The Twin County Community Foundation Sponsors Residential Education at BRDC
The Twin County Community Foundation (TCCF) continues to support Blue Ridge Discovery Center through a grant to get students outside engaged in nature.
The Twin County Community Foundation (TCCF) continues to support Blue Ridge Discovery Center through grants to get students outside engaged in nature. These grants allow students to be fully immersed in the beauties and wonders of the outdoors through residential education programs at BRDC. Our programs engage students in nature in fully immersive outdoor activities.
This residential education program grant provided groups of students from Carroll County and Grayson County with experiential learning experiences that build lifelong skills and a passion for the outdoors. We provide overnight accommodations during the program and nutritious hot meals.
In 2021, the students participated in nature journaling, salamander surveys, seed experiments, macroinvertebrate studies, decomposition, phenology, dendrology, and highland games.
Thank you, Twin County Community Foundation, for your continued support!
Get Outside on the New River Trail
This Saturdays (February 13th), hike begins at 2:00 pm. Activities include a scavenger hunt and the chance to earn a BRDC patch.
Blue Ridge Discovery Center’s Get Outside Program connects families to nature through hands-on, active, outdoor natural history activities. This program includes observational hiking, an outdoor activity, and natural history education. Participants will get outside with their families to explore, discover, and share their experiences during a short hike along New River Trail in Galax, Va.
This Saturdays (February 13th), hike begins at 2:00 pm. Activities include a scavenger hunt and the chance to earn a BRDC patch. This program is FREE, but registration is required. (Includes all instruction, materials, and supplies.) Space is limited. Participants are responsible for face masks and reusable water bottles. Email lisa@blueridgediscoverycenter.org to be notified of future event dates or questions.
Supported by Twin County Community Foundation grant.
The Twin County Community Foundation Partners With BRDC for the 2021 Get Outside Program
BRDC’s Get Outside Program, supported by the Twin County Community Foundation, kicks off on Friday, January 1st with the 2021 First Day Hike! Families are invited to join BRDC for this unique program in conjunction with the nationwide First Day Hike event. This program is FREE to participants, but registration is required.
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!
New School Partnerships: Fairview and Baywood
We are excited to announce two new school partnerships this summer with Baywood and Fairview schools in Grayson County. Blue Ridge Discovery Center will be offering "Summer Camps" to each school as part of their summer school programming.
We are excited to announce two new school partnerships this summer with Baywood and Fairview schools in Grayson County. Blue Ridge Discovery Center will be offering "Summer Camps" to each school as part of their summer school programming. If you have a student attending either school, encourage them to come out for some outdoor fun this summer!
We will be offering three camps. A traveling explorers camp, visiting the New River Trail, Doughton Park, Fairy Stone State Park, and Stone Mountain State Park. A prehistoric cultures camp combining craft, cultural heritage, and natural resources. And the "Highlands Games" camp exploring all sorts of traditional Appalachian fun and games.
These programs are a great opportunity for Blue Ridge Discovery Center to expand our reach and reconnect our local youth with the outdoors during the summer months!
Mount Rogers Wilderness Camp
We finished off summer camp season by heading up the mountain and exploring the habitats of Mount Rogers with a basecamp at the Scales on Pine Mountain. Unfortunately we timed it with a massive system that brought three days of solid rain!!
We finished off summer camp season by heading up the mountain and exploring the habitats of Mount Rogers with a basecamp at the Scales on Pine Mountain. Unfortunately we timed it with a massive system that brought three days of solid rain!!
After picking up the crew, the caravan of 4x4's crawled up the trail battling sheets of rain and a boulder covered road. When we arrived at the top 45 minutes later, it became abundantly clear that the rain had set in and our first task was to build some shelter. We all slipped on rain gear and started laying out our 16' wooden poles, making lashings and marking the corners of our tent shelter. A short time later we proudly huddled under our canvas tarp to get out of the rain!
The first exploration of the trip was to check out the headwaters of Big Wilson Creek. The kids put on their wetsuits at camp since it was raining and down the trail we went. Fellow campers at Scales gave us some strange looks for sporting snorkel masks on top of the mountain! The kids insisted on getting to some holes deep enough to swim in so we hiked downstream until we came to a large plunge pool that was over six feet deep. The water was already dingy from the rain so observation was limited but the kids explored the edges of the pool and the falls. We tried our hand at seining for fish and came up with a small wild rainbow trout in the bubbles of a water fall. Max found an old beat up fly that still had monofilament attached to the hook and sure enough Zeke pulled out a small native drifting it through the current by hand! We also found lots of crayfish and even one that was munching on the head of a salamander. On the hike back we took a short detour to check out the Fraiser Fir Seed Plot and the Appalachian Bog of Sullivan Swamp. Lisa's ever delicious Walking Tacos were waiting for us at camp upon return. (Day 1: 3 miles)
Day 2. The camp awoke to heavy rains and but by 10am it had transitioned to a drizzle and then to a continuous cloud mist. After studying the maps the campers packed their day packs and slipped on rain gear and out into the weather we went. From the Scales basecamp we hiked west across the Southern Appalachian Shrub Balds of Pine Mountain and into Lewis Fork Wilderness in search of natural wonders. Even though the mist was thick, butterflies surfaced on multiple occasions including common wood nymphs and american coppers. During our snack break Max was convinced he saw a large black animal sauntering through the woods, so out came the binoculars and we went in hot pursuit hoping for a glimpse at a black bear. About a hundred yards away we found our subject, a massive black dog being put back on the leash by some hikers.
Entering Lewis Fork the forest canopy protected us from the rain pouring down. While we worked our way deeper into the woods we found a huge black-bellied salamander, lots of red-backed salamanders, a dusky species and and one tiny pygmy salamander along the trails. Hiking through the High Elevation Cove Forest we came across a grove of massive red spruce trees that warrant future measurement for a possible state record! Nearing the end of the forest trail we became enchanted by what appeared to be a roar of wind from the ridge but upon further inspection we found a rather large creek running under the boulder field we were crossing. The rocks had a typical forest growing on top of it, so very disguised until you found an opening between the rocks to peer into. Returning to camp we picked a gallon of blackberries for the following night's dessert. (Day 2: 8 miles)
As the cooks prepped for a dutch oven lasagna dinner we did journal illustrations of observations along the trail. That evening we were joined by Christy and Ed from Friends of Mount Rogers who had sponsored four scholarship kids to the camp! The rain continued coming down so we circled under our shelter and got out the flint knapping kits. After giving a whack at some local rhyolite we had found along the trail, we moved on to more workable chert to produce some arrowheads with antler billets. As night fell it was cold and wet, so we built a small charcoal fire in the middle of our shelter and got out a deck of cards to play the ever fun game of assassin.
Day 3: We kicked off the following morning with wild blueberry pancakes and bacon. After reviewing the maps, we packed our daypacks and set off for the highest point in Virginia: Mount Rogers. Throughout the day we went from hot, to drenched, to cold, to hot again three times! In between the waves of rain butterflies abounded and the birds sang their bright songs. In one short cycle the kids caught three species of fritillary: Meadow, Variegated and Aphrodite! Other butterflies included common wood nymph, red-spotted purple, pearl crescent, eastern-tailed blue, american copper, clouded sulphur and eastern tiger-swallowtail.
As we ascended the trail the spruce-fir dome of Mount Rogers loomed in the clouds ahead. After climbing on some outcrops we entered into the red spruce and fraiser fir zone at around 5,400' in elevation. The trail was wet and muddy and alternated between meadows, laurel thickets and spruce trees. Along the way we spotted high elevation breeding birds including golden-crowned kinglets, dark-eyed juncos, magnolia warbler, black-capped chickadee, cedar waxwings, common ravens, common yellowthroat, hairy woodpecker and heard the enchanting songs of the hermit thrush and veery. The magnolia warbler was especially cooperative, gleaning insects from the blackberries only a few feet away. Over Wilburn Ridge we spotted a soaring broad-winged hawk. Entering the enchanting spruce forest near the peak astounded all of the hikers.
Although we did not need any more emphasis, the moss laden branches illustrated just how wet it is at 5,729' in elevation. Happy with their accomplishment of reaching the highest point in Virginia, the kids parked it for a snack, mended blisters and soaked up the dense forest. The return hike featured the standard pony fare and a report of a black bear from hikers heading the other way. With endlessly wet feet and many miles behind us we stopped frequently to patch up blisters on worn feet. Returning to camp the kids beamed with the accomplishment of having the highest peak of Virginia in their bag! (Day 3: 10 miles)
At basecamp we did a fire building session for coals to cook our dutch oven blackberry cobbler. (I don't recall what was for dinner...) While the fire cooked down we finished some arrowheads and made cordage from dried dogs bane. After dinner wrapped up we kicked up a game of ultimate frisbee until darkness prohibited us to continue. The last evening of the camp finally brought crystal clear skies. We set up the spotting scope and watched the moon fall behind the ridge, counted the moons of Jupiter and looked in awe at the rings of Saturn. As we sat around the campfire a neighboring cowboy wailed a sad trail tune and the coyotes took up chorus on the surrounding ridge tops. The camper's eyes got as wide and bright as the stars above. Resisting sleep hour, the kids talked us into another round of assassin, but this time we played with a deck of bird cards with the menacing golden-crowned kinglet as the killer!
Basecamp at Scales
Day 4: The last morning we chowed on a Mountain Man Breakfast (hash browns, bacon, eggs and cheese in the dutch oven) then compiled a comprehensive species list of the camp on the whiteboard and in journals: all the birds, butterflies, mammals, salamanders, fish, insects, rocks and habitats we visited! The kids broke camp and we headed down the mountain in our 4x4 caravan to conclude one awesome year of Blue Ridge Discovery Center Summer Camps!
Many thanks to the Friends of Mount Rogers for making this camp happen by providing four vital scholarships. Their support allowed a group of local kids to explore one of the most amazing habitats in the world that just happens to be right in their backyards. Also thank you to the US Forest Service for allowing us to explore these fantastic lands!
Young Explorers Club Hike to Linville Falls
The Young Explorers Club set out to see Linville Falls today! Not only did they make it there, they hiked EVERY trail in the park covering over 5 moderate to strenuous miles!
The Young Explorers Club set out to see Linville Falls today! Not only did they make it there, they hiked EVERY trail in the park covering over 5 moderate to strenuous miles!
Their feet were ready for that cool water in the plunge pool at the base of the Falls and their bellies were ready for the frozen treat at the end of the day!
Blue Ridge Expeditions: Dismal Falls, Bland County, VA
The 4.3 mile hike on July 19th had gloomy, rainy weather, but the four cheerful participants made the hike to the Falls full of fun and frolic. Guide Amy Roberts and Master Naturalist volunteer Linda Gette led local and out of state participants through the Appalachian hickory-oak forest to the lovely 400 million year old falls.
The 4.3 mile hike on July 19th had gloomy, rainy weather, but the four cheerful participants made the hike to the Falls full of fun and frolic. Guide Amy Roberts and Master Naturalist volunteer Linda Gette led local and out of state participants through the Appalachian hickory-oak forest to the lovely 400 million year old falls. We found some unidentified fossils in one of the boulder fields, two chicken of the woods fungi, an eastern red-spotted newt, and some American chestnut coppice trying to survive. Some of the rhododendron was still in bloom, and we had a lesson on distinguishing American Chestnut, Chestnut Oak, and Chinquapin.
The Walkin' Jim Stoltz event
November 6, 2009 - FOREVER WILD: A CELEBRATION OF WILDERNESS
One of America’s most unique folksingers and backcountry travelers, Walkin’ Jim Stoltz, on tour from the mountains of Montana, will bring his powerful multi-media show, Forever Wild, to the 1908 Courthouse in Independence, Virginia, on Friday, November 6th, at 7:00 PM. The mix of stunning photography, stories, and music make this one-of-a-kind concert an inspiring journey into our nation’s last wilderness areas. This event is brought to you by the Grayson County chapter of Blue Ridge Discover Center and the 1908 Courthouse Foundation.
Tickets were made available through Deb Shell, Barr's Fiddle Shop, Main Street, Galax, VA, S&L Outdoors, Sparta, NC, and at Rouse House Music, next to the 1908 Courthouse, Independence, VA.
Event Summary:
Walkin Jim Concert, November 6th, 2009, at the Historic 1908
Courthouse, Independence, Virginia.
Due to the diligence of many volunteers, and their getting the word out, last night's concert was well attended. Three complete rows of extra chairs were necessary to accommodate the crowd. At 7:00 PM, and as planned, I opened the evening with a simple description of BRDC, how I became acquainted with Jim Stoltz, and a thanks to the volunteers and the 08 Courthouse Foundation. Joyce Rouse opened for Jim with several of her songs, livening up the audience with her unlimited energy. Among her offerings were a piece on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and her hopeful candidate for the Virginia State Song, "Virginia Beauty".
Jim began with some stories, a brief history of his wilderness walking life, and then a song. Throughout the evening, he alternated between lights on, with his story telling and singing, to lights off, with his amazing slide show accompanied always by his deep resonating voice and the guitar. He took us all over the North American landscape to places few of us will ever see. For the exception of four or five images, all of the slides were his. And all of his songs are originals.
Jim is passionate about saving the wild places for all things living, and continued to push that theme on every level. His merchandise table also included, besides CDs, tee shirts, his book, and some educational videos, an array of ways to get involved with wildlife and natural areas advocacy. He also had several original paintings done with cattle markers, a unique concept.
For the audience, it was a ride through canyons, over high sierra peaks, wandering rivers of Alaska, and deep alpine forests. It was also emotional, as his voice can invoke the deepest passions, sadness, celebration, humor, and a spiritual overtone that he does well. From "Just one Mosquito", a funny song about critters he's encountered along his way, to "Old Crystal Bell", a tribute to an old school house and the ghosts found within, he plumbed the full range of feelings, allowing us all to share in the fullness of his life. He had said to me earlier in the day, while setting up, that he is completely aware of how lucky he is.
During intermission, while the 08 Foundation served snacks, Jim signed CDs and books, and conversed with many new admirers. In other words, he got a lot of love. The second half was shorter, with one different approach. Close to the end, he had Susan Gleason and yours truly come on stage to read quotes from famous folks whose work and ideas have helped to grow our awareness of protected outdoor spaces, as well as the essential value of ecological balance. This reading was accompanied by guitar and slides, creating yet another strong message.
Everyone seemed to go away with smiles and many hugs were passed around. Those who stayed, were enlisted in helping Jim pack up his gear and van. By 11:00 PM, the courthouse was locked and dark. You, the community and our collective interests all made it more than worth every minute invested. Happy trails, will keep in touch.
- Scott Jackson-Ricketts