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January 1-31

Support Our Wildlife Ambassadors

ROAN MOUNTAIN STATE PARK

All Month

Price:

• $10.00 / Feeds one bird a day
• $20.00 / Feeds two birds a day
• $30.00 / Feeds three birds a day
• $40.00 / Feeds four birds a day
• $50.00 / Feeds five birds a day

At Roan Mountain we house, care for, and educate the public on a variety of native animals. We work under an educational permit from TWRA. Currently, we care for three birds of prey and several snakes! As you can imagine, caring for these animals is costly, as their food and health care is a specialty!

All of our animals are non-releasable for a variety of reasons. We frequently program with these animals and never charge for educational programs when using them. Here is your opportunity to support our educational wildlife program and help us care for these animals! 

All donations will go to purchase food, pay vet bills, purchase gloves, tethers, falconry equipment, aquarium bedding, and to improve and build more housing facilities for our non-releasable birds of prey.

To donate click the green “Register for Event” button at the right. Your donation is a one-time payment. If you wish to cover more than one day, update the “quantity” you wish to donate, or simply come back to this page in future months. 

Thank you for supporting our Wildlife Ambassadors at Roan Mountain State Park!

 

January 2025

January 11

Fancywork for Beginners & Enthusiasts: Birds of Winter – 6 – 8 p.m. Meet at: Conference Center. Price: $12 Attend Only
$16 Attendee + Pattern Designs
$20 Attendee + Pattern Designs + Project Kit
$45 Attendee + Full Embroidery & Project Kit

Decorative hand-stitched embroidery (fancy work) was all the rage in the early 20th century and continues to be an important traditional art across the world. Although beautiful embroidery work can be complex, every needleworker starts from the beginning.

Join our workshop and take your first steps, or continue a journey you’ve already started (bring a project to show off, if you like!). We’ll look at examples of embroidery and designs inspired by the winter birds that can be found here in Roan Mountain. We’ll then work on a stitch-along project that explores beginning techniques of “thread painting”.

**If you attended our embroidery workshops last year, this program will possibly include some of the same birds and historical examples, but we’ll be working on an entirely new project with a technique called “thread painting” (aka “silk shading”).

***Adaptive technology for embroidery is fantastic. Bring your table light or magnifying lamp, if you use one. We’ll all enjoy swapping product reviews and seeing what’s out there!

Stash Swap: For this workshop, we’ll be hosting a table for stash swapping. If you have embroidery tools and supplies you no longer need, bring them along and pass them to someone who will use them. 

Refreshments: Enjoy an assortment of tea and refreshments!

Project Kit: If you already have your own kit, this is the option for you. It includes:

• Packet of themed designs to inspire your own future projects.
• Pre-printed cloth with stitch-a-long project design.
• An assortment of floss to complete the stitch-a-long design.

Full Embroidery Kit Contents: If you are just getting started, this take-home kit provides every basic embroidery tool, and a few handy extras.

• Project Kit (see above)
• Zip Pouch
• 8″ plastic hoop
• Scissors
• Needle set
• Needle threader
• Thimble
• Washable transfer pencil & transfer paper
• Card-style thread organizer

 

January 12

Raptors of the Roan – Meet at Roan Mountain State Park Office Aviary. A live Birds of Prey ambassador program will be held from 3-4 p.m. Join Roan Mountain State Park at the aviary (located at the park headquarters building) to meet our owl ambassadors and aviary staff. Participants will become familiar with the rich and unique diversity of birds of prey (raptors) found in the park and surrounding area of Roan Mountain. This is a great way to learn of many local raptor birding destinations and events! Of course, meeting our live education owls is an experience all its own!

January 17

Senses of the Night Hike – 8 – 9 p.m. Meet at Shelter 3 in the campground. Price is $10 and you can register for the event. Join us for an after-hours nature tour through the forests of Roan Mountain State Park. Park Ranger Rodriguez will lead you through the dark on a 0.5-mile hike through the Tom Gray trail. We will be learning about how nocturnal wildlife have adapted their senses for the dark and try our own hand at adapting to the night! From glow in the dark animals, starry nights, and turning over logs and rocks to find some of our park’s most secretive wildlife, this nocturnal prowl is fun for the entire family.

This activity is limited to 20 participants at a cost of $10 per person. Registered participants will meet at Shelter 3, located in the campground on the right once you pass the tennis courts. Guests are encouraged to bring sturdy hiking shoes, weather appropriate clothing, water, and a flashlight.

January 18 

Peg Leg Mine Geoventure – 1 – 3 p.m. Meet at Roan Mountain State Park Visitor Center. Price is $15 and you can register for the event. Join Roan Mountain State Park from 1-3 p.m. EST for a geology adventure hike to the Peg Leg Mine. Your host, Ranger Phil Hylen, will take you back into the late 1800s as you take on the role of iron miners exploring the ridges of the mountains for traces of iron ore. Along the way, we will learn the geology of Roan Mountain and why it is so unique. After exploring the Peg Leg Mine on a 1.2-mile hike (moderate-difficulty natural terrain trail), participants will get to crack open geodes and iron ore to keep.

This program will begin and end at the Visitor Center. This time of the year is historically cold, so be sure to dress in layers appropriate for the temperatures and wear good hiking shoes. Bring plenty of water and any snacks you may need. This program is limited to 20 participants and has a $15 fee per head.

 

January 19

Doe River Beginner’s Fly-tying – 2 – 4 p.m. Meet at Roan Mountain State Park Visitor Center. The price is $20 and you can register for the event. Have you ever wanted to learn to make your own flies for fishing the streams of the Roan Mountain? Join Park Ranger Phil Hylen for our Fly-tying for Beginners class. In this 2-hour course, participants will learn the basics of the art of fly-tying and make their very first fly. This class will also introduce you to some of our more common aquatic critters that flies model by turning over a few rocks and leaves in the Doe River and getting a close-up look at the dinner menu our local trout enjoy. This 101 class is limited to 5 fly-tyers at a fee of $20/person with registration available by using the registration link on this event or at a park office. If you are registering a youth, parents are asked to stay and assist the minor during the class (assisting adults are not required to register unless you are making your own fly as well). This class will take place at the Roan Mountain State Park Visitor Center – meet your host on the porch.

 

January 25

Tree Ring Printmaking –  6 – 7:30 p.m. Meet at the Conference Center. Price is $10 and you can register for the event. Come on out and join us as we create our very own works of art!

We will be utilizing wood that has fallen due to Hurricane Helene, and repurposing them to create tree cookie prints! By using tree rings we get the opportunity to dive deeper into learning the life story of that tree and the forest around it. As we learn more about dendrochronology, we will reflect on how we trees, and us, measure our successes every year.

During this program we will be using tree cookies, acrylic paint, and our canvases to create works of art. All materials are provided.

Registration is required as spaces are limited.

 

January 31

2025 Volunteer Appreciation Banquet – 5 – 7 p.m. Meet at the Roan Mountain State Park Conference Center. It is a free event. Register for the event. Roan Mountain State Park has been lucky to have many volunteers join us over the past several years for trail work, events, working with the park animals, maintaining the Miller Farmstead, and much more! All volunteers are invited to be celebrated. This banquet will serve volunteers and their families a pizza and salad dinner with plenty of sides and desserts. Over dinner, a short presentation will celebrate the major volunteer accomplishments over the past two years as well as a look forward into plans for 2025.

Volunteers are asked to register the number of people they plan on attending with for a food count. A slideshow presentation of volunteer action shots will also be offered during the event. Volunteers are welcome to submit any photo they wish prior to the event to be added.