BRDC’s 2019 Overnight Summer Camps
From the birds of the balds to the rapids of the river, Blue Ridge Discovery Center offers an array of opportunities for youth to engage in the Summer Outside. Read on to learn about our 2019 Summer Camps, including how you can take advantage of our discount offers and claim your child’s spot!
Botanical Artist & Illustrator, Lara Call Gastinger, to Speak at Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally
Amid winter’s decaying leaves, forgotten acorns, and the emerging buds of spring, one might also find pens, journals, and watercolors . . . in the capable hands of Lara Call Gastinger, our Featured Speaker for the 45th Annual Spring Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally.
Field Trips Announced for 45th Annual Spring Mt. Rogers Naturalist Rally
If you were to glance at a biodiversity hotspot map of the United States, you would see a striking pop of color stretching across the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with the highest level of diversity right here in our backyard among the three highest peaks of Virginia: Mount Rogers, Whitetop Mountain, and Pine Mountain. Is it any coincidence, then, that people have been coming to this region for 45 years to take part in the Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally?
Virginia Master Naturalist Course begins this week!
Love Southwest Virginia? Want to learn more about it? The Holston Rivers Chapter Virginia Master Naturalist Basic Training Course begins this Thursday. If you’re ready to connect with the natural history of our region as a Master Naturalist, check out the course details here and register today!
The Blue Ridge: A Geological Autobiography
If the Blue Ridge could write its own long and complex history, surely it would chisel the words in stone. Fortunately, it did just that. And fortunately, we have a translator in our midst. During our January 2019 Geology Expedition, USGS Geologist Arthur Merschat unraveled the story of the geologic events that left Virginia’s oldest basement rocks exposed for us to access and admire.
Experience 2019 with Blue Ridge Discovery Center
In the quiet of the winter woods you may see a blanket of fallen leaves or a dusting of snow and think of the life resting beneath it, awaiting the rains and warmer temperatures of spring before emerging to bloom or forage. But not all life is waiting out the winter.
2019 Summer Outside Initiative
Looking ahead to 2019, Blue Ridge Discovery Center will be launching its Summer Outside Initiative in an effort to connect even more youth to the wonders of the Blue Ridge for an exciting and memorable summer! With technology having such a strong presence in the daily lives of youth in the 21st Century, there has never been a more important time to get outdoors and reconnect with the myriad of benefits provided by this magnificent, natural resource.
Emory and Henry College's 2018 Service Plunge at BRDC
BRDC gained a crew of helping hands for a morning of ground maintenance during E&H’s 2018 Service Plunge.
The Secret Life of Butterflies
With such striking coloration, this meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona) easily stands out against its floral backdrop when feeding and in flight. However, it needs to be a little more inconspicuous at times of rest.
Color in the field!
As spring rains give way to warm, sunny days, the meadows of Mount Rogers come to life with the emergence of a plethora of insects. Among these creatures is a beetle with a striking iridescent blue body and a yellow-orange wash across its elytra (forewings).
7th Graders Discover Hawk Migration
Jim Keighton of Blue Ridge Birders hosted BRDC and 19 Grayson Highlands seventh graders for a day of counting migrating hawks.
2nd Annual BRDC Science Fair
BRDC is excited to announce the 2nd Annual BRDC Science Fair in partnership with Grayson County Public Schools! All 6th and 7th-grade students in Grayson County Public Schools are included.
Summer Naturalist Rally Celebrates the Ecology of the Blue Ridge
Spectacular weather helped make the 2nd annual Mount Rogers Summer Naturalist Rally a wonderful success. The summer gathering is a great addition to the very successful Mount Rogers Naturalist Spring Rally, held for the last 43 years, giving naturalists an opportunity to observe species that change along with the seasons.
The Hidden Life of Trees
For July 2017, the BRDC Book Club read and discussed The Hidden Life of Trees.
"In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware.
BRDC Partners with Galax for Hands-On Summer Day Camp Fun
Continuing a successful relationship built through afterschool programs and weekend field trips during the 2016 and 2017 school years, BRDC partnered with Galax Public Schools this summer to offer four unique, weeklong camps in June and July. The camps were hands-on, experiential learning based, outdoor skills focused, and offered free of charge to 3rd-7th grade Galax students.
Discovery Day Camp
31 kids had a fun-filled week of exploration as part of BRDC's Discovery Day Camp. From splashing in the water and examining what lives in a mountain stream, learning to use a map and compass, studying birds, bugs, flowers and rocks, nature arts and crafts, fun games and songs, to the age old pastime of dropping handcrafted vessels into the creek, exploring the Blue Ridge has never been so much fun!
Join BRDC for the Summer Naturalist Rally!
EXPLORE THE NATURAL HISTORY OF MOUNT ROGERS, THE CROWN JEWEL OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA
The Summer Rally gives us a chance to explore Mt. Rogers in a different season. We have assembled a wide variety of field trips with leaders who are experts in their field and able to make it understandable and interesting for everyone from inquisitive amateurs to accomplished naturalists.
Birding Adventure in the High Country
6 kids went on a gravity-defying adventure in the high country participating in BRDC’s inaugural Ornithology Camp. For four days and three nights, the kids camped out and honed their ornithology skills, searching for bird species that inhabit the diverse appalachian ecosystems of southwest Virginia.