Free for BRAHM & BR Garden Club members, $8 general public.
Presented by the Blowing Rock Garden Club
About the Program
We learned during the pandemic how important outdoor spaces are for health and well-being as we saw record numbers of people flock to parks and trails. The Great Trails State Coalition urged the NC General Assembly NC to designate 2023 as NC Year of the Trail, to recognize and celebrate North Carolina’s vast network of trails, greenways, and blueways which showcase our diverse landscapes – grand mountain vistas, quiet rivers, vibrant urban greenways, coastal forests, and the rolling hills of the piedmont. NC Year of the Trail is the largest statewide celebration of trails and outdoor recreation in North Carolina history.
Trails are the backbone of our state’s growing $28 billion outdoor recreation economy and provide health, safety, economic development, tourism, transportation, and environment benefits.
The Year of the Trail campaign is reaching communities with the message of how and where to experience trails that showcase North Carolina’s beautiful landscapes, provide healthy recreation, and stimulate local economies. The Great Trails State Coalition is a broad-based group of diverse organizations, agencies, and supporters advocating for increased state investment in all types of trails statewide: hiking, paddle, mountain biking, equestrian, and paved.
About the Speakers
Palmer McIntyre, A native North Carolinian with a passion for conservation and the outdoors, Palmer began exploring trails with her family as a young girl, backpacking with her father and learning about wildflowers from her grandmother. Palmer has devoted most of her career to the Piedmont Land Conservancy, a regional nonprofit land trust dedicated to preserving natural areas in the Triad region. Involved with PLC since 1996, Palmer has helped protect thousands of acres of land and has led the design and construction of trails in nature preserves for public access and enjoyment. In 2020, she helped launch and now leads the NC Great Trails State Coalition, a statewide trails advocacy group with more than 70 member organizations. She currently serves as director for 2023 NC Year of the Trail, which is a statewide celebration of trails with goals to inspire people to try trails, advance diversity on trails, and boost outdoor recreation tourism through a public awareness campaign and events. Palmer settled in her native Greensboro after years away for college, early career jobs in environmental education and environmental policy, and two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa. She holds a Master of Regional Planning from UNC-Chapel Hill. Palmer and her husband have three children. In addition to her passion for hiking, she loves gardening, volunteering in schools, serving as a Girl Scout leader, and spending time on her family’s Ashe County farm, which is forever protected by a conservation easement.
Wendy Patoprsty, After receiving her B.S. in Horticulture from the University of Georgia, Wendy Patoprsty found her passion for plants and water as a Natural Resources Extension Agent for 15 years in Western NC. In this position, she coordinated and implemented stormwater and stream restoration projects while providing volunteer and environmental education opportunities for the community. Wendy completed her Master's in Geography and Planning from Appalachian State University in 2014. She began her work with Blue Ridge Conservancy in 2016 as the Director of the Middle Fork Greenway, an emerging multi-use Greenway that will connect Blowing Rock to Boone, NC. In this position, Wendy strategically oversees all the elements of planning and implementation to execute this complex Greenway project. As the Greenway is established, she identifies opportunities to restore the river corridor with a native riparian buffer, instream habitat, and public access opportunities.
Mary Joan Pugh, FAICP is the Randolph County Trail Coordinator as part of the County’s Healthy Communities initiative and works on trail needs with the County Trails Advisory Council composed of reps from the County, eight municipalities, and local/regional groups such as the Uwharrie TrailBlazers, Piedmont Legacy Trails, and Heart of NC Visitor’s Bureau. She also serves as the Coordinator for the 125-mile Deep River State Trail and works with DRST Steering Committee composed of reps from the five counties and trail groups along the trail corridor. She has been involved in trail work and land conservation for over twenty years and became more involved after retiring from the North Carolina Zoo in 2018. She has a bachelor’s degree in zoology and master’s degree in regional planning from UNC-CH. Trail honors include 2021 Uwharrie Trail Champion and the 2022 Piedmont Legacy Trail Award.