Delve into the amazing biodiversity of the Southern Appalachians with a program offered at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 3, at the University of North Carolina Asheville’s Reuter Center in Asheville or via Zoom. 

Author and biologist David George Haskell will delve into the captivating world of sonic communication and its profound impact on the planet’s evolution and cultural tapestry during a lecture at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 27, at the Highlands Nature Center in Highlands.

Since 2021, the Highlands Biological Foundation has invested $300,000 in its University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Highlands Field Site Program.

Don’t swat at that mosquito. 

Swedish entomologist Anders Lindström is sitting in a Western Carolina University lab, patiently waiting for the insect to stay put on a leaf cutting long enough to take its photo. When the mosquito takes flight, Lindström captures it in a vial and puts it back on the leaf.

A collection of 47,000 plants and animals currently tucked away in various rooms of Western Carolina University’s Stillwell building will soon have a new home thanks to a $517,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. 

Autumnal vibrancy will depend on weather conditions over the next few weeks, according to Western Carolina University’s fall color soothsayer.