Update (4/12): Roxie has updated the wildflower signs. Wildflowers that are at their prime time include bluebells, false rue anemones, and spring beauties.  Several others are in bloom as well.

The originally planned field trip has been canceled and is being revised as a self-guided walk.

Beginning March 29 and continuing through April, you are invited to visit Wild Haven Nature Area on your own for a wildflower walk that will feature signs placed to provide identification of, and information about, the plants of interest.

Use the map and directions at this link to get to Wild Haven. Park at the gate in the woods on the south side of O’Rear Road (near the middle of this map). There is also room to park along the roadside. (Note: For those familiar with Wild Haven, this is not the usual parking spot near the shelter but the gate west of that one across the intermittent creek.)

The trail from here to the Hinkson Creek bottomland has been recently improved and is marked by yellow arrows.  Maps will be at the pull-off in a ziplock bag. The wildflower walk is 1/2 mile one way; return on the same route.

Feel free to continue exploration beyond the marked wildflower trail, but be forewarned that the pedestrian bridge is out where it used to cross the intermittent creek on the south part of the loop trail.

We hope you enjoy the great diversity of native woodland wildflowers, enjoy the beauty of the landscape, and consider how valuable this land is for wildlife habitat and as a stream buffer for Hinkson Creek.

Thanks very much to Roxie Campbell for adapting this event to comply with social distancing guidelines; contact her with any questions. Also, if you do go, please let Field Trip Chair Eric Reuter know so we can assess participation.

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Original field trip notice (now CANCELED):
Meet at CAS’s Wild Haven Nature Area on O’Rear Rd. (see link for map & directions), parking on the grass within the main gate by the shelter. We’ll walk on and off trail on a loop route of about 2 miles to see most of the area. While we’ll enjoy the birds and diverse landscape of the area, our primary focus will be learning to identify and manage the various invasive plants that are present.We will do a little control work as we go, but mostly get training and knowledge of locations that need additional control work at a later date. As a bonus, we hope to see the Harbinger of Spring flower in bloom.

Contact trip leader Roxie Campbell with any questions.