Fly Fishing during Galax Intersession

Nine eager young fellas joined BRDC for the week to learn all about fly fishing. For several hours each afternoon, we dove full force into the art of fly fishing. First thing was knowing the parts of the fly rod and reel. The students drew pictures and labeled them. We moved on to the three parts of the line and how to build a leader. Using paracord and a ring, they learned essential knots needed to build said leader and how to tie on a fly.

We moved on to aquatic insects and played relay games that enhanced this information. Using velcro cards and a "Castarget" replica of the water column, the guys were able to identify and match the life cycles of the three primary aquatic insects of the fly fishers world; mayfly, stonefly, and caddisfly.

A full afternoon was spent perfecting the cast readying for our fishing day but first, they spent an afternoon in the creek. Using seines and nets, they tossed and turned over rocks to reveal what lurked underneath. They found live versions of the insects studied on the cards; mayflies, caddisflies, helgramites and water pennies and did their best to catch the few little minnows they spooked with their splashes!

Fly imitation is a large part of fly fishing, so this was incorporated into a day. All made their own Griffith's gnat dry fly and then set out to catch a lunker trout in Chestnut Creek. For this, the boys used the Japanese style, Tenkara Rod. Its ease and simplicity is a great option for the beginning fly fisher.

On the last day, these guys built their own leaders demonstrating their skills with the knots learned earlier in the week. This day was pond fishing using an Orvis 5 weight fly rod. They all did an excellent job of casting with few flies lost. ONE young man, hooked into a mighty trout that fought hard, jumped high and gave us all a thrill! 

Learning about Amphibians & Aquatic Insects

BRDC has been busy with education programs, working with Galax Middle School, Fries School, Fairview Elementary, Grayson Highlands, Independence Elementary.

Grayson County's fourth grade students participated in the Natural Heritage Program with an emphasis on salamanders, toads, and frogs. Students learned about salamanders commonly found in the Blue Ridge.  Using field guides, they researched different species of salamander and presented their discoveries to the class.  The Eastern hellbender was a favorite among the students, as they were shocked by its prehistoric features. Students enjoyed watching a video about the life history of hellbenders provided by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Fifth grade students in Grayson County schools learned about frogs and toads. Students illustrated the life cycle of amphibians, learned the difference between frogs and toads, and listened to the calls of some of Virginia's common species. Many students had heard the calls before, but often didn't know what animal made the calls. The Virginia Herpetological Society's website is a great resource for determining different frog and toad calls: https://goo.gl/v84gqS.

After learning the calls of the American bullfrog, spring peeper, and American toad, students played a Frog and Toad matching game. Using a Peterson Guidebook to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, students matched the species name, picture, and description together. 

Galax Middle School After School program has been learning all about aquatic species. BRDC brought aquatic insects from a local stream to the classroom where students got a first-hand look at the life found in our creeks. Students learned about the life cycle of the insects, and enjoyed fly tying with Executive Director Aaron Floyd. 

In-school programming keeps BRDC's staff busy, but it is great to work with such a variety grade levels and see the enjoyment and wonder on the children's faces. To stay connected with BRDC follow us on Instagram @blueridgediscoverycenter.

Fries School Investigates the New River

Friday, November 11, 2017, Ms. Blankenship's 7th graders from Fries School joined Blue Ridge Discovery Center's staff & volunteers for a day of Aquatic Adventure. Students rotated between stations set up along the New River, just below the school, and participated in citizen science activities.

The stations focused on different aquatic areas. They studied the macro-invertebrates of the New River and a small creek feeding the river. Water quality testing was completed on both the river and the creek.

All groups collected aquatic insects using seines. In order to do this, two students would hold the seine while two would scrape the substrate and turn over rocks for one minute. The specimens were then taken to a table for separation and identification using a dichotomous key. Water quality testers observed the weather, water flow, turbidity, and temperature of the air and water. They also measured pH, dissolved oxygen, and E. coli. of both the river and creek. 

The New River was full of aquatic insects; most abundant being three different species of damselfly larva. The creek presented the students with a chub, salamander, and over 30 snails! The water quality was found to be similar with the exception of the pH of the river being higher than that of the creek.   

Regardless of the cool temps and wind, students and staff had a great day!

Galax Enrichment Week - Aquatic Adventures

Despite the LOW pressure system hanging over the area bringing inches of rain, the middle school student's enthusiasm remained HIGH. They spent the week away from campus at Dannelly Park enjoying Aquatic Adventures.

Once given an introduction to water quality and testing procedures, we began the week by collecting data such as temperature, weather and water conditions, pH, dissolved oxygen, and bacteria from Chestnut Creek. This information was then recorded on data sheets. Students used pipettes, titration tubes, syringes and droppers to accurately measure water and chemicals. It was a great hands-on experience in chemistry as they became familiar with sterile technique, meniscus measurement and scientific method.  

Tuesday the weather sent us indoors. Matthew State Forest was generous enough to allow us to use their cabin, so we utilized this space to learn about the various flies used in fly fishing. Using vices, chenille, hackle feathers, hooks and thread, the students made woolly buggers, a fly that imitates many things and can be used in multiple scenarios. Everyone seemed to enjoy this great rainy day activity.

Wednesday brought no rain, so we separated into three groups and rotated between three activities at Dannelley Park. Scott Jackson-Ricketts led the fish bugs activity.  Waders were put on and the students clambered into the creek to see what they could dredge up.  A seine net is placed downstream across the creek and hand rakes, as well as hands, were used to stir the bottom to uncover the macro-invertebrates living below the surface. We removed the net and carried it to a table collecting the aquatic insects in ice trays filled with water. They identified the aquatic insects using a dichotomous key field guide. As with the water quality testing done on Monday, this is an exercise in determining stream health. Brenda Bonk lead the second activity in which the students learned the life cycles of the macro-invertebrates most commonly found; mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies. They had relay races requiring them to match all three aquatic insects' life cycles and the flies that imitate them. And finally, Lisa Benish had the third group learning the parts of the fly rod, fly reel and fly line. The rod and reels were put together and basic casting technique was taught in preparation for fishing days. 

The rain held off for us once again on Thursday so we commenced to setting up our fly rods and reels.  We did a quick tutorial on how to cast fly line and off to the creek we went with our handmade flies to catch some fish! Lack of trout sent us to a fish pond where we changed our flies from woolly buggers to poppers. Several students caught bluegill and were very pleased with their catch!

We started Friday afternoon finishing up our water quality testing.  Students examined the petri dishes that contained the bacterial growth from the water collected on Monday. We counted the number of E. coli colonies that grew on that petri dish and recorded that information on the data collection sheets. They were surprised to see the number of bacterial colonies that grew from our water.  Hopefully this will emphasize the need to keep our streams healthy and clean. Once again we put our rods together, attached our flies and headed off to a local pond to catch some bass and bluegill. Just about everyone caught a fish! 

So even though the weather was damp and dreary, spirits were not!  The students loved getting out of the classroom and out of doors exploring, discovering and sharing their aquatic habitat.