GATLINBURG, TN – Discover Life in America (DLiA) has partnered with the award-winning hiking company, A Walk in the Woods, to present the first annual Great Smokies Eco-Adventure. This exciting new fundraising event will feature “glamping” (glamorous camping), gourmet food and drink, guided nature hikes, as well as live music. The Eco-Adventure will be held April 19–21, 2020 near Gatlinburg, and all proceeds will help support DLiA’s mission to conduct biodiversity research in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Glamping event; image submitted

Eco-Adventurers will see the Smokies like never before at the height of the spring wildflower season! Professional guides from A Walk in the Woods will lead guests on world-class day hikes through the National Park, and DLiA staff will provide unique insight on Smokies flora and fauna, drawing from their extensive knowledge of Smokies biodiversity. Guests will stay at A Walk in the Woods’ luxurious off-grid camp near Cosby, TN and will be treated to gourmet food (including vegan options), local beer and wine, and live music by local bluegrass duet Elza Gate.

All proceeds from the Great Smokies Eco-Adventure will help support DLiA, the non-profit organization coordinating the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Currently there are 20,203 unique species known to the Park—with more than half of those documented by the ATBI in its 21+ year mission to catalog every species that exists in the Smokies. The ATBI effort continues as scientists estimate that there are tens of thousands of species yet undiscovered in the Park.

“I think people are going to love this truly ‘edu-taining’ event! Guests will learn about the wildflowers, insects, and other life that makes the Smokies such an amazing place, but in a fun and luxurious atmosphere,” said Todd Witcher, Executive Director for DLiA, “and it’ll be timed perfectly with the Wildflower Pilgrimage here in the Smokies”, referring to the annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which occurs April 22–25, 2020.

Tickets for the Great Smokies Eco-Adventure are $1,500 per person, which includes all food (including vegan options) and drink, glamping accommodations, entertainment, and transportation during the event. Tickets for this exclusive event are limited, so purchase now! For more information about the event, please visit dlia.org.

“We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.” - E. O. Wilson

DLiA’s mission is to discover, understand, and conserve biological diversity. DLiA’s flagship project, the ATBI (All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory), is a joint effort with the National Park System to identify and understand every species within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. To date, DLiA has helped add over 10,000 species to the inventory of life in the park, 1,021 which are new to science.