Grassy Balds of the Southern Highlands: Program

The Southern Appalachian Grassy Balds

Amy Duernberger

Author and hiker and researcher

Wednesday August 29, 2018 from 6:00 to 7:00

Pack Memorial Library, Lord Auditorium, lower level

All events are free and open to the public.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the North Carolina Room

With Support from Mountain Express

Refreshments will be served.

Amy Duernberger  — Author of  Exploring the Southern Appalachian Grassy Balds

“Treeless wonders” of the Southern Appalachians, grassy balds have long baffled scientists and enchanted outdoor enthusiasts.  Come hear the story of story of these unique ecosystems. They exist as open spaces, often grassy meadows, found on or near the summits of mountains that are technically below the tree line. Are they artificial, the result of climate change, or something else entirely? While no one knows for sure, their natural beauty is undeniable. 

Amy Duernberger, a longtime lover of the outdoors, has been hiking and researching the Appalachian mountains for more than twenty years, also serving as a volunteer in balds conservation efforts. She has worked for the National Park Service on the Blue Ridge Parkway and now lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina. She holds a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of South Carolina.

Don’t miss the exhibits!

And when you come to the library for the event, be sure to look our display of grassy balds from the North Carolina Room in the exhibit case just inside the front door main entrance to the library.

 

Also currently on exhibit:

Asheville’s Service Industry Worker’s

Created by Jonathon Flaum with Photography by Jennifer Mesk

This exhibit is on the main floor of the Library just to the left of entrance.

 

 

Jonathon Flaum, the founder of Farm to Home Milk, commissioned Jennifer Mesk — a professional photographer responsible for the Humans of Asheville Facebook page — to take portraits of the people he regularly encounters on his delivery rounds as a modern milkman. Jonathon Flaum graciously donated the Asheville’s Service Industry photographs and original digital files to the North Carolina Room.

 

Flaum’s idea behind the project is about how service is itself an art and a way of expressing his philosophy of simplicity. “In keeping it simple, I can serve without distraction. In service without distraction, work simplifies,” he writes. “These two actions magnetize together, and time passes easily — almost effortlessly, despite being in the midst of physical labor.” Flaum wanted to give other service workers the chance to think about how they go through their days, doing the same things day in and day out, but still find ways for their work to be enjoyable and satisfying.

 

 

The exhibit also includes such Asheville notables as:

 

 

 

 

Post by Zoe Rhine, North Carolina Room Librarian