Category: Arts & Education

By Bill Finch, Founding Director The gunshots of Independence were barely heard in Alabama, 250 years ago. Few people were left to hear them. The ones who remained couldn’t have cared much about the politics of

Thursday August 25, 2025 Bill Finch will be delivering a talk at 4:00 and the Exhibit opens from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. We would love to see you! Universities being hard to navigate and find parking,

The smallest creatures at Paint Rock are getting top billing in international naturedocumentaries. Paint Rock’s exceptional display of fireflies — lighting bugs, as we like to call themdown here — are the latest creatures to headline

Bird banding is a method of tagging birds for the recording of their migratory routesand gaining insight on their tendencies, that would have otherwise been difficult toobserve. This is helpful for scientists working to develop protection

By Sakora Smeby and Bill Finch It’s hard to understand natural systems when all you can see is computer monitors and sheetrock. One of the missions of the Paint Rock Forest Research Center is to expose

Bryce Lafferty, head of the art and design program at Jacksonville State University,and JSU photography professor Doug Clark are giving a face and voice to the PaintRock forest and its inhabitants — from the vibrant moss

A hidden text in an old book reminds us of why we’re here. It’s a wonder that a state with so much biodiversity isn’t also considered a leader in the study of that diversity. But oddly,

Life, fortunately, is complicated. Tim Lindblom’s life got a lot more complicated recently when he wasappointed interim dean of the new college of Arts, Humanities andSciences at Jacksonville State University. JSU had formerly siloedSciences and Math

We’re doing more than any organization our size should be capable of. We’ve gotten it done because of our partners like founding members and UCLA Distinguished Professors Stephen Hubbell and Patty Gowaty. Because of our long

Samford team turns over a new leaf—or two—at Paint Rock Samford student Madelyn Thompson has for the past few months been working with Chicago’s Morton Arboretum to try to unscramble the hard maples at the Sharp-Bingham

Joe Paull returns with his wife Kori to look at organizing a library with the field guides and other books donated by E.O. Wilson and Kathleen Horton. Once Kori began to ask questions and discuss the

Photographs and text by Ryan Long Stepping into Paint Rock’s forests lets me see something photo-worthy every day. Everything looks so calm and photogenic; meanwhile there’s a war of aggression being waged at every level in the

When E.O. Wilson died December 26th, many here may not have recognized how he changed Alabama in the eyes of the world. Those impressed by celebrity will be interested to know that Ed Wilson was likely

You can always tell when you have a really great group of interested people by their questions. This exceptional group of Venture America folks learned about biodiversity first hand in Bill’s lectures within the Paint Rock

John and Kendra Abbott are two very talented photographers, they hold workshops all over the world. They are also entomologists, ecologists, writers, researchers and work at the University of Alabama as Curator of Collections and Research

There were hungry mouths to feed when Clemson ornithologist Drew Lanham visited Paint Rock. Don’t mind me, the Carolina wren hissed, as she dodged Drew and students to appease the gaping beaks of young’uns, tucked in

Here’s how science should progress: Bring together the minds and minds-in-training of two great institutions, have them plop down on the cool wet ground of Paint Rock forest, and discuss the future of biology and conservation

Photographs by Nancy Dunlap and Beth Maynor Finch

Here’s how we knew Paint Rock had won Elton Stephens’ approval: While Gates Shaw and Bill discussed the tortuous theological implications of chittamwood, Elton just stretched out from head to toe on the banks of Honey

Our October 6 workshop with Henk Mooiweer was so intense, Beth says she almost forgot to take photographs. Edward O. Wilson kicked it off with a call to make this one of the world’s top research

Viewing the Paint Rock forest through the eyes of the McGriff’s, who were both raised here, was an eye opening experience and a great day. David spotted the bees in the big yellowwood tree.