50th Mount Rogers Spring Naturalist Rally

First and foremost: THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who came out this past weekend to celebrate 50 years of the Mount Rogers Spring Naturalist Rally! Now you too are a part of the amazing history of this event! If you didn’t get a chance to hear Lisa share some of that history, take a look below….

Konnarock Training School and Medical Cottage from a distance.

Things have changed a bit since the rally started back in 1975. Initially a wildflower walk put on by the Wilderness Road Garden Club and the MR Planning District Commission, attendance was pretty low for the first two years. To try and spark some more interest, a bird walk and salamander walk were added in 1977. Wallace Coffey designed the format, secured the speakers and field trip leaders, worked with the forest service, and chaired the MRNR committee for the first five years.

After determining that May was the best time of year, and getting permission from the Forest Service to use the “Spike Camp” (aka Schoolhouse), the naturalist rally we know today was born! In 1984, the rally moved from the schoolhouse to the Konnarock Community Center after the floor collapsed in the chapel. Field trips still met around the schoolhouse building though. In 2012, Carrie Sparks and the Friends of Mt. Rogers passed the torch to BRDC. And in 2022, the rally returned to the fully-restored schoolhouse!

Dr. Steven Hopp and his group went up to Whitetop Mountain to look for raptors and other birds, exploring the different habitats and soaking in some lovely views.

So many people donated their time and energy to make sure everything went smoothly this weekend. And we want to extend a HUGE thank you to all of them! We couldn’t do it without you. The goal of the rallies has always been to foster a sense of community, and every year that community grows a little bit. Twenty seven guides shared their knowledge and passion with us by leading programs both day and night that covered a wide range of topics- edible plants, insects, small mammals, geology, nature journaling, salamanders, astronomy and more! We had a bluegrass jam on Friday night and the amazing Dr. Kevin Hamed gave a wonderful presentation on the salamanders of the MRNRA, Saturday night.

Making sure 160+ participants have something to do is no easy feat! Twelve volunteers (and BRDC staff) ran the kitchen, parked cars, helped people pick programs, and cleaned up. And so many donors provided raffle prizes or food.

Carrie Sparks stepped in and led an edible plant walk around BRDC’s campus at the last minute. It was great to have her back, and very fitting considering her history with the rally!

By purchasing raffle tickets, you helped raise over $1,000 for camp scholarships! Thank you so much for supporting the local community and getting these kids an immersive, unique, outdoor experience.

Some of our many raffle prizes, generously donated.

And while staff didn’t get a chance to experience the adult programs, we know that the kids had a blast on Saturday at kids programming- We had our largest turnout yet! They drew in nature journals, played ecology games like raptors and rabbits, got in the stream, made our own fish to catch, and roasted some marshmallows for s’mores!

BRDC News: Upcoming Events

The world is thawing out, fauna is getting more active, and here at BRDC we are excited to get back out there and discover more with you! Here’s what’s in store for upcoming events:

Mount Rogers Winter Naturalist Rally

February 17, 2024

Embark on a journey of discovery with us at the Mount Rogers Winter Naturalist Rally! Our upcoming seasonal rally is just around the corner. The Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally is a celebration of the region's diverse ecosystems. Learn about Appalachia’s unique landscape, meet fellow nature lovers in your community, and engage in interactive lessons taught by naturalist professionals.

This event is open to anyone. To learn more, visit the event page below.

Join local artist, Suzanne Stryk, for her talk, “Taking the Pulse of Place: Connecting to the Natural World through the Arts" as she discusses how art offers ways of better connecting us to the natural world.

Woodcock Display: Members Event

Tentatively march 1

The American Woodcock is an anomaly, a plump little shorebird that makes its home in young forests and shrubby fields instead of coastal shores. The woodcock’s long bill and short, and rounded body make this bird a cartoonishly endearing sight - if you can spot them! Their mottled brown plumage, which camouflages them perfectly in their preferred habitats, and elusive behavior means that these birds can be difficult to spot. Except for in spring evenings, when breeding season takes over, and male woodcocks engage in marvelous flight displays. Cornell Lab of Ornithology refers to this mating display as “one of the magical natural sights of springtime in the East.” The males cry a loud, distinctively buzzy peent call and spiral in flight 200, 300 feet into the air, before plummeting in a zig zag back to Earth to do it again.

We invite members to join us as we watch this mesmerizing sky dance - we will meet at the Blue Ridge Discovery Center office and travel by van to the area where woodcocks are currently active. The exact date of this event is determined by woodcock activity as spring approaches, but is tentatively scheduled for Friday, March 1st. Stay tuned to our events page for any changes, and sign up for the event below to stay in the loop.

Family Weekend

March 16 through 17

Come spend the weekend with BRDC and surround your family with the magic of the mountains as you explore, discover, and share endless natural treasures together. This weekend is designed for families that are ready for adventure and fun. With our expert guides, your family will hone their observation skills while exploring seasonally interesting topics, such as beaver ecology, birds, tracks and signs, dendrology, nighttime creatures, and fire building. This package includes lodging in our facility, as well as meals. More information coming soon!

Spring Break Kids Camp

March 25 through 28

Looking for something to keep your young naturalist engaged during spring break? BRDC is now offering Spring Break Camp from March 25-28, 2024! This is a perfect opportunity for any young naturalist between the ages of 6 and 13 to explore, discover, and share the wonders of the Blue Ridge during the springtime!

Programming topics will include tree study, nature journaling, birding, hiking, pollinators, orienteering, native plants, and more! Activities will take place both indoors and outdoors.

A Lotta Help from Our Friends

As disappointing as it was to cancel the Mt. Rogers Summer Naturalist Rally, we couldn’t be more thankful or appreciative of all the help the multitude of volunteers did to support our Center last weekend! In lieu of our Naturalist Rally, we solicited the help of our friends, members, partners, board, and families to help us create the Discovery Center through various projects.

Friday Friends

Beginning Friday morning at 9:00 am and ending at 5:00 pm on Sunday these dedicated volunteers accomplished a tremendous amount! They painted 10 picnic tables and 5 custom made exterior doors, polished and constructed nearly 80 brass light fixtures, built three large bee houses and filled them with cut wood and bamboo (all drilled with various sized holes for our solitary bees), and constructed and stained six “rocket box” bat houses - all with repurposed, hand hammered copper roofs.

Then there was the planting! Hundreds of small trees, shrubs and native plants were put in the ground throughout the BRDC Campus. A small orchard was planted with apple trees (4 species) grafted by staff back in February. They protected them with fencing along with some prior planted American chestnut trees. Brush was cleared and burned, cuttings were potted, weeds were pulled, and gardens were mulched…it was magnificent!

On Saturday evening, we broke bread, shared stories, and in the tradition of a naturalist rally, took an evening hike to watch a maternal colony of big brown bats leave the roost on their nightly hunt…all 224 of them! We listened to crickets, katydids, and screech owls and ended the night with a view of Jupiter and its moons alongside our own beautiful full moon.

This would not be possible without the help of so many of you…our friends, our community, our support. We thank you for all you did and do for and with us last weekend and always!

The Twin County Community Foundation Partners With BRDC for the 2021 Get Outside Program

The Twin County Community Foundation (TCCF) continues to support Blue Ridge Discovery Center through a grant to get families outside engaged in nature. The purpose of the Get Outside Program is to address the physical, mental, and cognitive health of youth and their families in Grayson and Carroll Counties and the City of Galax. Attendees will participate in a natural history activity while reaping the physical and mental benefits of time spent outside.

BRDC will provide sixteen educational outdoor hikes to include an enriching activity for youth and their families to various public locales throughout 2021. The main components of this program include: observational hiking, reflection, and a nature-focused activity. Through the Get Outside Program, we aim to promote physical and emotional well-being and instill a love for the place we call home. In meeting our mission to inspire others to discover new areas of interest, we can collectively help them live an active and healthy lifestyle.

The Get Outside Program kicks off on Friday, January 1st with the 2021 First Day Hike! Families are invited to join BRDC from 2:00-3:30 pm at Dannelly Park in Galax for this unique program in conjunction with the nationwide First Day Hike event. This program is FREE to participants! Click the button below to learn more and to register. Space is limited and registration is required.

Thank you, Twin County Community Foundation, for your continued support!