Three Bears Acres with Triangle Land Conservancy
Date: June 4, 2022 (This was the rain date, originally June 3)
Time: 8:30 – 11:00 pm
Location: Three Bears Acres, Creedmoor NC
Volunteers:
Dana Bostic
Rob Parsons
Chris Wittum
Ann Murphy
Matt Lochansky
Ana Vail did all the upfront work, but was unable to attend.
Event Attendees: ~30
Overview:
This site, the former site of Three Bears Acres in Creedmoor (Granville County), was recently acquired by the Triangle Land Conservancy. To my knowledge, this was the first event on the site since THree Bears Acres closed to the public a few years ago! We had 5 telescopes set up and about 30 visitors, including 2 new club members and one future club member. The crowd was engaged and it was a very relaxed atmosphere. Attendees got plenty of telescope time as we started the evening on the crescent moon and then moved to other objects such as globular clusters M3 and M13, double stars such as Mu Her, Albireo, Alcor/Mizar, and Dubhe. We hit some deep sky objects such as the Ring nebula and whirlpool galaxy.
The site itself: This space has a lot of potential. The skies are on par with Bigwoods overall but with fewer light domes. Similar horizons as well. It is possible to drive on the grassy area and park by the telescope as well as a gravel parking lot. Some parking by the field as well. Power is available and the site has a very nice bathroom. It lacks showering facilities, which is the only drawback to using this as a camping facility. Aside from that, it would make a great place to have a weekend star party. The grassy area needs some maintenance, some better traffic flow/direction when entering, and there are some large anthills as well to take care of. Located in Granville county, it serves an area where more STEM programming would be appreciated. We are looking forward to running more outreach with TLC here and perhaps getting permission to run some club events. Like most outdoors venues, bug spray is recommended.
Notes for Next Time:
Volunteers may need a little more direction, particularly if the gate is closed. We should also find ways to engage the community and increase attendance.
