Welcome to

  Earthshine Nature Programs! 

What We Do

Earthshine Nature Programs teaches nature  awareness, research and conservation through exciting hands on education for people of all ages.  There are many branches of ENP—

Turtle Tracks is a wildlife conservation and research project that is studying the Eastern Box Turtle.  We are following several wild Eastern box turtles with mark-recapture and radio telemetry techniques in order to learn more about their habits, habitats and interactions with humans and our domestic animals.  Learn more about Turtle Tracks by clicking here or through the Our programs link on the right. 

Earthshine R&R is an Eastern box turtle rescue and rehabilitation program that provides care and a home for box turtles and other reptiles that have been injured due to encounters with humans and their machines, lost their homes due to habitat destruction, were former pets whose origins are unknown and those animals whose  injuries do not allow them to be released back into the wild.  Non-releasable animals become residents of the Earthshine turtle enclosure and educate people on the value and beauty of these wonderful living jewels of the forests.  Learn more about the R&R program by clicking here or through the our programs link on the right.   

Earth Caretakers provides unique nature and conservation education opportunities for guests of Earthshine Lodge as well as outreach to local schools and organizations in the Western North Carolina community.  Learn more about Earth Caretakers by clicking here or through the our programs link on the right.

The Trail Less Travled Nature Hike Bring a friend or the entire family to beautiful Earthshine Mountain Lodge for an unforgettable 1/2 day nature education hike.  Begin or end your hike with a mountain fancy lunch in the lodge.  Following a naturalist, you will explore mountain ridges, forested coves and riparian habitats where you will learn about the area’s wonderful plants and animals.  We will investigate the life in a mountain stream, peer into the nooks and niches of massive rock outcrops in search of crayfish and salamanders learn all about our forest friends from box turtles to black bears.  Whether you are a visitor from afar or a seasoned naturalist, this adventure will be sure to take you down the trail less traveled so call us today for more information.  This is a moderate level hike designed for ages 12 and up.

Earthshine Nature Programs includes; the Nature Center at Earthshine Mountain Lodge, the Turtle Tracks project, Box turtle DNA collection, Amphibian Chytrid fungus monitoring,  The NC Calling Amphibian Survey Project (CASP), the R&R box turtle rescue and rehabilitation program, the Trail Less Traveled nature hike and more!

Call Us Today!

Interested in learning more about Earthshine Mountain Lodge?  Check us out on our main site at

  www.earthshinelodge.com

or give us a call today at

828-862-4207