HHS students enhance Jackrabbit mountain trail system

  • From left, Sophie Sommer, Hannah Bradshaw, Amelia Manning, Madalynn Nemkovich, Karla Slade, Bailey Reeves, Hailey Mulkey, Teacher Silas Brown, Eli White, Layne Ledford, Axel Alburto, Kaden Ledford, Joanna Atkisson, Jacob Lee, Ephraim Jones, Maggie McClure, Tony Ward, Tyler Osborn, Alexis Spain and Erica Dockery spent the day learning about the history of the trail system and plants growing there.
    From left, Sophie Sommer, Hannah Bradshaw, Amelia Manning, Madalynn Nemkovich, Karla Slade, Bailey Reeves, Hailey Mulkey, Teacher Silas Brown, Eli White, Layne Ledford, Axel Alburto, Kaden Ledford, Joanna Atkisson, Jacob Lee, Ephraim Jones, Maggie McClure, Tony Ward, Tyler Osborn, Alexis Spain and Erica Dockery spent the day learning about the history of the trail system and plants growing there.
    Devil’s Walking Stick. Silky Dogwood. Hearts-a-Bustin’. “Leaves of three, let it be.” “Native versus invasive.”Those were a few of the names and phrases heard on the beautiful last day in April, when the Jackrabbit Mountain Trail System functioned as an outdoor classroom and service project for Hayesville High School agriculture students. Silas Brown, FFA and Ag Sciences teacher and bus driver, brought 17 of his junior and senior students to JMTS to learn about the history of the trail system and the abundance of plants growing there. Led by the knowledgeable Tony Ward, Southwestern Regional Habitat Restoration Coordinator for community non-profit MountainTrue, the students hiked the white “Central Loop” trail, stopping along the way to observe unique plants and trees. Along the way, the students enhanced the trails by installing twenty new plant markers. That means many of the 20,000 plus hikers and bikers using the trails annually will also appreciate the rich diversity of plants in this section of Appalachia. The outing was organized by Joanna P. Atkisson, vice president of Clay County Communities Revitalization Association and included Clay County Extension Agent Tyler Osborn. Atkisson, a retired Hayesville school nurse, was instrumental in the development of the recreational trails over the last 23 years through her involvement with CCCRA and the Southern Appalachian Bicycle Association and collaborating with the Tusquittee Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service. She shared her enthusiasm for the trail system and its biodiversity, which inspired the students’ interest. It was a picture-perfect spring day for the three-mile trek. The students heard about the negative impact of invasive species and the healing powers of native plants. Ward taught them to differentiate the toxic three-leaf poison ivy from the five-leaf Virginia Creeper vine. Atkisson showed them the sharp thorns on the trunk of the Devil’s Walking Stick and the bloom of a Pink Lady Slipper plant. Students witnessed a rare blooming of the American Columbo and snapped photos of flowering Red Trillium, Catesby’s Trillium and a May Apple blossom. Some were lucky enough to watch a handsome pileated woodpecker foraging on the forest floor. After a few hours in the woods, Brown and the hungry students boarded the school bus to head back to campus, hopefully with greater appreciation for the beauty of Clay County and being satisfied by enhancing the trail experience for Jackrabbit visitors.