Already two Village Nature Series presentations have taken place this season at The Village Green Commons on Frank Allen Road in Cashiers.

But this month, one of the sponsors (along with The Village Green), The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust (HCLT), offers up its executive director, botanist Gary Wein, Ph.D., on June 27 to share “Sense of Place: A Final Embarkment.”

Dr. Wein has been actively conserving the area’s biologically diverse land for almost two decades. His focus with the Village Nature Series talk – as well as his life’s work – is to reveal the geological, ecological, historical, and unique natural heritage journey of the Southern Appalachians.

“Visitors and residents know that our part of the Appalachian Mountains is special,” said Dr. Wein. “You can feel it in your bones. This region has a strong sense of place. This presentation will tell you why it’s a special place.”

Dr. Wein was HCLT’s first full-time employee, coming on board in 2006. He is responsible for conservation efforts, acquiring new properties, and refining details for each project to maximize the conservation benefits and meet the needs of land donors.

He earned his Ph.D. in botany at Rutgers University and completed his undergraduate studies in biology at Niagara University. Plus, he has been a professor at Memphis State and the University of Mississippi, and he is currently an adjunct at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as on the graduate faculty at Western Carolina University.

At the Tuesday, June 27, 10 A.M. Village Nature Series presentation, Dr. Wein will share his wealth of botanical and biological knowledge.

Each summer, visitors and residents of the Plateau have an opportunity to learn about wildlife in the area and various features of their natural habitats. Previous Village Nature Series subjects have included raptors, black bears, and reptiles.

On July 25, Historian Lamar Marshall, research director of Southeast Heritage, will speak about the “Ancient Cherokee Travel Corridor.” This Village Nature Series will be held at the Albert Carlton Cashiers Community Library. He will share about the Lower Cherokee Towns along the Keowee River in modern Oconee and Pickens Counties in South Carolina, and the Out Towns located along the Tuckasegee and Oconaluftee Rivers in Jackson and Swain Counties.