From the coast to the mountains – Day 2 of the Tar Heel Bus Tour
On the second day of the Tar Heel Bus Tour, participants examined the University's impact on the coast, in the mountains and farmlands.
From a boat on the Neuse River to 60 stories above Charlotte to the farmlands of Sampson County, Tar Heel Bus Tour participants experienced how members of the Carolina community are effecting change in a variety of our state’s communities during the second day of their tour throughout North Carolina.
Since leaving from Chapel Hill on Oct. 16, the Tar Heel Bus Tour — on three different routes — has traveled to Siler City, Snow Hill, Winterville, Lumberton, Pembroke, Rocky Mount, Clinton, Supply, Wilmington, Greenville, New Bern, Kinston, Charlotte, Connelly Springs, Cherokee and Asheville.
After taking in a grand view of downtown Charlotte from the 60th floor of the Bank of America Financial Center, the western bus headed toward the mountains. During a stop at South Mountains State Park, participants saw how Carolina’s Institute for the Environment is working with North Carolina State Parks to provide professional development opportunities for teachers to learn how to use the outdoors and natural resources to teach students. The bus closed the day with a tour of Cherokee to see how Carolina Law students are serving the community through free legal services.
Tar Heel Bus Tour participants on the eastern route began their day by stepping off the bus and stepping onto boats to tour the Neuse River with UNC Institute of Marine Sciences researchers. The water tour highlighted how IMS is working with coastal communities through research, education and engagement. After returning to land, the faculty members and senior administrators made a stop at New Bern’s Tryon Palace for a presentation about disaster relief and recovery efforts in Ocracoke before ending their day in Kinston to learn how Carolina is working with the community to redevelop the downtown area.
In the southeastern part of North Carolina, the tour continued its journey through Robeson County to hear more about the University’s disaster relief and recovery efforts in the aftermath of several hurricanes. A tour through the farmlands of Sampson County with Carolina Board of Trustee member Allie Ray McCullen included examples of some of the agriculture and farming concerns for North Carolina farmers. After a trip to the Green Swamp Preserve — a nearly 13,000-acre preserve that is home to 14 species of insectivorous plants — participants toured Wilmington and learned about Carolina’s research projects that address emerging contaminants in the Cape Fear River.
