On Saturday, April 13th, staff from the Hemlock Restoration Initiative will guide an educational hike at Holmes Educational State Forest.

HRI and the NC Forest Service partnered together to chemically treat these hemlocks for hemlock woolly adelgid back in 2016 and are in the process of retreating them this year. The hike will take participants past a hemlock health monitoring plot to discuss methods of evaluating treatment success. Overall, participants can expect to learn about hemlock ecology, the threat of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, and a variety of different control methods being used on both state and national forests in NC, as well as on other public and private lands across the range of eastern hemlock.

The hike will meet at 10:00 a.m., and participants can expect to return to their vehicles around 2:30 p.m. Will start from the south entrance to the forest, off of the Old CCC Rd. and hike a two-mile figure-8 loop through the upper portions of the forest’s hemlock conservation area. The route will be on moderate terrain with a fairly strenuous hike up a short, but steep slope at the end.

After the hike, HRI invites you to enjoy a bonfire at the Holmes Educational State Forest group camp site. Will make hemlock tea and celebrate the tree we all love so much!

More information about the meeting location and what to bring will be provided after registering. Please include contact phone number, email address, and emergency contact when you sign up.

Special Note: In case of inclement weather, the back-up hike date is Saturday, April 27th, 2024.

For any questions or to register, contact Caroline Lord at [email protected] or 828-252-4783. While the hike is free to attend, your RSVP is required. Please sign up by Wednesday, April 10th.