Galax Elementary Winter Enrichment Week

Galax Intercession Week:  Guides and program directors from BRDC committed the entire week of February 9th through the 13th to a variety of programs designed to fit both the remedial and enrichment categories built into intercession week requirements.  

After nearly a month of planning, BRDC along with other community organizations, teachers and the Galax City Public Schools’ administration office, came together to offer elementary and middle school students a wide array of educational options and opportunities.  BRDC’s role focused on four programs:  National Fishing in Schools, led by Aaron Floyd and Lisa Benish with assistance from Roald Kirby and Mike Floyd; Reading the Blue Ridge, led by Sarah Osborne and Brenda Bonk with assistance from Scott Jackson-Ricketts and teacher’s aid, Theresa Mawyer; Microscope Fun, co-led by Evan Worrell, Scott, Brenda and with assistance from Lauren Peery, William Roberts and Roald; and Blue Ridge Expeditions trip to Grandfather Mountain, led by William and Joyce Roberts.  All of BRDC’s programs were held in the elementary school.

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Field trip to Grandfather: On Tuesday, William and Joyce Roberts chaperoned a bus-load of middle school students on a BRDC sponsored field trip to Grandfather Mountain.  In spite of the wind and bone chilling cold, the trip was a success, and we are grateful to the staff at Grandfather and William and Joyce for pulling this off.  

National Fishing in the Schools Program: Aaron Floyd and Lisa Benish led five days of fly fishing lessons. The kids learned about equipment, casting technique, journaling, fly tying and fish species. A full description of this program is located here: Blog text for NFSP in Galax

Reading the Blue Ridge: Sarah Osborne explored the Blue Ridge through literature, reading with a group of kids about a wide variety of subjects .

Microscope Fun: Aside from the art component already discussed, each day had its own theme. We started out with leaf litter and soil critters, digging out specimens to be observed through the scopes.  After a break and further instructions on microscope use, the kids got to view stream macro-invertebrates netted from a tank provided by BRDC.  

Day two began with a discussion on trees:  leaves, twigs, and nuts, while describing the variety of ecosystems different trees help create, including animal associations such as food and shelter. BRDC shared boxes of leaves, seeds and twigs for the kids to examine and use for sketching models.  

Wednesday was devoted to birds and bird parts.  Along with feathers, feet, and skulls we offered several very different bird nests and talked about the materials birds use to build their amazing nests.  Feathers were views through the microscopes, and clay was used to model skulls and other bird bones.  William read a book, Roald played the role of an old mountain man whom William interviewed on avian facts, and for the last hour, owl pellets were brought out for the kids to dissect.  

On Thursday, we reviewed the week, worked on our art and prepared for the field trip to CCSA on Friday.  The kids were asked to pick artifacts through touch only, like a grab bag, and then sketched what they had in hand.   

Emphasis for both our reading and microscope programs revolved around the combination of hands on activities and art.  Only Wednesday proved warm enough for area based field trips, but both the fishing and reading programs were able to get their classes outdoors…barely and bravely.  BRDC partnered with Chestnut Creek School of the Arts for two Friday field  trips based on the art work we had the kids make.  CCSA rolled out the red carpet for our little guests (K-1), with a full tour of the facilities populated by some of the older kids who participated in intercession week at the various classrooms and workshops provided by CCSA.  

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BRDC wishes to thank the following for their commitment to making this week a success:

Brenda Bonk, Lisa Benish, William and Joyce Roberts, Lauren Peery, Roald Kirby, the school staff, and central office personnel.  

Blue Ridge Expeditions: Hike to Dismal Falls, Bland County, VA

On July 19th, Blue Ridge Expeditions (BRE), a flagship program of the Blue Ridge Discovery Center, will host a hike on the Appalachian Trail in Bland County. This 4.3 mile hike to Dismal Falls, on the Bland-Giles border, is the first of four hikes led by BRE program director, Amy Roberts, a Bland resident. This is a moderate hike from Route #606 to Dismal Falls and back. A portion of the trail passes through a boulder field, where fossil imprints of worms and shelled brachiopods can be found. The Falls of Dismal is a 15-foot, multi-tiered waterfall on Dismal Creek. It is part of a sandstone formation that is over 400 million years old.

The three other hikes will occur on August 23rd on Garden Mountain, September 13th on Brushy mountain north of Crandon, and on October 18th on Brushy Mountain between Bastian and Bland. All hikes are on the famed Appalachian Trail, a 2,200 mile footpath from Georgia to Maine, completed in 1937. For information about any of these free and fun hiking events, please contact Amy Roberts at 276-688-3793 or aarobert@vt.edu. 

Blue Ridge Expeditions: Spring Foray, April 12, 2014

BRDC's first local Blue Ridge Expeditions field hike of 2014 was great; warm, sunny weather for the 16 eager hikers on the New River Trail below Fries. Guides Roald Kirby, Carol Broderson and Harrol Blevins led the participants, some of whom were from the Mount Rogers Appalachian Trail Club and most others regulars. 

"The east facing wooded slopes adjacent to the trail were carpeted with some of the best displays of spring wildflowers that I have ever seen--- blood root,  Dutchman's Britches and Spring Beauty were the most spectacular. We also saw some uncommon ones:  wild bleeding heart and round leafed hepatica. The flowers had just opened; Carol said there was hardly anything a few days earlier. Birds were fewer but Harrol helped us spot a number, including yellow-throated warbler, blue-gray gnatcatcher and mallards, wood ducks and geese. Everyone felt that we were out on the first truly spring day!"  (From Roald)

"It was still early spring on the New River Trail and the purple trillium that blanket the hillsides was not quite ready to open. The combination of a below zero winter and a cold March made trillium blooms three weeks later than the last year. We saw plenty of the earlier Dutchmans breeches and decided to extend our walk across the bridge to see another family member BLEEDING HEART.

EARLY SAXIFRAGE (saxigfrage means rock breaker) colonized all the rocky places.

Having birder Harrol Blevins along was a special treat for all the wildflower enthusiasts. He pointed out the masses of yellow warblers (more than he had seen in one place) and the double-crested cormorants on river rocks.

A partial list of wildflowers:

MUSTARDS creasy, toothwort, (early) bittercresses, garlic mustard

MINTS ground ivy, dead nettle

bluets

ASTERS golden ragwort, dandelion

SAXAFRAGE early

RANUNCULUS buttercups, COLUMBINE

hepatica

trailing arbutus

mayapple

FUMATORY Dutchmen's breeches, bleeding heart

chickweed

violets

bloodroot

spring beauty

blue cohosh

fire pink"  (from Carol)

Below are two pictures taken by Harrol:  

Bloodroot: 

Dutchman's Britches:

Stay tuned for more announcements of future expeditions.  Take a look at our Ridge and Valley Blogpost from the same day, for a review of our Radford edition of BRE:  http://ridgeandvalley.blogspot.com/2014/04/shutterbug-explorations.html

Blue Ridge Expeditions: Fisher Peak

Fisher Peak Hike

November 23, 2013

Text is Roald Kirby's account, and he is pictured above.

"The hike went well, despite cool,brisk conditions. We had a total of 11, counting Aubrey [Arrington] and me. Lana and Don [Call], Susan and Claire [Gleason], Tom and Melissa,Carol [Broderson], Ellie Kirby and Gary Wilson from Galax.

We began a gradual climb on the trail through woodland cove popular-pine forest and soon picked up the Fisher Peak road which we followed the rest of the way. According to Aubrey,it was originally built by the City of Galax in the 1930's so people attending the Rhododendron Festival could drive to the mountain.It is now used to access the WBRF radio towers.

Pileated Woodpecker evidence was observed, as were the evergreen leaves of Rattlesnake Plantain. The flowers of Witch Hazel brought on  discussions of function and folklore. As we progressed, the forest became mixed hardwood(oaks predominating) with an understory of mountain laurel and rhododendron(both rosebay and catawba)which continued to the top.We found ourselves on the windy brink of a large gneiss outcrop with a couple of small Table Mountain pines where we looked down on soaring ravens with Pilot Mtn and the Saurtowns in the distance.I had been told that there were magnetite crystals here and

sure enough, we found a bunch(with the aid of magnets, of course!).The whole ones were eight-sided and about 1/16" in size.

  After a quick and cool lunch everyone was ready to head back down.The hike(which was supposedly 8 miles but felt more like six to me) took 4.3 hours.Had the temperatures been warmer, we would have spent more time.Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Gary,a boy scout leader,said that he couldn't wait to get out and show people what he had learned!"

A special thanks goes to Aubrey for sharing his expertise on the walk, and Lana Call for all the photos.

Scott Jackson-Ricketts

Blue Ridge Expeditions: Mt. Rogers Hike

Saturday was the perfect day for a hike, with a Carolina blue sky, a few puffy clouds and a slight breeze. Ten participants met at Massie Gap for a guided hike to the summit of Mt. Rogers, led by Dr. Phil Shelton and Roald Kirby, program director for Blue Ridge Expeditions. The group was treated to an amazing breadth of knowledge about Mt. Rogers by both Roald and Dr. Shelton. Stops were made frequently to observe such species as Spruce and Fir trees, Mountain Ash with its beautiful red berries, and the following birds:

Turkey Vulture

Northern Flicker

Downy Woodpecker

American Robin

Black-capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

White-breasted Nuthatch

Blue Jay

Common Raven

American Crow

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Eastern Towhee

Chipping Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

[Possible] Sharp-shinned Hawk

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to Dr. Shelton for taking the time to share in our passion for the Blue Ridge mountains.

Please visit blueridgediscoverycenter.org for information on other upcoming Blue Ridge Expedition events.