Grandfather Presents: Nature’s Song of Renewal: Ecological Resilience After Helene
September 25, 2025 @3:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Join us for a compelling panel discussion that explores nature’s resilience after Hurricane Helene, with powerful findings and updates one year later. The event will open with meteorologist Brad Panovich setting the stage of the storm’s path and record-breaking impacts on our region. From there, a panel discussion with Panovich, wildlife biologist Marquette Crockett and geologist Philip Prince will provide insights into key questions such as how the natural world changed because of Helene, what we’ve learned from the storm and what findings may still be to come. The panelists will share their expertise and research from their fields of study and reflect on how extreme weather continues to shape our environment. Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation President and CEO Jesse Pope will moderate the discussion.
Following the talk in the Wilson Center’s Classroom in the Clouds, eventgoers will experience some social time with heavy hors d’oeuvres and the opportunity to mingle with other attendees and the panelists. A nature-inspired concert by traveling composer/performer Ben Cosgrove will then take place at the Williams Outdoor Learning Space. (The Classroom in the Clouds will be the rain location for the concert.)
Ben Cosgrove explores themes of landscape, place and environment with his music. Described by the Boston Globe as “a sonic plein-air painter … [using] his piano as a paintbrush,” Cosgrove has performed in every U.S. state except for Delaware, collaborated with groups ranging from rock bands to research scientists, contributed music to several radio and film projects (including the recent Ken Burns documentary “The American Buffalo”) and held residencies and fellowships with institutions including NASA, the National Park Service, the National Forest Service, Harvard University, Middlebury College, the Schmidt Ocean Institute and the Sitka Center for Art & Ecology.
During the event, Cosgrove will debut a song inspired by time spent at Grandfather Mountain.
Panelists:
Brad Panovich has been working for WCNC-TV in Charlotte since 2003. He is the chief meteorologist and previously spoke at a Grandfather Presents in 2023.
He has a passion for weather and science education. Panovich holds a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from The Ohio State University. He is a certified broadcast meteorologist by the American Meteorological Society and a member of the National Weather Association. He has won several awards for his work, including two Emmys and “The American Meteorological Society Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year” in 2017. He is also an adjunct professor within the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s meteorology program.
Panovich is not only a meteorologist, but also a social media influencer. He has over 600,000 followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, where he posts daily weather updates, videos, live streams and interactive Q&A sessions. He is known for his engaging and informative style, as well as his use of humor and emojis. He is also an advocate for environmental issues around climate change and renewable energy.
Marquette Crockett is the Highlands of Roan stewardship director for Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC). She received a BS in Biology from Lincoln Memorial University and an MS in Biological Sciences from East Tennessee State University, where she studied salamander communities in East Tennessee.
She has over 15 years of wildlife management and planning experience in the mountains, including working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a refuge biologist at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge in West Virginia.
Crockett joined SAHC staff in 2014, where she leads stewardship work on almost 12,000 acres of SAHC preserves in the Highlands of Roan. She coordinates multi-agency and volunteer efforts to restore and protect the globally rare grassy bald habitats found on Roan Mountain and currently serves as co-chair of the Southern Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative.
Crockett received the North Carolina Wildlife Federations Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award for “Public Lands Conservationist” in May 2025.
Philip Prince, a native of Greenville, S.C., graduated from Furman University in 2004. After two years of work in environmental consulting, he began a PhD at Virginia Tech in 2006, finishing his doctoral studies on Appalachian landscape evolution in 2011.
After teaching at Virginia Tech until 2016 and spending two years with the Virginia Geological Survey in Charlottesville, Prince returned to upstate South Carolina in late 2019 to begin work in landslide mapping with Appalachian Landslide Consultants out of Asheville.
He is active in both applied and research-focused work in the southern Appalachians, splitting time today between landslide studies and geologic mapping in southwest Virginia. An Appalachian Trail thru-hiker and avid whitewater paddler, Prince has been fortunate to have the chance to develop a career in a region that is personally very meaningful to him.
Tickets go on sale online for this event here at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 26.
Grandfather Presents Schedule
- 9 a.m. | Grandfather Mountain opens for the day, and active Bridge Club “Presentation” ticket holders are allowed access to the park if they’d like to make a day out of their experience. Your event ticket will be scanned at one of our ticket booths at the entrance gate.
- 3:30 p.m. | “Presentation” ticket holders are allowed to enter the park and are welcome to explore the Conservation Campus (Wilson Center, Mildred the Bear Environmental Habitats and more) prior to the speaker presentation. Your event ticket will be scanned at one of our ticket booths at the entrance gate.
- 3:30 – 4:15 p.m. | Check-in for all event attendees near the front entrance of the Wilson Center (to receive your wristband for the event)
- 4:15 – 5:30 p.m. | Speaker panel presentation in the Classroom in the Clouds (Marquette Crockett, Brad Panovich and Philip Prince, moderated by Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation President and CEO Jesse Pope)
- 5:30 – 6 p.m. | Break, Social Time, Heavy Hors d’oeuvres
- 6 – 7 p.m. | Ben Cosgrove Concert
- 7:30 p.m. | Park should be clear of all Grandfather Presents guests.
Grandfather Presents Tickets
Different from other Grandfather Presents, one tier of ticket is offered the September event.
“Presentation” tickets include the panel discussion, social time with heavy hors d’oeuvres and the concert.
- $50 “Presentation” Adult
- $42 “Presentation” Bridge Club Member
- Children under 12 are admitted free with a paying adult (maximum of four free children per purchase).
Refunds/Cancellations
Full refunds will be given to individuals who reach out to us at least five days before the event (midnight, Sept. 20). This allows time for individuals on the waiting list to make accommodations to attend the event. To cancel your registration, please call 828-833-6332 Monday – Friday between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. or email judi@grandfather.com.
