When: November 12, 2026 @ 9:00 am
FIND FRIENDSHIP AND FULFILLMENT WHILE HELPING THE EARTH
Join us every other Thursday to make friends and challenge your muscles while enjoying WNC’s beautiful scenery! Whether it’s building bridges and maintaining trails on one of our preserves or removing invasive species and planting trees on an easement property, volunteering with Mainspring will give you a chance to explore, protect, and restore the well-known spots and hidden gems of this region. There are opportunities to use all sorts of fun tools, from chainsaws to sledgehammers to good old fashioned elbow grease!
Location and duties vary per workday. This week, we’ll be at Gibson Bottoms Preserve in Franklin to continue our oak forest restoration efforts. One of our tasks will be planting white oak seedlings. These trees are increasingly rare on our landscape, but boast great wildlife and cultural value. White oaks feed a wide range of wildlife- from weevils to blue jays, caterpillars to foxes- plus are a key material in Cherokee baskets. They are also fire-adapted plants, and with a prescribed burn scheduled at Gibson Bottoms in the weeks leading up to the workday, volunteers may have the chance to see firsthand how these hardy trees survive frequent, low-intensity fires. Our second task will be installing a deer fence around the uncommon American Barberry (Berberis canadensis) that grows on the property. Our native barberry is now much scarcer in our forests than invasive, nonnative Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii), and needs all the support it can get. American Barberry attracts and feeds native pollinators, and the ripe fruits are a treat to birds while the dense branches provide shelter.
There is a 1/4 mile, easy hike/walk from the parking area to the workday area. This workday involves digging holes, including bending or kneeling. We will work from 9:00am-12:00pm, and enjoy a provided snack at the end of the workday.
To receive regular emails about the details of upcoming workdays, please fill out our volunteer form.
Want to help protect the special places we know and love, but aren’t sure you’re up for digging in the dirt? We have indoor, low-exertion volunteer opportunities too! Check them out here.
To RSVP or inquire about this workday, email Kelder at [email protected]
