Pre-Convention Tour
Make plans to arrive early to Charlotte for the 2008 NAAE Convention and take a bus to visit the beautiful Biltmore Estates and Gardens.  The North Carolina Agriculture Teachers Association has arranged for a tour to Asheville on Tuesday, December 2nd to visit the Biltmore house, gardens and winery.  This will be an all day tour.

We will leave at 7:30 in the morning from the NAAE convention hotel (The Blake Hotel) and travel by motor coach to Asheville, a 2 hour trip, and then spend all day at the estate.  The house will be decorated for Christmas with all the trees and ornaments.  You will not arrive back to The Blake Hotel until around 7 pm.

The cost of the trip is $85 per person and this includes transportation and admission to the Biltmore Estate which includes the house, gardens, winery and River Bend Farm.

Registration
If you wish to be a part of this trip, please contact Roger Teeple at the numbers and address on the registration form..  If you need more information, please feel free to contact Roger with your questions also.  NAAE is not handling registration for this tour.

Pre-registration is required and the deadline for registration is Friday, November 21.  Please register with Roger before that time.

Registration and information form

Professional Development Tours
Friday, December 5th

Each tour will need a minimum number of 30 participants. Any tour that does not reach the minimum number will be canceled. Please be sure to indicate your second choice of tour on the registration form. If your first choice is cancelled, you will automatically be placed on your second tour choice.

To register for a tour and pay with a credit card, use the buttons beneath each tour description. To pay by check or purchase order, use the form below. Registration forms MUST be postmarked by November 15th. Spots can not be guaranteed if forms are not postmarked by that date.

Registration form PDF Format Word Format

Carolina Raptor Center-Predators from the Sky--$25.00
Vet Science/Wildlife Management & Conservation/Small Animal

Sharp talons and hooked beak - they're not just decorations!  Carolina Raptor Center, one of the nation's premiere raptor rehabilitation and environmental education facilities, uses raptors as ambassadors to teach students of all ages the value of wildlife and the conservation of natural resources.  Participants will have the opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at Carolina Raptor Center's Rehabilitation Facility and Environmental Education Center.  The rehabilitation facility sees over 700 injured and orphaned raptors each year and is able to release many of those birds back into the wild.  Educators share the birds' stories with nearly 100,000 people each year, helping to increase knowledge about these amazing birds of prey and their importance to the ecosystem.

You will go on a guided trail tour, filled with raptor natural history and a chance to see over 20 species of raptors.  You will also meet several raptor ambassadors face-to-beak, learning about the action steps each person can take to have a positive impact on the environment.

Bank of America Stadium/Central Piedmont Community College --$25.00
Turfgrass Management/Sports Turf Management/Horticulture

The home of the Carolina Panthers, the Bank of America Stadium has been specifically designed for football by HOK Sports Facilities Group of Kansas City, MO. This 73,778 seat, privately financed, open-air, natural-grass stadium includes training facilities, practice fields and administrative offices and serves as the headquarters for the Carolina Panthers.  Come take a behind the scene tour of the game field, the practice facilities, their shop area, and grounds around the stadium.   You will also get to tour the facilities of Central Piedmont Community College-Cato Campus.  This tour will include the horticulture areas including greenhouses, teaching facilities, equipment storage areas, putting greens and some of the outstanding class projects. 

The Bank of America Stadium does reserve the right to cancel this portion of the tour if the grass or weather does not cooperate.  In the case of cancellation, you will travel to the UNC Botanical Gardens.

Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens --$25.00
Horticulture/Floriculture

Located just minutes from Charlotte in Belmont, N.C., Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is one of the jewels in the Queen City’s crown. Named one of the nation’s 20 Great Gardens in HGTV’s popular book, Flower Gardening, the Garden sits on 380 acres along the banks of Lake Wylie.
Part nature preserve, part showcase for the best of Southern horticulture, the Garden is in the process of implementing an ambitious 50-year master plan. Currently there are over 110 acres in cultivation for guests to enjoy including:

• The 13,500 square foot Robert Lee Stowe Visitor Pavilion topped with a magnificent stained-glass dome
• Approximately 10 acres of manicured, themed gardens: The year-round Four Seasons Garden, the tropically-themed Canal Garden, four distinct Perennial Gardens (chock-full of ideas for home gardens), the nostalgic Cottage Garden, the fragrant Conifer Garden, the Encore Azalea® spring and fall blooming Garden and stately West Gardens
• 12 delightful fountains
• Woodland trail
• The Orchid Conservatory which opened in January 2008