Outdoors
Haywood hosts survival course
Learn about survival at a class held on Haywood Community College’s campus.
Join expert Steve Kuni for a hands-on afternoon dedicated to the art of survival.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 12, participants will learn to work with the land rather than against it, mastering the “Rule of Threes,” constructing emergency shelters from forest find-lings and coaxing fire from damp winter wood.
Harris to provide free sports physicals
Harris Regional Hospital will partner with Jackson County Public Schools to host its annual free sports physical event at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 30, in the Smoky Mountain High School gym in Sylva.
Play ball: Haywood softball players celebrate reopening of Helene-damaged field
It’s been over a year and a half since the hollow ping of softball bats has rung out over Waynesville’s Dutch Fisher Field, but on April 13, teams again enjoyed the chance to kick up some dust on their favorite diamond.
When Hurricane Helene decimated the area in September 2024, many community institutions lost so much. Mountaineer Little League lost two fields, including Dutch Fisher.
Word from the Smokies: Returning writers anticipate ‘open doors’ at Tremont
Crystal Wilkinson has always known she was a writer. But it wasn’t until well into adulthood that she realized she could make a living at it.
“I was always writing,” she said, “and at some point I remember saying to myself, ‘Well, the literal definition of being published is ‘to be made public.’ So what does that mean?’”
Farmland fight pits growth against survival
A low-flying plane circling his property was the first sign. The passes were frequent enough to be noticed. Haywood County farmer and longtime Farm Bureau President Don Smart knew immediately what that kind of attention usually means.
In the old days, Smart said, they’d have been looking for illegal cannabis or tobacco plantings, but that wasn’t why the plane was tracing slow, deliberate circles in the sky over his farm. Two weeks later, confirmation of his suspicions arrived in writing.
District Court faults Forest Service analysis
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Forest Service violated the Endangered Species Act by relying on a faulty analysis during the creation of the controversial Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan. The court’s decision effectively prohibits the Forest Service from relying on the plan.
Public gets rare chance to watch barn owls hatch
“Barn Owlet Watch 2026” is underway for a nest box with six barn owl eggs, and the public has 24-hour access to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s live cam with audio to watch all the action in real time. The expected “hatch” date is between April 9 and 15.
Haywood Waterways hosts Big Creek hike
Haywood Waterways Association will lead a hike to Mouse Falls in the Big Creek Watershed of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Sunday, April 12.
The event is free for members and a $5 donation for nonmembers. Haywood Waterways memberships start at $25.
Celebrate American Sign Language Day in the Smokies
Great Smoky Mountains National Park invites the public to the annual “Signs of Spring” event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 18 in Cades Cove. The event celebrates National American Sign Language Day. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the Smokies from park rangers and members of the deaf community.
