FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2024

FRIDAY AFTERNOON

Participants will meet at the Appalachian Forest Museum after getting established in their cabins and having lunch. All indoor class sessions will be at the Appalachian Forest Museum.

Meeting and introductions 1:00-2:00  

Your instructor, Lisa Rainsong, will welcome you and explain the overall format of the course. 

Afternoon class session: Introduction to Crickets and Katydids. 2:00-3:30

Who are those invisible musicians creating these August evening concerts? Where are they singing from when it seems as though we’re surrounded by song? Although human musicians typically perform on horizontal stages, there are crickets and katydids singing from the ground to the tops of the trees! In this introductory program, you’ll meet the sections of the insect orchestra.

FRIDAY EVENING

Dinner and rest time for participants: 3:30-6:30

Pre-hike class session: Active Listening, part 1. 6:30-8:00

Listening to singing insects can seem overwhelming at first because there is so much sound and the distinctions between species can be small.

Trying to learn all these insects at once would be like attempting to identify each individual musician while the entire orchestra is playing. Instead, we’ll start with the sections of the “orchestra.” 

30-minute break: 8:00-8:30

Evening listening walk: meet at 8:30 for a listening exploration from 9 – 11PM.  We will walk the Ashy Sunflower trail (park at Crow Point on Caves Rd. near the highway.) Bring a flashlight (not just a phone) and wear hiking boots or sturdy hiking shoes. Please bring a plastic or glass jar.

Learning how to listen is an adequate challenge for the first night! Tonight’s focus will be on general categories rather than specific species. We will practice listening skills and identifying where the insects are singing. We will also catch and release a few crickets and katydids so participants can see them up close.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2024

SATURDAY MORNING

Participants will have breakfast in their cabins, then meet at the Appalachian Forest Museum

Morning class session: Crickets and Katydids in their Habitats. 10:00-11:30

There are quite a few species of crickets and katydids in the Arc of Appalachia’s preserves – more than any of us can learn all at once. Not all of these singers live in the same habitats, however, so you won’t be hearing all the species at the same time and in the same location. To begin learning more about these beautiful insects, we’ll consider them in habitat groups, giving us a better idea of which musicians share the same stages.

Participants adjourn for lunch at 11:30

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

Afternoon listening exploration: 2:00-4:00

While the majority of crickets and katydids sing after dark, some also sing during the afternoon. We’ll limit this afternoon’s field exploration to those daytime singers so no one gets overwhelmed by the possibilities. Our focus will be on how to listen and look for them, and how to distinguish meadow katydids from grasshoppers. Participants will also learn how to gently catch, admire, and release them. 

Participants then return to their cabins for a rest break and dinner.

SATURDAY EVENING

Early evening class session: Active Listening, part two. 7:00-8:30

It’s now time to consider how to listen when multiple species simultaneously take the stage. Fortunately for us, crickets and katydids sing on different pitches and with different rhythmic patterns, helping us to identify them. What may initially sound like cacophony to us is actually carefully orchestrated by Nature.

At the conclusion of this session, participants will leave from the Appalachian Forest Museum for Ridgeview Farm

Night listening exploration at Ridgeview Farm 9 – 11PM 

You will quickly notice that there are singing insects from the ground to the trees. Our path will take us through multiple habitats and we will hear how the ensemble changes with the vegetation. We’ll also search for individual singers so we can learn who is making each of those delightful songs.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2024

SUNDAY MORNING

Participants will have breakfast in their cabins and meet at the Appalachian Forest Museum. They will need to pack up their cabins before the morning session.

Morning class session 1: Crickets and Katydids in Context.  9:00-10:30

Learning how to identify crickets and katydids by sound and by sight is just the beginning. It’s time to look more closely at how they use and adapt to their habitats. It’s also interesting – and important  – to learn that a number of these species are moving north as the climate warms.

30-minute break – coffee and snacks provided

Morning class session 2: Crickets and Katydids in the House: extending the concert season. 11:00-12:00. 

Our final indoor session addresses your questions about relocating some of these singers into your home as the weather gets colder. 

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Our lunch break will be at the Appalachian Forest Museum, followed by a final wrap-up. There will be an optional Afternoon Listening Exploration at Cedar Run (which is right off the highway) at 1:30.

Afternoon Listening Exploration: 1:30-3:30 (optional, as some participants may need to leave earlier.)

 In this final afternoon listening walk, we’ll listen and search once more for daytime-singing crickets and katydids. You will now know who you are likely to hear, where they are probably located, what kinds of vegetation they prefer, and the life stages that brought them to maturity. You’ll be able to tell males from females and how to distinguish between similar species.  We may also hear some of the Arc’s cicada species, which we will also identify.

Summer Singers concludes with this walk.