Piedmont Discovery Center

10/30/2026

Happy Fungi Friday!

Lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus) mushrooms are fruiting.

Lion's mane mushrooms typically fruit from late summer through fall.

They are primarily saprotropic (feeding on dead or dying hardwood trees) but can occasionally grow in a wounded tree and further weaken it.

Lion's mane is a white-rot species. This means that it breaks down lignin—the complex polymer that gives wood its structural rigidity—more efficiently than cellulose. This activity softens the wood and opens up tree cavity nesting space for birds and other animals.

10/28/2026

"When I fall let me fall without regret like a leaf." - Wendell Berry, 1970.

Autumn is full! Come see us at the center and celebrate these wondrous changes with us - perhaps with gentle strolls and moments made for pause amid life's ebbs and flows.

Open Hours:
Wednesdays 10am-4pm
Fridays 10am-2pm
Sundays 10am-2pm

1643 Salem Road, Schuyler, Virginia 22969

10/27/2026

Volunteer spotlight!

Meet Stacy:

" I first experienced PDC's Quarry Gardens during my Master Naturalist training."

"It was on the field trip to QG that I began to understand the convergence of geology, biology, and botany. Add this to the beauty of the Gardens and the mission of PDC in biodiversity education and I was hooked!"

"The history of the soapstone industry in this area is captivating. I enjoy volunteering at PDC because I get to read and learn a little more each time and pass what I learn along to those who come to visit. I enjoy speaking with the visitors and learning about where they came from and what brought them."

"When I visit I also get to see what cool projects and programs PDC is hosting that month. I have attended caterpillar walks and the annual Dragonfly Symposium and I am looking forward to more!"

Thank you, Stacy!

When she is not helping local turtles cross the road, Stacy volunteers for Piedmont Discovery Center as a docent. She has trained to greet visitors on open days and teach them about Schuyler's unique cultural and natural history.

10/23/2026

Happy Fungi Friday from Greece!!

PDC Stewardship Manager, Charlie Aller, is currently leading a mushrooming expedition in Greece. He was kind enough to share an exciting find from a meadow in a Greek fir forest (Abies cephalonica).

The mushroom is a king oyster (Pleurotus eryngii) and it grows in association with an Eryingium species (possibly Eryingium amethystinum var. tenuifolium)!

10/23/2026

We are so excited to dip our toes into the North Carolina Piedmont this season! PDC’s Drew Chaney traveled down to Charlotte, NC today to assist representatives from Daniel Stowe Conservancy and Mecklenburg County Parks Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation with vegetative data collection at Shuffletown Prairie Preserve, an exceptional remnant Piedmont grassland over gabbro. Check out what’s blooming right now!

Daniel Stowe Conservancy

10/22/2026

How to wake up a woodland!

Our Witness Tree Savanna Restoration Project aims to increase light availability and biodiversity in a densely wooded area that has grown up around a 400+ year old Fernow's oak tree.

For thousands of years fires would have naturally thinned this woodland. Grazing bison might have pruned small trees as well!

Without fire and bison to tend them, spots like this can become too shaded to allow life on the ground.

Follow along as PDC thoughtfully tends to our 181-acre campus in Nelson County Virginia. We are excited to see this landscape step into the sun!

10/21/2026

So excited to expand our Piedmont Grasslands Assessment to North Carolina and South Carolina! We are training and mentoring an incredible team in the Charlotte, NC area that includes staff and volunteers from the Daniel Stowe Conservancy, Catawba Lands Conservancy, and Mecklenburg County Natural Heritage.

For fall, we’re excited to dive into some major projects that our Gardens + Natural Resources team has been working hard on all year, including some major scientific research on grasslands assessment with the Piedmont Discovery Center, growing our native plant nursery to astonishing numbers and more!

Read the Conservation Corner Blog Post: https://danielstoweconservancy.org/2026/10/13/conservationcornerfall/