Outdoor enthusiasts tour Hitchcock Creek

The outdoor tour organization Flora and Fauna Festivities tabbed Hitchcock Creek for their latest nature walk last Saturday.

The group, founded by husband and wife Britany and Adam Smith, chose to tour Hitchcock Creek because of its unique environment, created in part due to the 2009 demolition of the Steeles Mill Dam.

“We try and get a Sunday saunter at least once a month. We’ll either be here at Hitchcock Creek or down at Hinson Lake … Hitchcock Creek is a unique greenway,” Brittany Smith said.

Throughout the 1800s, the Steeles Mill Dam generated electricity for the now-defunct manufacturer. In 1999, the dam fell into disrepair and county officials removed it in 2009, with only stones and broken walls letting passersby know of its existence. By removing the dam, Brittany Smith said migratory fish such as Hickory Shad, Blueback Herring, Striped Bass and Atlantic Sturgeon returned. Before long many of the plants and creatures began taking the area back.

“Once the dam was removed, the fish were able to come back, and now we have this beautiful space for kayaking and canoeing – lots of recreational activities, including hiking,” Smith said. “… Hitchcock Creek is one of only four streams that does not flow to the east. It actually flows to the west to enter into the PD River, where it them flows east.”

Another unique aspect of Hitchcock Creek is its naturally stained waters. Similar to the effect hot water has on tea, area fauna such as gum tree leaves, pine straw and oak tree leaves turned the water light brown.

“I don’t recommend drinking it, because there is not sugar in it and it will not taste good … Those leaves gather in the water. If they stay there long enough, they stain it with the tannins in the leaves. Ironically, it’s the same thing that gives wine its taste, but this isn’t wine,” Smith said.

Smith said she got the idea for starting a nature walk while teaching. With many of her students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and social distancing preventing them from participating in numerous activities, Smith said she discovered the mental and physical need for getting back to nature.

“We all know how COVID affected the school systems. I had to do something more. I had to do something different, and the kids didn’t really get it being in a 6-foot apart and no-touching environment. Getting out into nature, with the same concepts and learning, I feel like everybody can get out and benefit, not just school-aged children,” Smith said.

Brittany and husband Adam officially launched Flora and Fauna Festivities last summer. While nature walks, or Sunday saunters, are a driving force for their organization, they also incorporate workshops, birding, nature excursions and even a murder mystery event into their activities. For Adam, who still teaches, opening Flora and Fauna Festivities strengthened their marriage. By taking something they love and making it a part of their daily lives, Adam said he and Brittany spend hours figuring out ways to make an area a resident may have passed through hundreds of times much more interesting.

“There is so much I did not even realize, counting myself as a science nerd before. Just taking a minute to slow down, and helping other people slow down and learning those trivia facts about North Carolina, nature or whatever … Just sharing information with people so they can go, experience and love nature so they can go out and not be scared,” Adam Smith said.