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This summer Walker Valley is filled with the sounds of delight as we host hundreds of campers- of all ages- in the National Park. One of our oldest campers just completed our Naturalist Week last week. Her name is Nannette Enloe, and she is 92 years old.

Nannette’s story started in Walker Valley in 1950, when she arrived as a counselor at Camp Margaret Townsend, a Girl Scout camp where Tremont is now. That summer, she spent her days exploring the woods and the Middle Prong with young girls, showing them the wonders around them.

I’m struck by how little has changed from “back then” and how similar that experience is to what our Girls in Science campers experienced earlier this summer. But when you talk with Nannette, she can see changes. She’s seen the growth of the trees around our campus in the last 74 years. She’s seen the forest ecosystem recover from the logging that occurred here previously. 

In addition to exploring Walker Valley, the Naturalist Week and the Girls in Science campers visited our property during their stay. Their observations contributed valuable insights into our understanding of the ecosystem as it is now. It’s a spectacular place- it’s full of promise, and it’s worthy of our protection. In earlier newsletters, I’ve talked about the opportunities we have for stewardship and conservation across our land. I’ve talked about our work to research its valuable ecosystems. But now, in this moment, when I see young girls exploring the meadows and the forest on our new property, reminiscent of a young Nanette in Walker Valley, I am struck by the human-scaled element of our work. I wonder what this ecosystem will look like to a camper who returns after 74 years in 2098? What will her world look like in 2098? What will our cities and our buildings look like? There’s a lot to question. But if we do this right, when we succeed in our mission, I expect at least one thing to be true: we’ll still find young girls at Tremont exploring the natural world around them. 

This project is about protecting that experience forever. That notion keeps me committed to this work—even when things may move slowly—because I know we are taking our time to get things right. Because it matters. 

Catey McClary
President & CEO
Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont