(Photo © Hilton Pond Center) Looking north along the Catawba River, just downstream from Bowater Carolina pulp and paper plant

The Catawba River flows from the North Carolina mountains and into South Carolina, eventually joining the Wateree River. Although it is one of the most heavily dammed rivers in the eastern U.S., the Catawba is still home to an amazing variety of plants and animals--some of which are found almost nowhere else. In this highly acclaimed slide presentation, Bill Hilton Jr.--executive director of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History--reveals some "secrets" of the Catawba's critters and how they--and humans--depend on this important waterway.

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Tales of "The Piedmont Naturalist" (an on-going series)

Bill Hilton Jr., executive director of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History, has the nom de plume of "The Piedmont Naturalist." For several years he published a newspaper column under that name, and in 1987 compiled many of the essays in an award-winning book. In Tales of "The Piedmont Naturalist," Hilton delights his audiences with anecdotes from the world of nature--not just in the Piedmont but wherever his birding and botanizing may take him. These presentations are illustrated with vivid color slides of flora, fauna, and habitats that correlate perfectly with Hilton's accounts of his experiences in the natural world that surrounds us all.

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Snake Therapy for the Serpentophobic (and Others)

Despite its name, this little Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus) couldn't bite you even if it wanted to, but it still strikes fear in the hearts of many. Through his program on "Snake Therapy for the Serpentophobic (and Others)," Bill Hilton Jr. of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History aims to teach you about the value of our native snakes and is likely to help cure your phobias. Here's an opportunity for a real hands-on experience with the earth's most fascinating creatures.

(Photo © Hilton Pond Center) Rough Green Snake

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John Bachman,
The Naturalist.
In the Shadow of Audubon?
(Not Any More!)

The Rev. John Bachman was a Lutheran clergyman who lived in Charleston SC from 1815 until his death in 1874. In his "spare time" he became one of South Carolina's greatest naturalists and the man for whom Bachman's Warbler and Bachman's Sparrow are named. He was also a contemporary of John James Audbon, with whom he collaborated on the Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America--a three-volume set that was the mammalian equivalent to Audubon's Bird's of North America. In this presentation, Bill Hilton Jr. of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History discusses Bachman's antebellum natural history work and the many animals named for or by him.

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