Summer Programs at BRDC
This summer has been a busy one at BRDC–and we apologize that we haven’t shared what we’ve been up to!
We have had a full summer with seven summer camps spanning June and July, followed by the annual Summer Rally on August 8-9, and hosting Virginia Tech’s Wildlife Field Techniques Course students in mid-August (more on that next week).
If you’re interested, flip your calendar back ten weeks (has it only been two months since June?!) and we’ll walk you through everything we’ve been up to.
Ornithology Camp
We kicked off the summer with Ornithology Camp, our specialized camp for bird nerds ages 11-17!
This year’s Ornithology camp roster was full of passionate and experienced young birders. We always start our camps with BRDC’s classic introduction game–assigning yourself a native bird species that matches your first initial. The challenge? Seeing who can repeat them back!
To quote Noah, “I can remember everyone’s bird… but I can’t remember their names.” (To his credit, he did remember everyone’s bird.) With only seven campers, the names didn’t follow far behind! It’s amazing how much sharing stories about birding quickly bonds a group of like-minded individuals.
This small group of dedicated bird nerds identified an amazing 91 bird species over four days–including the elusive saw-whet owl–during exciting on and off-campus field trips.
Nature Day Camp
Next up we had Nature Day Camp, our camp for the youngest naturalists, ages six through 10. We welcomed 35 children across three week-long sessions! Each cohort had the opportunity to dive deep into the fascinating worlds of plants, insects, birds, salamanders, and streams through engaging daily adventures. We even teach an overview of wilderness and cultural activities that include skills like shelter building.
Hands-down the favorite activity of the week is the end-of-camp scavenger hunt: Campers must solve a few riddles and follow a series of clues to uncover the final prize of the week: an ice cream party!
New River Expedition
Both a camper and staff favorite, the New River Expedition created memories of a lifetime as 12 students joined our expert guides for a four-day, nearly 40-mile float down one of our region's most beautiful waterways–the New River.
We loaded up the kayaks with all the camping gear–in the pouring rain–and sent them off down the river. As if the paddling didn’t wear them out enough, campers spent their free time in the evenings fly fishing, firebuilding, snorkeling, and exploring the biodiversity of the New River.
We camped one night at New River State Park and watched a conservation group doing a hellbender survey.
Discovery Camp
Our exploratory summer program, Discovery Camp, brought nearly 20 11-14 year-olds together for a week of overnight adventures at our historic schoolhouse. Through outdoor recreation activities and engaging games, campers discovered new interests while building lasting friendships.
One much-loved activity was the highland games, where kids learned about the cultural history of the region: the Scotts-Irish immigrants who settled Southwest Virginia and their heritage, including old-time fiddle tunes, flat-footing, and games like the boot toss and tug-of-war.
Fly fishing, snorkeling, caving, and hiking were some of the activities campers got to sample as a fun avenue to foster stewardship. While recreating outdoors, campers also learned foundational skills like nature journaling and Leave No Trace principles.
Wilderness Expedition
We closed out the summer season with Wilderness Expedition, challenging a small group of young adults with a backpacking adventure in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. Campers explored a new part of Virginia's high country each day, mastered essential outdoor skills like compass navigation and campfire cooking under the guidance of our experienced staff.
Our summer camp offerings may be consistent from year to year, but the beauty of nature education means that each camp is a brand-new and unique adventure. Nowhere does our organizational mission to "inspire curiosity, discovery, and stewardship" ring more true than in our summer programs. Our hope is that by combining education with exploration, we create transformative experiences that empower younger generations with confidence, a sense of respect and responsibility for natural places, and practical outdoor skills that will serve them throughout their lives.
The Mount Rogers Summer Naturalist Rally
There wasn’t much time to recuperate from summer camps before we launched into the annual Mount Rogers Summer Naturalist Rally on August 8th and 9th.
The auditorium was filled with curious naturalists on Friday evening for Amy Roberts’ lecture, “The Natural History of the Endangered Bog Turtle in Virginia.” After the keynote presentation, the night owls of the bunch BRDC Educator Brendan Murphy on a bat walk around campus, and using an echometer, identified different species of bats.
On Saturday, 10 expert guides led rally participants in a program of their choosing. The challenge on Saturday morning was deciding which program to attend, between Carrie Sparks’ Edible and Medicinal plants walk, Bob Riggs’ Raptors program, Brendan Murphy’s Orienteering course, Wally Smith’s Salamanders hike, and Cade Campbell’s Land Snail program.
Saturday afternoon was just as eventful with Bruce Grimes’ Butterflies program, Jim Goldsmith’s Bryophytes program, Lee Borg’s Mushrooms walk, and Ed Morgan’s lecture on the History of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. We loaded up the van with the most adventurous rallygoers and brought them to Damascus, Virginia to snorkel on the Blue Ridge Snorkel trail for Mike Pinder’s Snorkeling program!
August is a difficult time of year to schedule an event, between late summer vacations, local fairs and festivals, and school starting up again. While we had a smaller turnout than usual at this year’s Summer Rally, we really enjoyed the intimacy of this dedicated group. We welcomed several new folks and got to connect with old friends as well.
With summer programming behind us, it’s now time to turn our attention to autumn, and we couldn’t be more excited. See you at the Fall Rally on October 17th-19th?
