by Dr. Jennifer Frick
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Ecology

The Appalachian Almanac: just the title takes you back to a time when we all lived closer to the land and the trusty Farmer’s Almanac was an essential guide to nature. That’s the vision of The Appalachian Almanac--a series of stories that portray timely events of the natural world. Each Almanac episode will be published at the same time that the natural event occurs.

Dr. Jennifer Frick, assistant professor of environmental studies and ecology at Brevard College, is the author and the recorded voice of The Appalachian Almanac. Originally from South Carolina and now living in the woods of North Carolina, she is intimately familiar with the plants and animals that she describes. Frick teaches courses on natural history, local flora and fauna, ecology, and environmental studies.

The Transylvania Times, Brevard's own local newspaper, currently runs the column twice each month. These columns are usually, but not always, published during the second and fourth weeks of the month, and often in the Thursday edition of the biweekly paper.

With the support of alumnus Rick Eldridge (’76), the first of the series of radio spots have been produced in Eldridge’s professional production facilities, Mainstream Entertainment, Inc. in Charlotte, North Carolina. The narrative is complemented by strains of Appalachian-style music. Dr. Paul Elwood, former editor of The Brevard Magazine and assistant professor in the Music Department, and Steve Trismen, a fiddler with the band Jupiter Coyote, assisted in the coordination of the musical background.

Next step: coming to a radio station near you soon. We plan to pitch the radio series to local public radio stations and have dreams of being aired on NPR. Here are the texts of some of The Appalachian Almanac episodes that have already been produced:

Dr. Jennifer Frick is an assistant professor of environmental studies and ecology at Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina. Brevard College is a four-year, liberal arts college nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

Questions and comments to webmaster@brevard.edu
Last revised:May 23, 2006
Copyright © 2000 by Jennifer E. Frick