Discover NC! Moore County

Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve

Southern Pines, NC (http://www.ils.unc.edu/parkproject/visit/wewo/home.html)

Provider: North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation

Resource summary

• Appropriate grades: 3–12
• Subjects: science (biology and life science, environmental science, geology, natural history), social studies (North Carolina)
• Provider: North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation

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An 898-acre natural preserve, Weymouth Woods is different from traditional parks. This protected area serves to preserve and portray the natural features unique to its region. It is a place where visitors can see how human actions have affected the environment in this the longleaf pine forest. They can also learn about rare and endangered plant and animal species.

The exhibit hall allows visitors a deeper look into the significance of the longleaf pine forest. The interactive, hands-on exhibits cover topics such as prescribed burning, geology, park plants and animals, and the historical naval stores industry in the Sandhills.

Rangers hold regularly scheduled educational and interpretive programs about the preserve. To arrange a special exploration for your group or class, contact the park office at (910) 692-2167 or send email to weymouth.woods@ncmail.net.

Each state park and recreation area has an EELE (environmental education learning experience) curriculum guide that includes on-site activities, pre- and post-visit activities, student information pages, worksheets, fact sheets, vocabulary, and references. These educational materials are correlated to North Carolina's competency-based curriculum in science, social studies, mathematics and English/language arts. Teachers can receive a free copy of an EELE by attending its corresponding workshop at a park, or they can borrow these guides through interlibrary loan at any public library in North Carolina. The EELE for Weymouth Woods - Sandhills Nature Preserve is "Rooted in Time" for grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

The North Carolina State Parks website offers a search feature for finding the plants and animals that can be found at each state park. Using the drop-down menus, you can choose a park and either an amphibian, bird, reptile, mammal, fungus, insect, or vascular plant. You can search within each group by family, scientific name, or common name. There are photographs from the state parks and fun facts for some of the species.