The Kribbs family and friends at Elk Garden.

Once again we were unable to hold our traditional Spring Naturalist Rally, but that didn’t stop BRDC from getting people outside, engaged with nature, discovering, exploring, and sharing in the Mt Rogers National Recreation Area! We invited everyone to attend our first ever Scavenger Hunt!

From May 1st through May 9th, Rally participants came by Blue Ridge Discovery Center to pick up scavenger hunt packets. Within each packet, there were hints and clues to various destinations within the MRNRA. Once they figured out where to go…off they went to find amazing flora and fauna. When they completed the scavenger hunt, they had to find a hidden geocache with a secret phrase to report back to BRDC staff. When the participants returned to the Center to share their findings, they were rewarded with a raffle ticket and the chance to win great prizes.

Blue Ridge Discovery Center supports citizen science and thus created another iNaturalist Project where participants could share their findings with the world. Those who submitted observations during the Rally were entered into an additional daily drawing for our staff designed species t-shirts!

Katie and Carrie on their Scavenger Hunt!

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Over 85 people (and nearly 30 kids) participated in the Mt Rogers Naturalist Rally Scavenger Hunt! We all had a great time getting out and sharing what we found. We made new friends and shared new places. The weather even cooperated (for the most part)!

We so appreciate all the generous donations received for our raffle. Thank you to Matt Reilly (Guided Fly Fishing Trip), Vortex (Diamondback binoculars), Joe Flowers (knife designer), Green Cove Collective (many great outdoor gear gifts), Virginia Master Naturalists - Holston Rivers Chapter (great naturalist gear and books), Ernst Seed Company, and the American Chestnut Foundation (Chestnut tree saplings).

Even though our customary guides were not available to take us into the field, they shared knowledge and information in written form and we thank them for their time and efforts creating educational pieces for our scavenger hunt packets. Thank you to Allen Boynton, Tom Blevins, Cade Campbell, Steven Hopp, Shawn Kurtzman, Aaron Floyd, Arthur Merschat, Nancy Adamson, and John Kell.

We hope to see everyone IN PERSON for the Mt Rogers Summer Naturalist Rally scheduled for August 20-22, 2021.

Cover photo credit to Heather Bunch