. Our goal was to spread the word about solar and EV technologies available to individuals and businesses as a way to help everyone become better stewards of our shared environmental life support system – nature.

At the Drive Electric Earth Day event, over 70 EVs of various makes and models were in attendance. We had a steady flow of people interested in learning about driving electric and it was a grand success! Look in the center distance for The PoD – its micro-grid provided solar-sourced electricity to run the PA/sound system during the event and charge a participant’s EV – so cool!

At the Earth Day EV show in Hendersonville, NC, I watched as The Air Avenger and The Smog Queen “battled” for the health of our shared environment.

The Air Avenger won the duel – now the rest of us need to follow his lead and do what is right.

During normal working hours, you will find these two mild-mannered individuals working hard fighting for our shared environment at Land of the Sky Regional Council and the NC Department of Air Quality.

__________

We visited Oskar Blues Brewery which hosted our spring fundraiser for their “Making a Difference Monday” event series.

At our fundraiser, we joined forces with Adventure Grown Guides and several local EV drivers to share our knowledge and passion for our causes on this beautiful blustery 1st of May. The fundraiser was a success, getting us started on our way to raising the support needed to complete Phase Three of our ongoing classroom solar array project and our new outreach vehicle fundraiser project.

Wonderful long-time ENP volunteer extraordinaire Paulina sharing one of our friendly reptilian ambassadors – Elongated Muskadine – with a young friend.

The awesome crew from Adventure Grown Guides shared their guide service offerings with visitors.

Please contact them for all your adventuring needs when in WNC.

__________

In mid-May, we had a wonderful weekend outing sharing nature and science knowledge with hundreds of interested festival-goers at the wonderful

Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF)

High above our camp

We had a great location

So much fun!

Learning is fun!

Cade and Ashley

The PoD’s microscope station is a wonderful educational attraction!

Below are some beautiful diatoms some of our visitors found under our microscopes. They found them in lake water they collected from just 50 feet away in Lake Eden – so very cool!

The wonderful ENP volunteer crew and our LEAF camp.

We also presented an evening program for the wonderful folks of the Sherwood Forest Community in Cedar Mountain, NC at the Robin Hood Barn.

It was a wonderful event where Meredith, Jim, and I shared our passion for nature and wildlife conservation – especially for the more misunderstood creatures of the fields and forests such as snakes of all kinds and the ENP mascot – the Eastern box turtle.

Many heaps of gratitude to Billy and Gail, Meredith and Mary Beth, and all the wonderful residents of the Cedar Mountain and the Sherwood Forest communities who have been some of ENP’s most loyal project supporters since our inception over 15 years ago – you are all heroes!

PHOTOGRAPH BY TIM ROBISON

Learn more about the Eastern box turtle in this amazing article featuring ENP in a recent publication of

Our State magazine

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A new ambassador for his species

In early July we received a new juvenile Opossum joey. This young marsupial had been found by a friend in a forest after a stormy night. It was small, weak, and clearly needed some assistance if it was going to survive. My friend is also an animal advocate so he and his family took the little orphan into their home and took great care of him until he was ready to be released. His time with the family and their pets imprinted the little Opossum on the human way of life so he could no longer be released into “the wild.” This is why he is now living under our care at the ENP/Trails Science nature center. His name is Taylor Slow and he is so incredibly friendly and everyone who has met him loves him so much and gains a new appreciation and understanding of the most important role the Opossum plays in a healthy ecosystem.

Photo by Steve Atkins of Fox Cove Photography

Taylor now lives in the Possum Palace at our classroom teaching everyone he meets about the awesome ‘possum so please let us know if you would like to visit and we will be sure to arrange it 🙂

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SS NaSA PoD Update

This spring we installed a few new ENP-appropriate decals on the SS NaSA PoD – THANK YOU to our friends at Peppermint Narwhal for donating the wonderful artwork for The PoD’s decals allowing us to make all this awesome happen! Please visit Peppermint Narwhal and check out all the amazing things they have to offer!

We also met up with Asher and family, who are some of the SS NaSA PoD’s biggest supporters. During our time together Asher took the opportunity to sign The PoD’s hull.

It was so wonderful to see Asher and family again after all this time. We are so grateful for their contribution to this magical mobile classroom project – without them, none of this would have ever been possible! THANK YOU AGAIN, Asher and family – we at ENP are eternally grateful for your generous and most wonderful support!!!

______________________

Speaking of The SS NaSA PoD, ENP also received a most generous donation of a special electronic component called an Autotransformer from Bob Harris of Black Bear Solar Institute.

I have installed this fascinating device which now allows the PoD’s storage batteries to be charged via “shore power” using almost any electric vehicle charger of the J-1772 variety. These charging units (AKA EVSE) are common in many parts of our service area, therefore, if the sun is not out and/or our battery bank is low we can simply pull into an EV charger, plug in, and fill up the PoD’s batteries on locally-sourced electrons – isn’t science, technology, and engineering amazing! (The PoD is also able to charge via the standard 30 and 50-amp campground connectors and 120VAC.)

Below is a photo of The PoD charging up via a J1772 EV connector.

The PoD is now functionally complete and fully operational. THANK YOU to everyone who made this amazing mobile environmental outreach classroom possible – you are all heroes of the highest order!

_____________________________________________________

We are now working very hard to raise the funds needed to acquire an all-electric pickup to act as a tow vehicle for the PoD, and serve as a service vehicle for our future ENP community assistance program. Below are a few renderings of what this could look like once we raise the support needed to make it happen.

(not to scale)

The PoD and a Tesla Cybertruck (Steve’s favorite)

The PoD and a Rivian R1T EV pickup

The PoD and a Ford F-150 Lightning EV pickup

As of 8/2/23, we have raised close to $4000, but we still have a VERY long way to go. If you are interested in supporting our wonderful volunteer-operated 501c3 organization with this, or any of our other projects, please consider helping us reach our goals with a donation of any size, form, or function. Read all the details of this campaign on the New Outreach Vehicle Fundraiser page on our website, visit our GoFundMe campaign, or the donate page on our website. Or if you prefer to send a check via “snail” mail, just contact us and we will be glad to give you our mailing address.

Please consider sharing this information with others – THANK YOU.

______________________

We are now well into our very busy summer camp programming season of presentations at camps, events, Trails, and private homes all over the WNC area.

Below is a slideshow following the first half of 2023.

Asher investigates some pond water under the microscope
We love The PoD!
Microscope fun at UFBRF!
Paulina sharing Slip the Rat snake with visitors at the Upper French Broad River Festival (UFBRF)
Rudy sharing solar and EV knowledge and personal experience with a visitor at the UFBRF
At the UFBRF
The bio-artifact table
More artifacts and a live Copperhead – the snake was released into the wild later in the day
At the UFBRF – we shared nature knowledge and teamed up with the Blue Ridge EV Club to share renewable energy and EV knowledge with festival attendees. NOTE: The Tesla is charging via The PoD’s solar array and, like The PoD, the golf cart is a solar powered mobile microgrid!
Afternoon program at Camp Merrie Woode – can you find The PoD?
At Merrie Woode
Meeting Charlie at Merrie Woode
Paulina sharing nature knowledge at Bound for Glory Camp
Steve and Slip, Rylee and Paisley at Camp Illahee
Nature class @ Camp Illahee
Rex the Redfoot tortoise sporting his new Tile tracker at Camp Illahee
Steve and Taylor
High over the forest – can you find The PoD and our classroom*? *Look for the corner of the solar array.
At the Lake Toxaway Nature Park in July
Our display at the Lake Toxaway Nature Park
High above the The PoD at the Lake Toxaway Nature Park
Looking over Lake Toxaway
Rylee and Taylor Slow the Opossum at Camp Carolina
Opening day program at Camp Carolina
High over Camp Merri Woode
Steve and Taylor

That is all for now, look for our end-of-year report in December.

If you are interested in having us visit your camp, school, home, office, or event in the WNC, Upstate SC, or East Tennessee areas – please contact us and we will work to make it happen.

THANK YOU ALL for working with us to make Earthshine Nature Programs possible!

Note: Any/all advertisements found within this post are not endorsed by ENP.

NaSA PoD Update #10

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Stevo

On May 18th we completed the primary construction and retrofitting of the PoD.

On May 20th my wife Marian, our little terrier Tange, and I took the PoD on a 200-mile round trip “shakedown cruise” to a friend’s farm in a remote, mountainous region of our home state.

The PoD towed perfectly behind its current tow vehicle – a 2013 Honda Pilot. At one point we had to make a pit stop at a massive truck port. Can you find the PoD in the below photo?

It is very tiny compared to all the huge trucks.

Once we arrived at my friend Rusty’s house we set up camp similar to the way we would set things up at a multi-day festival event.

Over the several days the three of us lived in the PoD – I am very happy to say that all the PoD’s systems worked exactly as we engineered them. The heart of the PoD – the 1780 Watt solar array and Victron electronics/battery storage system – provided us with loads of clean energy without even a hiccup. The original and updated wiring, electronics, and plumbing also worked perfectly. We were also able to test the PoD’s waterproofing when we had almost a full day of soaking rains giving the PoD a good leak test – and I am very happy to report that it passed with almost zero leaks. The only leak we found was a small seep on one of the windows in the main bunk area. The leak stopped on its own but just to be safe I will seal up the frame of the window in question with a bit of silicone.

While on our adventure we were lucky to be able to experience one of Rusty’s Honeybee hives swarming – it was a truly amazing spectacle to behold (“beehold” – hmmm…holding bees is not recommended).

On the return trip, we stopped for lunch and parked the PoD (in the center of the next image) in a lot next to a building with its rooftop covered in solar and two electric vehicle charge points (not in the photo but just off to the right) – it is really nice to be a part of a clean energy-powered future.

The only hard part to take during the entire shakedown cruise was paying for the expensive petro-chemical fuel needed to pull the PoD over the mountains. One day soon, in the not-so-distant future – we will replace the gas-guzzling Honda tow vehicle with an all-electric truck of some design, and then this project will truly be complete.

While on the “shakedown cruise” we made a documentary of the PoD on its first adventure – enjoy.

With the success of our shakedown cruise, the PoD is mostly complete and functional so it is to a point where it is actually useable for the purpose it was intended.

To that end goal, our first official outreach program using the PoD will take place on June 5th, 2022!

THANK YOU to everyone who has supported and is continuing to support this most unique environmental outreach education project – we are eternally grateful for your most generous support. You are all the greatest of heroes!!!

This amazing outreach education project will serve to inspire and educate all the curiosity seekers who discover it. But to do this right – we do still need your support. The next steps in working toward the completion of the PoD are outlined below and will most likely occur in the following order:

Installing the habitat pods.
Attachment of the external flat screen monitor and its support arm structure.
Installing the microscope station.*
Stocking the field guide library.*
Updating the curtains and cushions with an appropriate theme.
Installing the 120/240 Volt “shore power” service.
Painting the PoD.*
Installing the composting toilet.*

*These are our remaining needs. If you are interested in assisting us with a donation of these final items and/or the support needed for us to be able to complete this project – please do contact us directly or feel free to donate via the links below.

Please consider supporting this project via the donate link on our website

or our GoFundMe page: www.gofundme.com/lets-build-a-mobile-outreach-classroom

If you do choose to assist us in making this project a reality, this unique mobile classroom will greatly benefit the nature, environment, and wildlife conservation education, evidence-supported science, reality, common sense, and renewable energy awareness education for all our outreach program participants in the WNC region as well as our wonderful students at Trails Carolina and Trails Momentum who will benefit from the unique wonders it will contain while they are in class and in the field on expedition.

We will be sure to share any and all updates in posts on this blog, in our end-of-year newsletter, and on our YouTube channel so please consider subscribing to stay up to date on this wonderful project.

The ENP NaSA PoD and the Mighty Bolt EV (our primary outreach vehicle) are owned by ENP (501c3) and used primarily as the ENP company outreach vehicle and mobile outreach classroom for ENP and our education partners Trails Carolina and Trails Momentum. They will be powered and fueled primarily with cleanly-generated electricity provided by the ENP/Trails student-built classroom solar array and the NaSA PoD’s rooftop solar array. They will both serve as outstanding teaching tools for our Trails students and ENP outreach program participants.

Please note: any/all ads that appear within or below this post are not provided, supported, or endorsed by ENP nor are we supported in any way by these ads – they are an automated feature of WordPress.com.

NaSA PoD Project Update #9

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Stevo

Over the last month, we have worked very hard on the PoD and we are happy to report that it is mostly complete! Recently we took it on its shakedown cruise – but before I tell you how that went I would like to give you a breakdown of the progress we have made since our last update. I could show several static photographs but instead, I have decided to share with you video update #2 that goes over all of the changes to the interior since the last update as well as a unique time-lapse of much of the work we have completed over the last 5 weeks or so. I hope you enjoy watching this update in video format but please note – it covers a lot of ground so it is a bit long at just over 1/2 an hour.

In our next update and video, we will cover the latest modifications to the exterior of the PoD as well as how it performed on its “shakedown cruise.”

This amazing education project will serve to inspire and educate all the curiosity seekers who discover it. But to do this right – we still need your support. If you choose to assist us in making this project a reality, this unique mobile classroom will greatly benefit the nature and wildlife conservation education, evidence-supported science, reality, common sense, and renewable energy awareness education for all our outreach program participants in the WNC region as well as our wonderful students at Trails Carolina and Trails Momentum who will benefit from the unique wonders it will contain while they are in class and in the field on expedition.

Please consider supporting this project via the donate link on our website or our GoFundMe page: www.gofundme.com/lets-build-a-mobile-outreach-classroom

The construction and use of this unique mobile classroom will be documented on this blog, in our end-of-year newsletter, and on our YouTube channel.

The ENP NaSA PoD and the Mighty Bolt EV (our primary outreach vehicle) are owned by ENP and used primarily as the ENP company outreach vehicle and mobile outreach classroom for ENP and our education partners Trails Carolina and Trails Momentum. They will be powered and fueled primarily with cleanly-generated electricity provided by the ENP/Trails student-built classroom solar array and the NaSA PoD’s rooftop solar array. They will both serve as outstanding teaching tools for our Trails students, ENP outreach program participants, and everyone we meet via our outreach programs.

THANK YOU to everyone who has supported and is continuing to support this most unique project – you are all the greatest of heroes!!!

Mobile Outreach Classroom Update #1

Posted on February 13, 2022 by Stevo

We have made some progress since our last post where we revealed our new Mobile Outreach Classroom Project that we have named the

ENP NaSA PoD

We had a nice spring-like day so we took the opportunity to install the air circulation/vent fan into the hole we cut into the side of the camper a few weeks ago.

It works very well.

We also installed a new LED light above the kitchenette area.

There is still a bit of trim work to be done around the fan/backsplash.

Cosmo watches through the old fan hole in the roof 🙂

We hope to have the ENP NaSA PoD in service on or before Earth Day 2022!

Stay tuned – there is much more to come.

Please subscribe and follow this blog for more updates.

This is an amazing project that will serve to educate and inspire all the curiosity seekers it meets. But to do this thing right – we do still need your support. If you choose to assist us in making this project a reality, this unique mobile classroom will greatly benefit the nature and wildlife conservation, science, and renewable energy awareness education of all of our outreach program participants in the WNC region as well as our wonderful students at Trails Carolina and Trails Momentum who will all greatly benefit from the wonders it will contain while they are in the field on expedition.

Please consider supporting this project via the donate link on our website or our GoFundMe page: www.gofundme.com/lets-build-a-mobile-outreach-classroom

The construction and use of this unique mobile classroom will be documented on this blog, our end-of-year newsletter, and soon on our YouTube channel.

The ENP NaSA PoD and the Mighty Bolt EV (our primary outreach vehicle) are owned by ENP and used primarily as the ENP company outreach vehicle and mobile outreach classroom. They will be charged and fueled primarily with cleanly generated electricity provided by the ENP/Trails student-built classroom solar array and NaSA PoD’s rooftop solar array. They will serve as outstanding teaching tools for our Trails students, ENP outreach program participants, and everyone we meet via our outreach programs.

Please note: any/all ads that appear below this post are not provided or endorsed by ENP nor are we supported in any way by these ads – they are an automated feature of WordPress.com.

Why I Save Snakes (and turtles, and Opossums…)

Posted on January 8, 2017 by Stevo

In a recent article I read about two women who save rattlesnakes from being killed on roads. These women are heroes to me and their journey has inspired me to put my thoughts down on “paper” and share them with all of you.

snake_final-1-1600x896

Photo by Tim Peacock from the article by W.R.Shaw

Like these amazing women, I have been saving snakes – Rattlesnakes included – and all others as well as turtles, salamanders and Opossums for as long as I have been driving.

With most incidents I quickly move the animal to to the side of the road it is moving toward and then move on without incident. Below are a few videos of some of my rescues when I was toting a video camera.

Box turtles (and all others) need our help across the road

And just last year I rescued one Timber rattlesnake from a garden and then another as I drove home from the first rescue – two in one night!

On another occasion several people worked together to get one small box turtle back to her home in the remote forest.

A copperhead rescue…

Most of the times when I am rescuing wildlife from the road the other drivers will slow down and wait for me to rescue the animal and sometimes even thank me out the window as they pass. I believe most people are really good and helpful and may only hit small creatures crossing the roads on accident.

Other, thankfully more rare times, I have had drivers swerve their vehicles toward me and speed up in the attempt to hit the animal before I get to it.

Once this happened as a friend and I had just pulled over and were jogging toward an Eastern box turtle that was attempting to cross a curvy 2 lane road in the mountains near Boone, NC. As we were approaching the turtle a huge jacked up “redneck” truck with nasty diesel smoke belching from over-sized “hey look at me” loud exhaust pipes swerved past us, accelerated and aimed for the animal. We could only watch as the helpless reptile died in a cartwheel of blood and gore under the giant tires of the infantile driver’s weapon of death. As the truck hit the turtle with a very audible “pop” we could hear the hoots and catcalls from the driver and passenger as they celebrated their murder of an innocent and helpless creature. I am normally a calm, easy going person but at that moment I was so mad and disgusted with humanity that if that driver had turned around I do not know what I would have done but it would not have been nice.

Many years ago I witnessed the aftermath of a similar incident that I recorded in the below video.

In the following video YouTuber Mark Rober conducts an experiment to explore the connections between the species of the animal and how many drivers target them.

In another incident, as I was driving home one warm summer night when I noticed a medium sized Copperhead warming its belly on a remote road. I saw the snake in the last instant and was forced to straddle it with my car to avoid hitting it and then I quickly pulled off the road and jumped out to move it before the approaching vehicle could hit it. Unfortunately the driver was only a few car lengths behind and probably did not see it as they came into the dark curve and hit the snake which quickly died…and so did the 9 babies gestating in its belly.

Yet another time I watched as a driver on a cellphone driving on a busy Florida highway mowed down an adult Gopher tortoise as it tried to cross the road – yet another cartwheel of blood and gore from a protected keystone species. The driver never even tapped her brakes but from my vantage point I have no idea how she did not see the animal.

Other times I have stopped to move road-killed animals off the road in order to not cause the deaths of the scavengers that come to feed on them. When I have moved rattlesnakes they almost always have a missing rattle (see the video below in which I find just that). – This is evidence that the murderer took the snake’s rattle as a trophy of their conquest of the “fearsome deadly beast” they now probably brag about to their friends to boost their childish machismo at the expense of another creatures life – now you see how I feel about trophy hunting.

In the third installment in the Sad Snake series I encounter a cold blooded murder scene and I get a bit heated at the insanity and ignorance of the Human species.

Then there’s the type of people that swerve in the attempt to maybe intimidate me into;

A. Dropping the animal and running so they can kill it with their rolling death machine.

B. Assisting with their deadly plans by throwing it under their wheels so they can kill it with their rolling death machine.

C. Possibly kill us both with their rolling death machine because they are holding onto some misplaced ancient dogma that insists that snakes are “evil” and anyone who associates with them must also be “evil” so it would be appropriate to kill both of the “evil” creatures at the same time. Really? Yes, there are misguided people like that still out there walking and driving the earth – some of them are even toting guns – yikes!

It is truly sad that in this day of scientific breakthroughs leading to technological achievements that allow us to drive great distances in machines of science (cars, planes, trains, ships, rockets etc..), connect with others at the speed of light using devices of science (smartphones, internet, satellites, computers,…), and the fact that many of us owe our very lives to the findings of science by way of medications derived from snake venom such as snake bite antivenin and some cancer and pain treatments and more and even more). Watch the video below for more on this.

Crofab antivenin is used in treating the bite of pitvipers. The video below shows how venom is extracted from Rattlesnakes before used to produce lifesaving antivenin.

Here is a another good, but a bit over dramatized, video of how Crofab is used to treat the bite of Pitvipers.

Then there is the simple fact that through thousands of years of direct observation and the findings of science, that we now know for absolute fact that snakes eat lots of rodents (mice, rats, voles etc…) and that these rodents, if not kept in check by snakes and other predators, would overpopulate destroying our crops and spreading deadly disease–watch an example in the following video.

Rodents directly and indirectly carry or play a part in the vectoring diseases that sicken and kill humans the world over in huge numbers (Bubonic plague, Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Hantavirus and Hantavirus Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, Lassa Fever, Leptospirosis, Lymphocytic Chorio-meningitis, Rat Bite Fever, Salmonella, Arenaviridae, Tularemia need I go on…), so logic and reason would dictate that we should never ever choose to willingly harm a snake and we should in fact honor and protect them if only for the rodent removal service they provide our homes, farms, forests and fields thereby keeping us fed and healthy.

Many, like the women in the article I noted at the start of this posting, and others like John Sealy, Alan Cameron, William H. Martin, Bruce Means, and organizations like The Orianne Society, The Center for Snake Conservation, The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Davidson River Herpetology Lab, and many bloggers like the Wandering Herpetologist, Living Alongside Wildlife, the Scaly Adventures crew and myself are all working to share the facts, truths, and benefits of snakes and other reptiles with you, our readers.

Sadly it seems that there remain many good and bad people, or should I say “Sheeple,” who choose to live their lives blindly following ancient or ignorant beliefs rather than truth, reason, logic, knowledge, and the findings of science.

I feel sorry for these people.

I feel sorry for them because they are so closed to the facts that their actions of killing snakes and other wildlife end up make this thing called life harder for us all – from the snake crossing the road to the rest of us just trying to make a living.

Yes, I rescue snakes and other wildlife from roads, homes, and wherever else they are in need. I rescue them because they need rescuing from the bullying humans who are BY FAR more dangerous and deadly than the snakes they target with their cars, hoes, guns, shovels, and fear driven ancient beliefs and venom spitting narrow-minded hatreds. I also choose to make a difference by teaching the scientific truths — based on reason, knowledge, and experimentation as well as thousands of years of collective observation by countless scientists, naturalists, animal lovers and farmers all over the planet — to anyone and everyone who will listen. I do this through my science classes, my small nonprofit education and outreach organization Earthshine Nature Programs, my YouTube Channel and this blog.

Please, do not be a sheeple. Before you choose to harm or kill a snake, do some simple research and learn more about the creature who’s life you are preparing to end.

BTW, yes I have been bitten by a Rattlesnake and no, I did not kill it in vengeance – in fact, I let it go so it could eat more rodents. Oh and thank you science for saving the finger that I am using to type these words with antivenin derived from snake venom and the findings of science.

I leave you with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi – “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it’s animals are treated. “

Earthshine Nature Programs Fall Benefit Events

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Stevo

BENEFIT EVENT #1

Date: October 01, 2016

Time: 1-4pm

Location: SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY Hendersonville, NC

BENEFIT EVENT #2

Date: October 03, 2016

Time: 5-8pm

Location: OSKAR BLUES BREWERY

Brevard, NC

Come to one or both events, bring the family and friends and join us as Sanctuary and Oskar Blues as both wonderful establishments will be donating a portion of taproom sales during the events to

Earthshine Nature Programs!

Learn all about our wildlife education, rehabilitation, conservation, outreach, science and renewable energy programming.

Meet many of our education animals including Rex and Rosie the Tortoises, Scar and Slip the Rat snakes, and Ashley the Boa Constrictor and more!

Help us raise funds for our newest project at our science, nature and wildlife rehabilitation and conservation center – a 5.3 kW solar energy system that will help us power most of the heating, lighting, and habitat life support systems for our education and rehabilitation animals as well as and the lighting, audio visual and computing systems for our classroom…and charge our all electric Nissan Leaf outreach vehicle with 100% renewably generated power from the sun!

*Learn more about our solar energy project in the detailed description at the bottom of this blog post*

Meet special guest Pierce Curren of TV’s Scaly Adventures and hear all about his adventures with his family sharing his love of reptiles and nature with everyone he meets!

Local artists will be on hand offering their unique wildlife and nature themed art, photography, and jewelry with a portion of the proceeds directly supporting our work.

Steve and friends will start off the event with a one of a kind music jam with indigenous instruments such as the didgeridoo, flute and drum. If you play, please bring an instrument and join in on the fun!

At the Oskar Blues event we will also have an Electric Vehicle car show where you can learn all about and maybe even take a ride in an electric car! Members of the Blue Ridge Electric Vehicle Club will have several sleek EVs on display including possibly the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S, and BMW i3 on display!

Come learn how you can go electric and kick gas!

All donations to our 501c3 are tax deductible.

Receive updates from our programs on Facebook at Earthshine Nature Programs and on the Earthshine Nature Blog at www.earthshinenature.wordpress.com

If you are unable to make it to one of our fundraisers and would still like to support us, please feel free to visit our Amazon wishlist or the donate page on our website where you will find a Paypal donate link.

THANK YOU

Earthshine Nature Programs is a 501c3 nonprofit wildlife conservation and rehabilitation, nature and science education organization, and is a separate business entity from Earthshine Discovery Center.

Please support our

Solar Energy Project

Earthshine Nature Programs (501c3) and Trails Science is working to develop an environmental education classroom and wildlife rehabilitation facility that is powered by the sun! Our goal with this project is to drastically reduce our carbon footprint and dependence on fossil fuels by taking advantage of the most renewable energy source – our nearest star.

This 5.3 kilowatt photovoltaic solar array will not only supply our classroom with renewably generated power but it will be a bold teaching tool for the students of Trails Carolina, The Academy at Trails Carolina, and our visitors. It will offer our students a myriad of learning opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education, environmental education, and conservation courses. It will also provide web interface technologies that will allow the system to be monitored in real-time by students in class or from anywhere on the planet!

Once online, this solar farm will not only provide much of the power used by the science classroom but it will also provide enough solar generated electricity to power our nonprofit outreach vehicle, an all-electric Nissan Leaf.

Our students and visitors will benefit greatly from the applied use of renewable energy technologies in class by experiencing the first hand functioning of real world, renewable energy applications such as solar-electric power, and electric vehicles. In our unique solar powered science classroom they will bust through the negative myths often associated with these technologies by assisting with the maintenance of, and studying of the most up-to-date systems in class and on class field trips to local renewable energy installations and events. After leaving Trails our graduates will be more up to date, connected, and ready to accept the reality of, and make use of, sustainable clean energy power and transportation systems to power their lives and their futures.

To make this grand vision a reality we have partnered with Bob Harris of Black Bear Solar Institute (BBSI) in Towensend, Tennessee with the goal to install a state of the art off-grid solar array that will allow the Trails Science and Nature Center to one day become fully self-powered by the sun!

The students and I have already begun site preparations and will begin installing the solar array in the early fall of 2016 and depending on granting/donation support we hope to have the system online by mid-November if not before.

The following outline shows what components we have already received and the yet to be sourced components. Two of the three primary components needed to make this project a reality have already been donated – they include;

1.The Solar Modules (Panels). 22 240watt solar modules – Donated by Frank Marshall of FLS Energy, a local utility scale solar installation company in Asheville, NC. Approximate value: $10,000

2.The charge controllers. Two (2) Morningstar 600 Volt charge controllers with DC disconnects – Donated by Bob Harris of Black Bear Solar Institute in Towensend Tennessee. Value: $3,600. These devices will monitor the output of the solar modules and the needs of the batteries and regulate the power as the batteries need it. They are “smart” devices so we will be able to monitor their status from anywhere with an internet connection.

3.Electrical Panels, Wiring and Conduit for Solar Control System. Donated by Bob Harris of Black Bear Solar Institute in Towensend Tennessee. Value: $600.00

4.Aluminum Racking for solar panels. Donated by Bob Harris of Black Bear Solar Institute in Towensend Tennessee. Value: $3,922

Our remaining needs to make this classroom solar project a reality

The battery storage – yet to be acquired. This project will rely on 24 Trojan T145 EHPT 6 Volt golf cart batteries to store power for use at night and on cloudy days.

Need: 24 Trojan T145 EHPT 6 volt batteries. Estimated cost: $5256. Donate via our wish list on Amazon or special ordered locally from Batteries+Bulbs in Asheville to save on shipping costs.

2. The power inverter – yet to be acquired.

The remaining primary component for this system to work as planned is the power inverter. This device ties everything together, converts DC to AC power, and is the “brains” of the system keeping everything that needs power running smoothly and efficiently.

Need: 1 Aims 6000 Watt 48V Pure Sine Power Inverter / Grid Charger / Transfer Switch PICOGLF60W48V

Cost: $1392.00 via: http://invertersrus.com/product/aims-picoglf60w48v120v/

You may also donate this unit using our wishlist on Amazon.com

3. AIMS Power Remote Switch with LCD Monitoring Screen

This device will allow the students and I to monitor the solar power system remotely from the classroom.

Cost $139.00

Donate via our Amazon wish list.

Hidden Costs: $2,500 – These are the unseen costs that will inevitably come up during construction and upgrades to the ENP/Trails Science and Nature Center. Should this not be needed immediately, it will be deposited into the ENP account and used for future needs.

Primary Supporters of Our Solar Project

Black Bear Solar Institute

Bob Harris – Executive Director

www.blackbearsolarinstitute.org

Bob Harris:bob.harris@blackbearsolarinstitute.org

Bob understands the value solar holds to the future and has generously donated many of the components needed to construct this system as well as new, energy efficient computers for the classroom and is providing pro bono guidance, technical expertise, and installation assistance to see this project to fruition.

FLS Energy

www.flsenergy.com

Frank Marshall: frank@flsenergy.com

Frank has graciously taken my students and I on guided tours of local grid scale solar installations that his company has installed for Duke Energy. He also sees the value in supporting solar energy education for our students and has generously donated 20 new 240 watt solar modules to our classroom’s solar project.

Jim Hardy

Jim is a master carpenter, passionate educator, Sierra Club member and founder of Charge Transylvania County. Jim is also a wildlife advocate and drives a fully electric vehicle. Jim will also be providing pro bono guidance, construction technical expertise, and installation assistance to see this project to fruition.

Email: jh3@citcom.net

Trails Carolina

Supports the project and its great value to the students and the organization.

The Academy at Trails Carolina

Supports the project and its great value to the students and the organization.

Jewell Mimms donated $1000 – THANK YOU!!

DONATION PERKS

Option 1: Donate to our project and be part of something amazing that will truly make a difference in the education of countless students, campers, and visitors to our science and nature center over the lifetime of the project!

In our great and humble thanks to those that have and will assist us with this grand education and conservation undertaking, the students and I will create a one of a kind informational plaque that outlines the benefits of the project, all the student groups that worked together to construct the project, and lists all of the primary supporters* of the project. The large version of this plaque will forever be proudly displayed on the solar array for all future students and visitors to see. A smaller version of the plaque will also be permanently mounted in the classroom alongside the solar array’s information and monitoring station.

SUPPORTER DONATION LEVELS

Level 1. Up to $100 Charged Particle

Level 1. $100 – $200 Shiny Soldier*

Level 2. $200 – $500 Captain Photon*

Level 3. $500 – $1000 Ray of Hope*

Level 4. $1000 – $5000 Enlightened Provider*

Level 5. $5000 and up! Lord of Light and Wonder*

As stated above all primary supporters* (unless you choose to opt out) will have their names listed on the solar array commemorative plaques as well as having your names listed on our website and a spacial blog posting.

Option 2 – BONUS PERK: Those that donate $500 or more will receive your choice of either beautiful custom made locally crafted jewelry and/or artwork made with fragments of actual solar cells similar to the ones used in the construction of our solar array. These solar cell fragments are the remains of a very successful classroom solar pilot project that the students and I conducted over two years ago. This project created two student built small solar panels that are still online and providing clean power to one of our animal habitats to this day. This small array will be coupled with the large array to provide even more power to our systems when all is complete.

These one of a kind items will take the form of either;

-Earrings

-Tie/Lapel pin

-Paperweight

-Mixed media artwork

-A combination of the above listed perks

-Or you may submit your own custom suggestion

NOTE: Perks to be granted to supporters after the project officially goes online.

________________________________________________________________

A note from ENP Executive Director Steve O’Neil

I am passionate about sharing my love, curiosity, fascination, and respect for nature, wildlife and wild places with everyone I meet – especially my classroom and outreach programming students and participants. It is the students and children of today that will make the big wildlife, nature, science, and energy decisions of the future. It is my goal to give them the best possible unbiased, science supported, exposure to the best ethics and best practices of these most important disciplines so they will be better informed and ready to change the world for the better as they mature.

I feel that by demonstrating what is possible, and working together toward the common goal of creating and maintaining a better world for all living things today and into the future by using clean technologies that are readily available to us, we will be able to make all of our dreams come true for the betterment and health of us all and in support of the planet that supports us.

I am working very hard to complete all of these upgrades and enhancements under my very small wildlife, nature and science conservation, education, and outreach organization Earthshine Nature Programs (501c3) (Tax ID 27-3465594) which is supported primarily through monetary, resource, and time donations from concerned individuals just like you. To cover the remaining costs I am working on acquiring donations from any and all sources that would like to support us.

Please consider supporting us in any way you are able. If you are unable to support us at this time please, if you know of any possible monetary or component donation sources and/or granting options please do share this document with them.

Every little bit helps us get closer to our grand goals that will serve to upgrade our education animal habitats, classroom equipment, power our education facility and outreach vehicle via the endless energy from the sun, and most importantly – educate and inspire middle and high school aged children on the proper respect and understanding of wildlife and wild places and the wise and responsible application of clean energy resources that we can all use to provide for, and empower our shared futures together on spaceship earth.

Sincerely,

Steve O’Neil

Executive Director of Earthshine Nature Programs (501c3)

and

Naturalist with Trails Carolina and The Academy at Trails Carolina

www.earthshinenature.com

The ENP Summer 2015 Fundraiser was a great success!

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Stevo

The Summer 2015 Earthshine Nature Programs benefit event at Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard, North Carolina was a wonderful success!

THANK YOU to OSKAR BLUES for hosting us for Making a Difference Monday!

THANK YOU to everyone who came out on a scorching hot Monday evening to meet the animals, learn, laugh, take rides in electric vehicles, eat tacos and tamales and drink a few cold ones in support of our wildlife and nature conservation and education projects and programs!

THANK YOU to all of our wonderful volunteers including but not limited to Marian, Jim Hardy , Alice and Rachel, Timmie Hoffman , Kellie Burgess, Mark Allison, Dave Ward, Christina A. Ramsey Robert Zieber, Patricia Bass, Robert Bass, William Bruce, Joe Baum, Robert Schultz, and any others that I have failed to mention that worked with us to make this happen.

THANK YOU to our loyal supporters, friends from Brevard and Hendersonville and co-workers from Earthshine Discovery Center and Trails Carolina Therapeutic Wilderness Program and The Academy at Trails Carolina who came out in droves and even mailed in donations to us so we can continue our most important mission into the future.

THANK YOU to local artists Christina Ramsey, Kathy Hardy, Steve Atkins of Fox Cove Photography and Jenny Geer-Hardwick who donated their beautiful creations to our nature store to help us raise much needed funds (there are still a few items available for purchase so email me for a list and photos of the amazing items we have yet to find homes for and I will send you photos and descriptions of everything that remains in our nature store.)

THANK YOU, ALL OF YOU for working with me to make a difference on this Monday evening! You are all AWESOME and I am honored and privileged to know you and call you my friends.

Look for another Making a Difference Monday in support of Earthshine Nature Programs in 2016!

You can still support Earthshine Nature Programs with a donation through pay pal at this link.

View the entire photo album on Facebook by following this link:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10206302634337487&type=1&l=81b37b1160

Learn more about us at earthshinenature.com

ENP is running in the Mad Mountain Mud Run for the 3rd year in a row!

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Stevo

That’s right, Earthshine Nature Programs Executive Director Steve O’Neil and Team Earthshine Nature Nerds will be running again this year in the Mad Mountain Mud Run 5K in Hendersonville, NC on Saturday May 30th, 2015!

For 2015 the Nature Nerds will be sharing the muddy trail with The Trails Turbo Turtles! The Turbo Turtles consist of several Steve’s students and staff of The Academy at Trails Carolina and Trails Carolina! Captain Steve will be overall captain of both the Nature Nerds and the Turbo Turtles.

Many of the Turbo Turtles are experienced runners, hikers, Mtn. bikers and climbers so do not let the name fool you–the Turbo Turtles are a force of nature and may just take overall best time in the Mud Run!

Our nerdy nature goal is to run representing Earthshine Nature Programs as our 2015 spring fundraiser. To do this we need sponsors that are willing to support Earthshine Nature Programs with a pledge. Your pledge will provide direct and 100% support to our environmental science education and wildlife rehabilitation and conservation programs and projects.

Our muddy community goal is to run in support of the Hands On A Child’s Gallery based in Hendersonville, NC and Trails Carolina/The Academy at Trails Carolina with our afternoon of challenging obstacles and muddy fun!

Last year and this year the students and I have constructed an obstacle for the Mud Run — take a look at a few photos of this years obstacle that we call the ENP/Trails Turbo Tunnels!!

Take a look at the course map for a taste of what we may have in store for us this year! It should be a muddy fun challenge!

Sponsor Awards

Any donation is welcome and needed however…

Those who sponsor ENP with $50 or more will receive your business logo or name and weblink* on the ENP supporters website, in a posting in this blog (to be updated after the race), and on the back of our custom mud run t-shirt that we will proudly wear during the race.

Those who sponsor us for $500 or more will receive your business logo or name and weblink* on the ENP supporters website, in a posting in this blog (to be updated after the race), on the back of our custom mud run t-shirt that we will proudly wear during the race, four custom designed ENP Medici Lighted writing Pens from Myron.com, your own custom mud run t-shirt, and one “Honored Supporter” custom award (made by Steve) which includes a certificate of appreciation and small glass vial filled with a small amount of the actual mud from the race course that we will run through on May 30 th!

Those who sponsor us for $1000 or more will receive will receive your business logo or name and weblink* on the ENP supporters website, in a posting in this blog (to be updated after the race), on the back of our custom mud run t-shirt that we will proudly wear during the race, six custom designed ENP Medici Lighted writing Pens from Myron.com, your own custom mud run t-shirt, and one “Honored Supporter” custom award (made by Steve) which includes a certificate of appreciation and small glass vial filled with a small amount of the actual mud from the race course that we will run through on May 31st! On top of all that Steve and his animals will come to you and present a private Misunderstand Wildlife animal show with live animals and a didgeridoo concert at your birthday party, school or other gathering!

*You can opt-out of having your personal/company information publicized on our shirts/websites if you choose.

An awesome mud covered photo from the end of the 2015

Mad Mountain Mud Run.

A great muddy moment from the 2013 Mud Run!

The nitty gritty muddy dirt of the sponsorship (rules)

After the Earthshine Nature Nerds/Trails Turbo Turtles team completes the race–all sponsored pledges will be collected from the sponsors by June 15th, 2013. Supporter awards will be awarded within 60 days following the race.

If the Earthshine Nature Nerds/Trails Turbo turtles does not complete the race–no donations will be collected unless you choose to support us despite the fact.

If the race is cancelled due to weather or other circumstances beyond our control you may choose to honor your sponsorship agreement or not. 100% of all donations will be used to provide direct support to our environmental science and wildlife rehabilitation/conservation projects and programs.

You may earmark your donations to the following projects:

Project A: Turtle Tracks Eastern Box Turtle radio telemetry project: currently radio tracking four wild Eastern box turtles at Earthshine Discovery Center and The Academy at Trails Carolina. Two of these turtles are part of the ongoing (since 2008) Turtle Tracks project at Earthshine Discovery Center in Lake Toxaway, NC. The other two turtles are part of a hands-on wildlife science class led by Steve for the Academy at Trails Carolina and Trails Wilderness students.

Project B: Snake Tracks – Ratsnake Tracks. A radio telemetry project tracking two large Black rat snakes at The Academy at Trails Carolina. This will be part of a hands-on citizen and student science class led by Steve for the Academy at Trails Carolina and Trails Wilderness students.

Projects A-B are most important wildlife science and conservation projects seeking to learn as much as possible about the natural movements of some of nature’s most misunderstood creatures. Data collected during these projects will directly benefit the greater understanding and conservation of not only box turtles and Rat snakes but all reptiles for many years to come. These projects also directly benefit the continuing hands-on education of middle and high school age youth–the future of all wildlife conservation.

Project C: Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation: ongoing support of our wildlife rescue and rehabilitation activities that works primarily with the Eastern box turtle and Opossum.

Project D: General program support. Examples include–animal care, habitat construction and project support: this covers all costs that are not directly part of or that cross over between all of the above listed programs. Example: radio telemetry equipment, foods, housing, vitamins, and medications for our resident and rehab animals, rechargeable batteries, camera equipment etc.

If you do not earmark your donation it will be used where it is most needed in one or more of the above programs.

If you would like to sponsor our team please contact me and we will make arrangements or feel free to donate now via the Earthshine Nature Pay Pal account.

You may sponsor us with either monetary pledges or supplies. If you would like to pledge supplies please contact us for a list of our current needs.

Below are some of our past sponsors and supporters

THANK YOU All!

No matter if you choose to support us or not, please do come out to Berkley Park and watch all of the mud runners get muddy and have fun for a couple of great causes–the education of children and conservation of wildlife and nature!

If you know anyone who may like to support ENP with a sponsorship or donation please forward this post on to them–THANK YOU!

After last year’s Mud Run we were all smiles–it was great fun!

NOTE: The Nature Nerds will video/photograph their perspective of the race using the latest technology including an HD GoPro camera and several volunteer friends with cameras stationed around the race course so that this years nerdy muddy experience will be able to be shared by all! A few weeks following the race look for the video to be posted here on the ENP Nature Blog!

Take a look at last years race video below!

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

That’s all for now…I need to go train!

Steve O’Neil, ENP Executive Director and Mad Mountain Mud Runner

Earthshine Nature Programs is not responsible for or affiliated with ads that may appear below this line.

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Turtle Tracks and Snake Tracks Field Update for April 13, 2015

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Stevo

I have confirmed that almost all of the reptiles at both the Earthshine Discovery Center and Sky Valley (Trails Academy/Trails Carolina) Study sites are out of hibernation! Catherine, Zoe, Paula Journeys, Shelly Echo, Splinter and Apollo are all on the move heading toward their spring feeding and basking grounds.

I found Catherine about 200 feet west of her den basking in the late afternoon sun. The epoxy on her transmitter looks rough because I was forced to replace her previous unit a few weeks ago due to the cold weather prematurely depleting the energy in the previous units battery. On an upcoming field excursion I will smooth out the edges of the expoy so it will be less likely to get snagged on vegetation.

Zoe basking on the warm leaf litter.

She is only a few hundred yards from the top of the ridge and seems to be moving east toward her summer feeding grounds near the waterfall. If you live in the vicinity of her movement areas, please be aware that she is active and will be moving through soon.

I was unable to locate Jimmy Irwin the Eastern box turtle and Utsanati the Timber rattlesnake. It seems that Utsanati’s transmitter may have exhausted it’s battery due to the very cold temperatures we had near the end of the winter. It will now be a chore to find him but I do know all of his “old haunts” so hopefully I will be able to locate him in the next few weeks. As for Jimmy Irwin, I do not know why his transmitter would have stopped transmitting–it should have had several more months of power remaining before needing to be replaced. It is possible that Jimmy has been predated or his transmitter’s antenna has been chewed off by rodents. I am leaning more toward the rodent theory as I have had this happen before with Catherine and it greatly reduces the range and lifespan of the transmitter. I will need to do a more thorough search in a week in order to know more.

Apollo basking just outside of a tree cavity.

The Trails students from Journeys wilderness assisted me with locating Apollo the Rat snake a few days ago. We found him basking in the afternoon sunshine just outside of a rather large tree cavity on an old dead oak tree. The students and I were very excited to see him looking so healthy after sleeping underground for over five months. This experience was a great teachable moment for the students, many of whom had never seen a wild rat snake in it’s natural environment. We discussed reptile biology, why they need to hibernate, and why old, rotting trees like this one are important to this species of snake and many other species of wildlife such as birds, squirrels, bats and insects. If you have standing dead trees on your land that are not endangering any structures or anyone, please consider leaving them for wildlife.

Master Splinter basking on a low limb.

A couple of weeks ago the students from Trails Academy assisted me in locating Master Splinter during our natural resource management and conservation class. We found him outstretched on a low limb, basking in the early spring sunshine. Then, a few days ago Trails Wilderness group Bravo joined me and we found him sunning on the limb of an old bent oak about 35 feet off the ground. Everyone was able to see him before he moved back inside the tree to hide from us while we collected vital environmental data and held class under the greening forest canopy.

Keep your eyes open when hiking in the forests and fields or driving the roads and riding the trails because our scaly friends are out and about and we need to do all we can to help them help us.

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What are Turtle Tracks and Snake Tracks?

Turtle Tracks and Snake Tracks are citizen/student science reptile conservation and research projects occurring at two separate study sites near Lake Toxaway and Dupont Forest in the mountains of western North Carolina, USA. Through the magic of modern technology and a lot of hard volunteer work by a wildlife conservationist and his small crew of students, and volunteers, glimpse into the lives of four wild Eastern box turtles, two Rat snakes and two Timber rattlesnakes in their natural habitats. For more detailed info on the project please take a look at our website: http://www.earthshinenature.com

It is our goal at Earthshine Nature Programs and Trails Science to promote wildlife conservation through our unique, exciting, citizen science based, hands-on education, out-reach programs, and online with our nature videos, blog and website and in our environmental education classes at Trails Momentum (previously Trails Academy) and Trails Carolina.

What is Earthshine Nature Programs?

Earthshine Nature Programs is a separate entity from Earthshine Discovery Center and Trails Carolina/Academy however, we work directly with these institutions of education to promote the conservation and respect of our native wildlife and wild places. It is our mission to educate you about these beautiful but greatly misunderstood animals and hopefully, to impart to you their beauty, uniqueness and intrinsic value to a healthy Earth, healthy wildlife and healthy humans.

Earthshine Nature Programs is a grass-roots, 501c3 non profit, volunteer operated and donation funded organization.

THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you who have donated to ENP over the years!! Without you, this important reptile conservation and public education work would not happen. If you would like to support Earthshine Nature Programs please feel free to donate by visiting

www.earthshinenature.com/donate

You may also donate supplies such as animal foods, medical supplies, vitamins and habitat supplies just contact us for more information on what supplies we are in need of and how to donate.

Learn more about Trails Carolina and Trails Momentum and see if our unique programs may fit into your child’s education needs.

Music by The Steep Canyon Rangers used with written permission.

www.steepcanyon.com

Earthshine Nature Programs is in no way affiliated or responsible for ads that may appear below this line.

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Turtle Tracks and Snake Tracks winter field report and a snakey surprise!

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Stevo

This is a late winter video report on the status of all the reptiles in the Turtle Tracks and Snake Tracks reptile conservation and education projects currently being conducted by Earthshine Nature Programs.

In the following video the students and I encounter the unexpected when we find Splinter the Rat snake out of his den basking in the late winter sunshine!

Wasn’t that amazing!!!

We are gearing up for a great year so please continue following in our Turtle and Snake Tracks by following this blog and better yet, consider a donation to Earthshine Nature Programs today – THANK YOU!

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THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Thank you all for making the Snake Tracks and Turtle Tracks wildlife conservation projects possible. Thank you for continuing to support Earthshine Nature Programs over the last seven years. If the turtles and snakes could speak they would thank you even more than I because due to your support they will in turn be supported through the efforts of science being put to use in the areas of wildlife and habitat conservation. Thank you also to the land owners in the community where these animals live. Thank you for taking care of these highly misunderstood but yet oh so important parts of a healthy ecosystem.

The story continues…

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What is Rat snake Tracks?

Rat snake Tracks is a reptile conservation and research project occurring near Dupont Forest in the mountains of western North Carolina, USA. Through the magic of modern technology and allot of hard volunteer work by a wildlife conservationist and his small crew of volunteers and students, glimpse into the lives of two wild Ratsnakes in their natural habitats. For more detailed info on the project please take a look at our website at: http://www.earthshinenature.com

It is our goal at ENP to promote wildlife conservation through our unique, exciting, citizen science based, hands-on education, out-reach programs, and online with our nature videos, blog and website.

What is Earthshine Nature Programs?

Earthshine Nature Programs is a separate entity from Earthshine Discovery Center and is a 501c3 non profit. ENP is a 100% volunteer operated and donation funded organization. It is our mission to educate you about these beautiful but greatly misunderstood animals and hopefully, to impart to you their beauty, uniqueness and intrinsic value to a healthy Earth, healthy wildlife and healthy humans.

THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you who have donated to ENP over the years!! Without you this important reptile conservation and education work would not happen. If you would like to support Earthshine Nature Programs please feel free to donate by visiting www.earthshinenature.com/donate

You may also donate supplies such as animal foods, medical supplies, vitamins and habitat supplies just contact us for more information on what supplies we are in need of and how to donate.

Music by The Steep Canyon Rangers used with written permission.

www.steepcanyon.com

Earthshine Nature Programs is in no way affiliated or responsible for ads that may appear below this line.

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The 2023 outreach programming season is in full swing! Since the beginning of the year, we have presented several wildlife, nature, energy, and EV programs all over WNC and worked on improving our classroom. Below are some highlights:

Tips: Increase magnification to 125- 150 for the best experience and click photos to expand.

Classroom Update

Jim built new shelves for the classroom’s storage room and we teamed up to install them with some help from Momentum staff.

We used Jim’s Tesla Model Y as a “truck” to tote the shelving components to the classroom.

Tesla cars are awesome – but ENP really needs a dedicated work truck/community outreach and service vehicle – more on this later in this update.

These new super strong shelves make our storage room far more organized and much safer for our students.

THANK YOU JIM HARDY for your expert assistance, ability, and guidance with this and all our projects – without you, we could not have made any of this happen.

Classroom Solar Project Update

This spring we received a fantastic donation from Mike Dietham of SolFarm Solar Co in Asheville, NC

– a new home energy storage battery!!-

This valuable battery – when coupled with two more just like it – will allow us to capture much of the excess solar-generated electricity we produce from our classroom array, and store it for use at night, and during the frequent grid power outages we experience in our remote location.

THANK YOU MIKE

and

SOLFARM SOLAR

for this most generous donation!!

That’s Mike Dietham of SolFarm using his 100% electric forklift to load the battery module onto a trailer.

The trailer was attached to the “Mighty” Bolt – ENP’s outreach EV.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention – the trailer is locally produced by Sylvan Sport – so cool!

Think globally, act locally.

Several students visiting our classroom on a field trip from Dr. Cabin’s class at Brevard College assisted me with the installation of this battery into its final location in our classroom/lab –

THANK YOU ALL!

All donations to our 501c3 are tax deductible.

–UPDATE–

We recently received an amazing grant that will allow us to purchase another LG RESU Prime 16 battery unit – we are now 2/3 of the way to our goal!! Thank you Lake Toxaway Charities for this wonderful and most generous support!!

Outreach Programming Update

We started off the year in February with an EV program for Conserving Carolina.

All the participants were very interested and engaged in learning all about the joys and adaptations of driving electric.

At the Earth Day EV show in Hendersonville, NC, I watched as The Air Avenger and The Smog Queen “battled” for the health of our shared environment.

The Air Avenger won the duel – now the rest of us need to follow his lead and do what is right.

During normal working hours, you will find these two mild-mannered individuals working hard fighting for our shared environment at Land of the Sky Regional Council and the NC Department of Air Quality.

__________

We visited Oskar Blues Brewery which hosted our spring fundraiser for their “Making a Difference Monday” event series.

Wonderful long-time ENP volunteer extraordinaire Paulina sharing one of our friendly reptilian ambassadors – Elongated Muskadine – with a young friend.

The awesome crew from Adventure Grown Guides shared their guide service offerings with visitors.

Please contact them for all your adventuring needs when in WNC.

__________

In mid-May, we had a wonderful weekend outing sharing nature and science knowledge with hundreds of interested festival-goers at the wonderful

High above our camp

We had a great location

So much fun!

Learning is fun!

Cade and Ashley

The PoD’s microscope station is a wonderful educational attraction!

Below are some beautiful diatoms some of our visitors found under our microscopes. They found them in lake water they collected from just 50 feet away in Lake Eden – so very cool!

The wonderful ENP volunteer crew and our LEAF camp.

We also presented an evening program for the wonderful folks of the Sherwood Forest Community in Cedar Mountain, NC at the Robin Hood Barn.

It was a wonderful event where Meredith, Jim, and I shared our passion for nature and wildlife conservation – especially for the more misunderstood creatures of the fields and forests such as snakes of all kinds and the ENP mascot – the Eastern box turtle.

Many heaps of gratitude to Billy and Gail, Meredith and Mary Beth, and all the wonderful residents of the Cedar Mountain and the Sherwood Forest communities who have been some of ENP’s most loyal project supporters since our inception over 15 years ago – you are all heroes!

Learn more about the Eastern box turtle in this amazing article featuring ENP in a recent publication of

A new ambassador for his species

Photo by Steve Atkins of Fox Cove Photography

Taylor now lives in the Possum Palace at our classroom teaching everyone he meets about the awesome ‘possum so please let us know if you would like to visit and we will be sure to arrange it 🙂

SS NaSA PoD Update

We also met up with Asher and family, who are some of the SS NaSA PoD’s biggest supporters. During our time together Asher took the opportunity to sign The PoD’s hull.

Speaking of The SS NaSA PoD, ENP also received a most generous donation of a special electronic component called an Autotransformer from Bob Harris of Black Bear Solar Institute.

Below is a photo of The PoD charging up via a J1772 EV connector.

The PoD is now functionally complete and fully operational. THANK YOU to everyone who made this amazing mobile environmental outreach classroom possible – you are all heroes of the highest order!

(not to scale)

The PoD and a Tesla Cybertruck (Steve’s favorite)

The PoD and a Rivian R1T EV pickup

The PoD and a Ford F-150 Lightning EV pickup

Please consider sharing this information with others – THANK YOU.

We are now well into our very busy summer camp programming season of presentations at camps, events, Trails, and private homes all over the WNC area.

Below is a slideshow following the first half of 2023.

That is all for now, look for our end-of-year report in December.

If you are interested in having us visit your camp, school, home, office, or event in the WNC, Upstate SC, or East Tennessee areas – please contact us and we will work to make it happen.

THANK YOU ALL for working with us to make Earthshine Nature Programs possible!

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BENEFIT EVENT #1

Date: October 01, 2016

Time: 1-4pm

Location: SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY Hendersonville, NC

BENEFIT EVENT #2

Date: October 03, 2016

Time: 5-8pm

**–UPDATE–**