FernLeaf students have annual educational hike on Bearwallow Mountain
BEARWALLOW MOUNTAIN − Supported by Conserving Carolina, FernLeaf Charter School held its annual educational hikes to the top of Bearwallow Mountain on Oct. 11 and Oct. 12, with more than 500 students hiking the mile-long trail and learning valuable lessons about nature along the way.
Students, ranging from kindergarten through ninth grade, went in two groups, with one going on Oct. 11 and the other on Oct. 12. They were greeted with the peak of the fall colors with the elevation at about 2,000 feet.
As one group of students was halfway on the trail, a little girl stopped and pointed down on the ground.
"O... look.. a fern leaf," she said.
Kim Gundler, with Conserving Carolina, was beside the girl and smiled.
"You are exactly right," Gundler said.
Gundler said she's been hiking the trail for the past four years, but said it was the first time she had been on the hike with the FernLeaf kids.
"I love seeing these kids out here. They are all good hikers," she said. "Everyone carried their backpacks and made it to the top. They appreciated their surroundings and stopped and looked at things. I think it's a great experience to get kids out here. I wish every kid had the opportunity to come out."
Gundler was with the small group that was led by FernLeaf kindergarten teacher Whitney Mebane, who has been with the school since it opened seven years ago. She has been on all of the past six hikes, she said.
"Every year it's such an amazing experience," she said. "We usually have the hikes in the fall, but we have come in the spring in the past. We learned a lot of the cows have calves (in the spring) and are a little more protective (of them). So, we come in the fall now and to also enjoy the beautiful fall scenery."
Along the hike, Mebane made stops along the way, talking about different aspects of nature. Just before reaching the top, she had her students stop at a massive boulder that had lichen on its side. She explained that it was a type of leather lichen that grows on rocks.
Gundler also talked about the lichen and also how leaves are broken down in the soil, and shortly after, a boy raised his hand to speak.
"I just noticed that when you were talking about leaves, some leaves fell," he said.
"They did?," she said as she laughed. "Well, we're working together today. I hit the leaf button."
Mebane smiled and said, "You were in contact with them."
Minutes later, after being on the trail nearly 30 minutes, the group approached the final set of stairs and one kid said, "I know we're near the top now, and you know why?"
Mebane said, "Why is that?"
"I smell cow poop," the kid said, as the other kids laughed.
At the top, the kids walked near the cows grazing in the meadow and took in the mountain views while eating their lunches.
"They learned a lot today," Mebane said. "They are learning not just about nature, but about being in nature and how to be prepared for that. We looked at trees and the moss and how you can learn direction from that. They also learned hiking skills and how to work together."
Conserving Carolina also supports field trips to Bearwallow by Edneyville Elementary School every spring, according to a press release. The Bearwallow Mountain Trail is open to the public, as part of a growing network of connected hiking trails in the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge. Conserving Carolina worked with private landowners to permanently protect 476 acres on Bearwallow Mountain.
Conserving Carolina is a local, nonprofit land trust working primarily in Henderson, Polk, Transylvania, and Rutherford Counties as well as the Landrum, SC area. According to its website, the mission of Conserving Carolina is to protect, restore and inspire appreciation of the natural world. To become a member or volunteer, go to conservingcarolina.org.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: FernLeaf students have annual educational hike on Bearwallow Mountain
