Evergreen Ball Reaches New Heights - Friends of the Smokies

P R O J E C T
U P D A T E S
Friends of the Smokies will provide $186,000 in 2006 to support
ongoing efforts to control the hemlock woolly adelgid (ah-DEL-jid)
in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Thanks to the Aslan Foundation and many other donors, the
Lindsay Young Beneficial Insects Laboratory at UT-Knoxville has
been greatly expanded in order to raise more predator beetles to eat
the harmful adelgids. As a result, predator beetle production at the
lab increased from 35,533 beetles in 2004 to 77,083 beetles and
40,514 eggs in 2005. In turn, the park increased its beetle and egg
releases in the Smokies from 14 locations in 2004 to 46 locations in
2005.
In the meantime, Friends of the Smokies continues to support
additional on-the-ground work to save the hemlock forests of the
Smokies, including a dedicated work crew, supplies, and materials to
support both chemical and biological treatments.
We are grateful to all of our donors for making these efforts
possible!
Thanks to
many generous
donors, local students
in
Kindergarten
through 8 th grades
will continue to
enjoy the park’s
curriculum-based
Parks as
Classrooms programs.
In addition
to the $10,000 gift
from the Richard
Haiman National
Park Foundation
(see article on page 3), the Parks as Classrooms program received
$2,500 from the Duke Energy Foundation, as well as $5,000 from
CitiFinancial Auto to support teacher workshops based on the Parks as
Classrooms programs.
Also, on December 4 th , 2005, Geoff and Pat Wolpert and The Park
Grill in Gatlinburg hosted more than 175 people for their annual Taste
of the Grill event to benefit the Parks as Classrooms program. The
event also served as a farewell party for Louise Mandrell, who sold
her theater at year’s end to return to Middle Tennessee. The event
raised more than $11,000 for Parks as Classrooms.
Friends of the Smokies offers its sincere thanks to everyone who
has supported these educational programs for local school children!
On Wednesday, February 1, 2006, Great Smoky Mountains
National Park held a groundbreaking ceremony to officially begin
construction of the new Twin Creeks Science and Education Center,
which will be located just south of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Thanks in
large part to a significant gift from Wilma Maples of Gatlinburg,
Friends of the Smokies has provided $285,000 to support this new
$3,925,000 facility.
“The long-planned center will allow us to more efficiently manage
our research, science, and monitoring activities, which have
grown significantly over the years,” said Park Superintendent Dale
Ditmanson. Innovative design strategies will also make this facility a
model for “green” building technology. The 15,000-square-foot center
will feature minimal site disturbance, reuse of cultivated materials,
day-lighting, and natural storm water management. Energy-efficient
and recycled materials, along with low-flow plumbing, will also
be utilized. This facility is the first major new building being constructed
in the park since the 1960s.
© Don McGowan
© Don McGowan
NPS
| Spring 2006
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