Additional information on all TCWP activities may be obtained from TCWP Executive Director Sandra K. Goss at Sandra@sandrakgoss.com or at (865) 583-3967.
TCWP’s Guidelines for Activities during the COVID-19 Pandemic
In an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, TCWP will be conducting its activities following CDC guidelines.
- We ask that you not participate if you are sick or were recently exposed to someone who is.
- We ask that unvaccinated participants practice social distancing, maintain at least 6 feet of separation between themselves and other unvaccinated participants.
- We ask that unvaccinated participants continue to wear a mask especially when social distancing is not possible.
- We will organize activities into group of 20 or fewer.
- We recommend that you bring hand sanitizer or other ways to wash your hands.
- We recommend that everyone bring their own water, lunch, snacks, and sunscreen.
- We recommend caravanning for unvaccinated participants, rather than carpooling.
- Keep in mind that restrooms may be unavailable at activity locations.
- Activities are subject to change or cancellation as we monitor and react to local, state, and federal data and guidelines.
Thank you for your patience while we work through ways to serve our community.
Ranavirus can cause severe infections in amphibians, reptiles (including box turtles), and fish. It has a mortality rate of 90% to 100%, and there is currently no treatment. On August 17 Dr. Matt Allender, director of the Wildlife Epidemiology Lab at the University of Illinois, will discuss his work in connection with the ranavirus in a free Zoom program cosponsored by TCWP, the UT Arboretum Society, and the Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization of East Tennessee (CRESO).
Dr. Allender is a zoo and wildlife veterinarian who received his DVM from the University of Illinois in 2004, and completed a residency in Zoological Medicine at the University of Tennessee and the Knoxville Zoo. He then joined the faculty at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois and jointly completed a PhD, studying the epidemiology of ranavirus in free-ranging turtles. He currently teaches, performs research, and provides clinical service for free-ranging and captive wildlife, and also volunteers for CRESO.
Registration for this event is required. Register at: www.utarboretumsociety.org. Contact Michelle Campanis at mcampani@utk.edu regarding any questions or registration issues.
Cory Holliday, Cave & Karst Program Director of The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee, will speak on Karst Landscapes of East Tennessee: Linking Water, Woods, and Wildlife at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 24.
The Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation are sponsoring the program, which is free and open to the public.
Passcode: 228052
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
This will be the second of our three annual workdays at the Oak Ridge Cedar Barren. Located next to Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, the barren is a joint project of the City of Oak Ridge, the State Natural Areas Division, and TCWP. One of just a few cedar barrens in East Tennessee, the area is subject to invasion by Chinese lespedeza, Japanese privet, autumn olive, mimosa, Nepal grass, multiflora rose, and woody plants that threaten the system’s prairie grasses. Our spring, summer, and fall cleanups help to eliminate invasives and other shade-producing plants that prevent the prairie grasses from getting needed sun. The late-summer workday is optimum for viewing prairie wildflowers that flourish at the barren.
Volunteers should meet in the Jefferson Middle School parking lot at 9 a.m.; wear sturdy shoes, and bring loppers, gloves, and water. For additional information, contact Tim Bigelow at Bigelowt2@mindspring.com or at 865-607-6781.
