Stringer’s Ridge Tree Identification Walk with Jay Clark

The Cherokee Group of the Sierra Club announces a nature walk with Jay Clark, author of The Wildflowers of Pigeon Mountain. The outing will highlight the trail system of Chattanooga’s latest park, an urban forest of over 100 acres.  Mr. Clark is a retired scientist and native plant expert who will share his knowledge and enthusiasm for local tree and wildflower species. The outing is free and open to the public. The hike is the first of what will be an ongoing anniversary celebration. Fifty years ago one of America’s greatest conservation laws, the Wilderness Act, was enacted. Since then the Act has helped preserve more than 100 million acres of unique American lands in their natural state, including thousands of acres in Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest. Clark will be on hand to both identify species and discuss the ecological roles that those species play in our ecosystem.  His outing also will serve a greater purpose in confirming specimens for a planned educational trail loop that will have signs identifying common and scientific names of the different species, a project supported by Tennessee Heartwood, a not for profit public lands advocacy group.

The hike starts at 10:00 Saturday May 17 at the Bell Avenue entrance to Stringer’s Ridge off Cherokee Boulevard.  The pace will be leisurely and should last until noon.  For more information, contact Sheryl Campbell at campfamily63@gmail.com.