Empowering Future STEM Leaders with El Centro Hispano

We’re thrilled to share an exciting update about our ongoing Camp Scholarship Fundraiser, running through April 2!

This year, in addition to fulfilling PWC scholarship requests, we’re partnering with El Centro Hispano, a leading organization serving North Carolina’s Latino/Latinx community across Durham, Wake, Orange, and neighboring counties. Together, we aim to bring 20-25 of El Centro Hispano's STEM campers to PWC this July.

Donations will:

• Fund camp scholarships for El Centro Hispano's young learners.

• Support counselor and coordinator time.

• Cover transportation costs, ensuring every child can participate in camp at no cost to their families.

This is a brand-new partnership, and we're starting from scratch with no prior funding. That's why we need the support of our generous donor community and camp families. With your generosity, we can empower the next generation of STEM leaders and changemakers.

Please consider supporting this exciting partnership with a donation to our Camp Scholarship Fund!

To donate to the Camp Scholarship Fund, click the dropdown menu under "Where would you like your gift to go?" and choose "Camp Scholarships.”

Change a Child's Summer by Supporting PWC's Camp Scholarship Fund

Summer camp gives kids the chance to connect with nature, make new friends, and discover their strengths in a supportive, outdoor setting. It's a place for exploration, learning, play, and making lasting memories.

““It (camp) enriches their education and childhood experience in a way that indoor, paper, or computer-based learning simply can’t.””

— Adam S. (Parent of Camper)

This year, we’ve received an unprecedented number of scholarship requests, and we need your help to ensure that every child, regardless of financial barriers, can attend camp.

Over the next three weeks, we’ll be highlighting how scholarships make transformative camp experiences possible, in hopes that together, we can raise $7,000 to send 20 kids to summer camp this year!

Camp scholarships are exclusively funded through donations, and every gift, big or small, makes a difference. Whether you choose to sponsor a camper, make a smaller contribution, or rally friends and family to fundraise together, your support will give a child the opportunity to enjoy "a week in the wild" at Piedmont Wildlife Center.

We Flew By Our Giving Tuesday Goal—Thanks to You!

Each day, we are inspired by the immense generosity and thoughtfulness of our community, and this Giving Tuesday has left us absolutely astounded.

Together, we raised an incredible $10,047.65. We flew by our goal of $7,500 and even exceeded our stretch goal of $10,000! Your overwhelming support fills us with gratitude and excitement for what lies ahead.

What does this mean for Piedmont Wildlife Center?

As you may know, 2024 has brought its share of challenges. From losing our cabin to navigating leadership transitions and managing increased veterinary expenses, it hasn't been an easy year. But your generosity is helping to massively bolster our resources and capacity, enabling us to face these challenges head-on and move forward as an organization.

Thank you for believing in our mission and for showing us, once again, the incredible power of community. Whether you’ve been part of our journey for years or just joined, we are deeply grateful for your commitment to nature education and wildlife conservation.

With overwhelming gratitude,

Piedmont Wildlife Center Staff & Board of Directors

Plant Magic: Eastern Redbud and Rue Anemone

Rue anemone, Anemonella thalictroides. Photo by Karen McCall.

Spring is coming to the North Carolina Piedmont - which means the return of trout lily, spring-beauty, and other spring ephemerals! In this series by Executive Director Karen McCall, we explore the wonder of spring wildflowers and celebrate the launch of our new native plant fundraiser through Garden for Wildlife.

Happy first day of spring! In honor of the vernal (spring) equinox, which occurs at 11:06 PM tonight, I bring you my favorite tree and a delicate flower to balance it out.

A good identifier of my tree in winter are the subtle zig-zag dark-colored branches. In early spring, beautiful reddish or magenta buds appear before the leaves, covering its branches in color. Smell the air near one of these trees, or taste one of the edible buds (which are better before the flowers open). Its smell and taste hint of green peas!

This tree is the eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), a member of the pea family. Redbuds brighten our North Carolina woods with nothing but colorful edible flowers, which can be added to salads or eaten straight off the tree. (The seed pods that form later can also be pickled and eaten, but only when young and tender.) If you want to try snacking on a redbud flower, make sure you pick from a tree with plenty of flowers in an area that is not sprayed with herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizer. Be sure to give gratitude to the plant before picking anything, too!

Once the flowers are past their peak, leaves begin to appear. Redbud leaves are also easily recognizable since they are shaped like a classic heart drawing. These trees provide great shade.

Shifting back to the gifts hiding in the leaf litter, I see a most delicate-looking plant with leaves that remind me of tiny mittens. My subconscious reaction is to hold my breath and move slowly down to it, as if abrupt motion would crush it. Maybe the plant is casting them aside, so the beautiful pinkish to white flower can open to the sun.

This plant’s flower consists of 5-10 white sepals (small petal-like structures that protect the flower within the bud - think dogwood blossoms!) which surround a small greenish flower in the center. Meet the rue anemone (Anemonella thalictroides or Thalictrum thalictroides), a member of the buttercup family. This small plant doesn’t get more than 4 to 8 inches tall. It has traditionally been used to help with diarrhea and vomiting, and has also been experimented with to treat hemorrhoids.

If you’re interested in welcoming native plants like these into your own garden, consider supporting both your local ecosystem and Piedmont Wildlife Center by buying plants from Garden for Wildlife by National Wildlife Federation! 15% of each purchase you make through our referral link will be donated directly to Piedmont Wildlife Center to help us connect more people with nature.

Even better, you can save 10% on orders placed by Friday, March 22nd. No coupon code needed! Discount applied at checkout.

I hope these plants bring some light into your life on this first day of spring!

Eastern redbud, Cercis canadensis. Photo by Karen McCall.

Plant Magic: Trillium and Bloodroot

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. Photo by Karen McCall.

Spring is coming to the North Carolina Piedmont - which means the return of trout lily, spring-beauty, and other spring ephemerals! In this series by Executive Director Karen McCall, we explore the wonder of spring wildflowers and celebrate the launch of our new native plant fundraiser through Garden for Wildlife.

I would love to introduce you to some plants I have been anticipating for several weeks. One is trillium, Trillium cuneatum, sometimes known as Little Sweet Betsy. It popped out this past week! The flowers haven’t opened up yet, but its three classic variegated (two-colored) leaves have spread out like an umbrella.

I try to imagine being one of these spring ephemerals, using the energy from my rhizome (a modified stem underground with nodes where roots and leaves are formed) to push the grains of soil away when I feel the ground warm and relax. Testing the looseness of the soil, I decide it is time to stretch and break free. My leaves unfurl providing cover for a toad perhaps, while I reach for the sky with my bud, gathering sunlight making food so I can flash my showy maroon flower to all types of passersby. Ants are great at helping spread my seeds once they are pollinated. 

The other plant I have been looking for for weeks is bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. Like trillium, bloodroot also has a rhizome rather than an actual root. It gets its name from the reddish color when its rhizome is cut open. While bloodroot is highly poisonous, it has been (and is still today) carefully used in herbal medicine to treat many ailments. It can also produce a beautiful orange or pink dye.

Bloodroot’s single white flower comes out of a bud that reminds me of a cartoon spaceship or a miniature green cigar. Sometimes, the stem and bud rise before its single leaf, which emerges perpendicular to the ground and resembles a multi-fingered, leathery, wrinkled hand protecting the flower. As with trillium, ants also help spread bloodroot seeds.

Native plants like trillium and bloodroot are often overlooked by gardeners, but they add so much beauty and drama to a yard. They also require less water and maintenance, and provide native wildlife with a reliable source of food and shelter.

Interested in adding some native plants to your yard this spring? Piedmont Wildlife Center has partnered with Garden for Wildlife by National Wildlife Federation to help you do just that! 15% of each purchase you make through our referral link will be donated directly to Piedmont Wildlife Center to help us connect more people with nature.

Beautify your yard, help local wildlife, and support nature education by purchasing native plants through our Garden for Wildlife fundraiser! Get started here - and stay tuned for more Plant Magic soon.