Continuing a successful relationship built through afterschool programs and weekend field trips during the 2016 and 2017 school years, BRDC partnered with Galax Public Schools this summer to offer four unique, weeklong camps in June and July. The camps were hands-on, experiential learning based, outdoor skills focused, and offered free of charge to 3rd-7th grade Galax students.

Pioneering Camp was one of the three camps hosted at Matthew State Forest new facilities at off State Route 58 west of Galax. Students learned first-hand about the ingenuity and grit it took to be an Appalachian pioneer. The students practiced lashing construction techniques, used to bind poles together.

During the Blue Ridge Explorers Camp, students got out and explored the broad range of ecological and recreational opportunities available within the Blue Ridge. The camp featured field trips to Grayson Highlands and Fairy Stone State Parks, the New River, Stone Mountain, and Doughton Recreation Area.

Archaeology Camp, dug into the recent and ancient human past of the Blue Ridge, focusing on the tools and techniques of archaeologists.

Discovery Camp touched on the variety of natural history subjects that are so richly accessible in the Blue Ridge such as geology, birding, forests, and aquatic ecology. The final day camp of the summer ended with a creek exploration where students discovered what critters lie beneath the rocks.