PICKENS — The public is invited to join in a day of Nature Discovery at Hagood Mill with a host of experts on hand to answer questions, provide hand-outs and make a variety of presentations.

Bring family and friends for a day of fun and information about the natural beauty of the Carolina Upcountry on Saturday, May 4, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center, 138 Hagood Mill Road in Pickens.

“One great way to enjoy the Nature around us is with a walk and we have several for you to select from throughout the day; several volunteers from the Foothills Master Gardeners as well as Mushroom Mountain’s Tradd Cotter will be leading the walks,” said park Director Allen Coleman. “Visitors can sign up for Nature, Fungus, Herbs and Wildflower walks, which will be limited in size to 20 participants and last about 30 minutes. Sign up at the Hagood cabin when you first arrive to ensure you have a spot.”

There will be quite the variety of things on site for visitors to check out. Start by enjoying the new nature & music based DVD “Crown of Carolina” by Bobby Holliday. Stop by and talk with Bobby about his seven year dedication to the creation of this gorgeous DVD, which you can purchase for $20 during Nature Discovery Day.

Spend a bit of time on the old cabin porch to hear Dennis Chastain share his amusing stories about life and adventures in these beautiful mountains. Stop by the Foothills Trail table and you’ll be amazed at the number of hiking trails and waterfalls you can visit within a close proximity.

Participants from the self-guided “Green Living Tour” will be making the Hagood Mill one of their stops. This tour teaches participants how to leave a lighter footprint on the Earth and many will be happy to share this with the visitors at this special Nature Discovery Day.

Meet the minds and hearts of the staff from Earth Design, a landscape design company located in Pickens, that specializes in the use of all Native Plants. If you want to totally redo your landscape, or just begin to better use the native habitats already existing, stop by this booth to learn more about how you can incorporate Native Plants into nearly every existing landscape.

Visit the booth of the South Carolina Native Plant Society and The Foothills Master Gardeners where they will share their vast knowledge about plants of this area. Wish you had some of these plants on your property? They will offer a variety of plants for sale.

Ed Pivorun, an award-winning Nature Photographer, will be set up to help with tips on how you can best capture photos of the local wildlife. Ed will be making presentations throughout the day about the unique diversity of mammals of the Upstate.

Carol Bozarth will be available on the Hagood cabin porch to talk with you about the joys of Hearth Cooking. She is also one of the Field School teachers at the Hagood Mill (remember to pick up her class list). This summer a New Series of one-day Nature Drawing workshops will be offered at the Hagood Mill by Art Instructor, Jo Johnston (Carol will also have copies of these workshops). Tuition from these Field School classes compensates the instructors and help to fund the Nature Conservation Project at the Hagood Mill site.

Throughout the day, you will hear the sounds of banjo and fiddle by “Boney Fingers”, Joy Evans and Don Bruton.

Does all this fun make you hungry? The Gatehouse Restaurant will be on site to provide a variety of food items for sell to keep you comfortable. We highly recommend their delicious wraps!

Pickens County Stormwater Partners and the Pickens High School World Geography students will present “History of Water and Wells”; the Science Club will showcase “Waterwheel of Life. The Pickens County Stormwater mascots, Gilli, the storm water fish, and Finn, the storm drain dog…will be at the mill for this event!

Nena Rice, from the South Carolina Institute of Archeology and Anthropology in Columbia, will offer free arrowhead identification during this Nature Discovery Day event. She and a group of her friends will also have an interesting display for you to enjoy.

For “fun”gus information stop by the table of Tradd Cotter owner of the local business Mushroom Mountain. Tradd has a new published book that will be available in August – make sure you ask him about it. Want to learn more about how you can protect special areas of your land? Visit the boot of Upstate Forever and learn more about Land Trust.

Do not pass the opportunity to talk with Robin McGee, to learn about how to grow and use herbs (remember to pick up her class list). Have your heard lately about all the benefits of Grass Feed Beef? Robin can share more information about that. Enjoy all-natural soaps? She will have soap for sale.

All these activities promise to make this a very pleasant, but fun and fact filled, Nature Discovery Day – mark your calendar for May 4, 10 to 2, and plan to join us!

The Hagood Mill Site is open Wed. through Sat. from 10:00 to 4:00, to tour the buildings and grounds. Hagood Mill is located three miles north of Pickens or five miles south of Hwy 11, just off Hwy 178 on Hagood Mill Road. If you have questions or want more information contact the Pickens County Museum at 864-898-5963.