How well do you know your Smokies? Do you want to learn more, explore more, and enjoy more? Well, the Smoky Mountain Field School just might be the thing for you.
Forty years ago, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, came together in an education partnership. They called it, Smoky Mountain Field School.
That first year, less than a dozen students participated. Today, hundreds of people, of all ages, take advantage of more than fifty superb indoor and outdoor training courses.
Courses
Our affordable courses offer memorable workshops, hikes, and adventures for mountain lovers. Most courses are $69, with the photography course being $99.
Classroom
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a wonderful outdoor classroom and the folks at UT are great educators. Together, they provide a wonderful experience for anyone interested in exploring, learning, and enjoying the park.
Instructors
Instructors for the Smoky Mountain Field School include professors, naturalists, park personnel, wildlife advocates, and other specialists.
Purpose
The goal of all the courses, is to intensify the public’s regard for, perception of, and stewardship of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The school seeks to accomplish this through education regarding the park’s natural and cultural resources. The variety of activities described below, provide opportunity and encouragement to explore the park.
Hands-on experience, workshops, lectures, etc., all hone skills used in studying and interpreting the natural world.
Smoky Mountain Field School is committed to excellent, economical, and attainable educational opportunities, with emphasis on the park’s magnificent, varied, and delicate resources – both natural and cultural.
Program Schedule
The Smoky Mountain Field School program runs from March to November each year. The courses cover flora from plant lore to plant diversity, fall colors, old-growth forests, wildflowers, and foraging for food and farmacy. The fauna emphasis covers salamanders, monarch butterflies, orienteering and the never to be left out bears of the Smokies.
Summary
A complete list of courses is on the Smoky Mountain Field School website.
You may register by following the above URL, then clicking on the course for which you want to register. Do not delay if you want to sign up for a course; they fill up quickly.
Phone 865-974-0150.
