Shade Your Stream Symposium | Stream Restoration Workshop NC | May 24, 2025

Restoring streams means protecting what matters most—our water, our wildlife, and our way of life.

Shade Your Stream Symposium – Stream Restoration & Native Plant Workshop

Restore Your Stream. Protect Your Land.

Join us for a hands-on day of learning about native plants, streambank restoration, and natural water protection at the Shade Your Stream Symposium.

Shade Your Stream 650x650 with Symposium

Join us for hands-on learning in riparian buffers, native plants, and stream restoration techniques

Saturday May 24th, 2025 | 9am Start
Sliding Scale Pricing $30 -$10

 

Who should attend? This event is perfect for homeowners, educators, land managers, or anyone curious about protecting water quality and improving stream health.

9:00 am: Welcome to Winding Stair.

Event Schedule

9:15 am: Bill Mclarney of Mainspring Conservation Trust discusses the importance of the Mainspring Shade Your Stream program and its impact on watershed protection.

10:00 am: Alex Haiss of Mainspring Conservation Trust will explore the specific creatures that can be found in our creeks and rivers. The Southern Appalachians are home to many special fishes, including some that don’t live anywhere else in the world! Many important insects start their lives in water and become airborne later in life, such as dragonflies, mayflies, and stoneflies. Other oft-overlooked but important critters, like endangered muscles and rare crayfish, live in our waters, too.

11:00 am: Snack and restroom break

11:15 am: Lewis Penland of Penland Contracting gives an overview of modern stream restoration techniques and project examples.

12:15 pm: Greg Mason of Winding Stair presents on native plants ideal for stream banks and riparian buffer zones.

1:00 pm: Snack and restroom break

Panel Q&A: Real-World Stream Restoration

1:15 pm: Join Bill, Alex, and Lewis — along with Sunny (Forest Stewards, Inc.) and Jennifer (project lead at Mountain View Intermediate School) — for an open Q&A about the grant process and hands-on restoration work.

This event takes place at Winding Stair Farm, Franklin, North Carolina — serving the western NC mountain region.

* OPTIONAL *
2:30 pm: Take a guided tour of the completed stream restoration project at Mountain View Intermediate School with Jennifer.

If you wish to receive reminder information and event details by email, please be sure to check the box to receive our newsletter. If you wish to attend but prefer to pay in person at the class, please email us at accounts@windingstairfarm.com. You may pay a cash payment directly to Patricia, but we do need to know you will be coming.

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