Yearly Archives: 2025

New Hope Creek Restoration: A Community Effort New Hope Creek is the lifeblood of the Duke Forest’s Korstian Division and a vital tributary to Jordan Lake, a drinking water source for our region. Currently, the creek is the focus of a three-phase restoration effort that is as much about people […]

Over sixty community members joined us at New Hope Creek near the Wooden Bridge in the Korstian Division for our first-ever Biodiversity Day. Local experts led small groups through nearby habitats while sharing their knowledge on plants, fungi, birds, fish, and mussels. Participants also learned about how our ongoing restoration […]

This summer, we had the pleasure of hosting Chloe, a Durham resident and undergraduate student at Brown University, as our intern. Chloe is a Presidential Scholar at Brown, a program designed for high-achieving, creative students to foster intellectual curiosity through research, leadership, and community engagement. She came to us by […]

The North Carolina Master Naturalists Program, run through N.C. Cooperative Extension, provides opportunities for community members to learn about and contribute to conservation and stewardship. Adult students across a wide range of ages and with varied professional backgrounds apply to the year-long Master Naturalists program and form a cohort that […]

Two and a half months into the New Hope Creek Restoration Project, the new clear-span bridge is taking shape! Our partners at Sanford Contractors drilled and poured the primary concrete support pillars that are fixed to the bedrock beneath the floodplain. They also formed and poured the “end bents,” which […]

The week before classes started, the Duke Forest hosted three First-Year Experiential Orientation groups. Before these new Duke students arrive on campus, they choose from dozens of orientation options based on their interests and passions. This year, the Duke Forest hosted Project Global, Project Herd, and Project Earth, which all […]

Written by: Sara Childs, Executive Director of the Duke Forest I had never been to the Adirondacks, and I knew nothing of its history – not the cultural, ecological, or geological. I was wowed by all of it. My very first stop on the trip, before arriving at Paul Smith’s […]

This summer, the Duke Forest hosted two programs designed to spark curiosity and connect young learners with nature. From welcoming summer campers displaced by flood damage to hosting families for story time and hands-on exploration, the Forest continues to serve as a living classroom where imagination, discovery, and stewardship take […]

Employees from Google’s Durham office recently joined several Duke Forest Staff and Forest Steward volunteers for a service event as part of their global “GoogleServe” campaign. The group learned how to identify non-native Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) and spent a hot couple of hours combing through the forest, cutting out […]

The newly-formed Triangle Mycological Society (TMS) recently hosted a Fungal Foray in the Duke Forest. Foraging for and collecting mushrooms (or anything!) in the Forest is strictly prohibited. However, under the guidance of Rytas Vilgalys, Duke Professor of Biology, who holds a current research registration approval through the Office of […]

The Duke Forest and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) have been working together as partners since 2023 around the New Hope Creek Restoration Projects. Our mutual goals include protecting and improving habitat within New Hope Creek for freshwater mussels and enhancing the populations of native mussel species. After […]

Tropical Storm Chantal brought significant damage to many natural areas in our region, and the Duke Forest was no exception. All six divisions of the Forest sustained damage, with the Korstian Division hit hardest due to intense flooding along New Hope Creek. Water levels there rose to heights not seen […]

Duke Forest Executive Director Sara Childs recently gave a keynote address at the Carolina Biodiversity Collaborative (CBC) Annual Symposium, hosted at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. The CBC’s mission is to address the biodiversity crisis by advocating for biodiversity research, promoting education in biodiversity-related careers, and engaging in […]

On Wednesday, June 11, Duke Forest staff joined Libby White from the Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing Lab at the Concrete Bridge for the second and final pre-restoration drone flight of New Hope Creek. This flight, along with one from last fall, captured high-resolution LiDAR and visible light data during two […]

One of the primary motivations for embarking on the restoration of New Hope Creek is to improve habitat quality and connectivity, particularly for the state threatened Notched Rainbow Mussel (Villosa constricta) and the federally threatened/state endangered Atlantic Pigtoe Mussel (Fusconaia masoni). While the Concrete Bridge over New Hope Creek does have culverts to […]

Written by Tyler Gibson, Office of the Duke Forest. As drone technology rapidly evolves, researchers increasingly use these flying tools to gather data where traditional tools and human eyes cannot reach. Lightweight, agile, and equipped with advanced sensors, drones unlock new insights from their unique vantage points. The Duke Forest […]

By offering hands-on, place-based learning opportunities, the Duke Forest ignites students’ curiosity and appreciation for the natural world. Whether it’s high school students conducting scientific research for the first time or elementary students discovering the magic of the outdoors, the Forest continues to inspire the next generation of environmental scholars and […]