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. If you have a student attending either school, encourage them to come out for some outdoor fun this summer! 

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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!

The Trout Population has Increased in Wilson Creek

Last week was absolutely beautiful and we couldn't have had a better time on Wilson Creek in Grayson County as the 7th grade students of Independence Middle and Grayson Highlands Schools and the 5th grade students of Piney Creek Elementary School released their trout.

Each year, several classes participate in the Trout in the Classroom Program. This program begins in the fall with tank set-up, water chemistry analysis and habitat discussions in relation to our native Brook trout. Then, in early winter, the classes receive the trout eggs and are instructed on the stages of development of the trout from egg to alevin and then to fingerlings. It is their challenge and responsibility to maintain an appropriate environment for the trout to survive until spring when they are released in a cold water stream that can support them.

The release is a fun and exciting day where the kids not only get to set their trout free but delve deeper into their natural habitat. This is done by putting on a pair of waders and boots and getting in the stream with seines and dip nets. Some scouring of the bottom reveals what lurks below and investigated further with hand lenses, microscopes and guide books.

This experiential, hands-ons program not only teaches the life cycles of fishes and macro-invertebrates but encourages our youth to get out and explore a new habitat and establishes the foundation for stewardship.

BRDC and Fairveiw Elementary School

Blue Ridge Discovery Center is excited to be adding additional opportunities for the students at Fairview Elementary School. We currently provide our K-2 Reading program and Natural Heritage Programs there for the 1st and 5th grades. Now, as part of their 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, we will be providing after school enrichment three days a week and three weeks of summer camp!

Through the remainder of the school year, we will immerse the seedling scientists (K-2) and the junior naturalists (3-5) with hands-on, experiential outdoor education revolving around the Blue Ridge. This summer we will bring even more adventures their way. We thank Grayson County Public Schools for supporting our mission!

Goin' Fishin'

The weather cooperated for a short afternoon fishing trip to a local pond. As part of this month's enrichment programs at Galax Middle School, BRDC guides instructed the kids on fly fishing. They began the course with aquatic insects and their life cycles, and progressed to parts of the rod, reel, and fly line, knots and finally casting. 

Friday afternoon, the kids climbed on the bus and headed out to catch a fish on the fly. After a quick snack, we hiked to a local pond that holds some bluegill and bass. Once at the property, we put the rods together, attached our reels, and strung them up with the fly line and leader. After several practice casts to regain our rhythm from the Tuesday lesson, we attached poppers, woolly buggers, and mop flies (the most successful fly). Spreading out to avoid hooking one another, we commenced to fishing!

Everyone saw fish and several had opportunities at catches with three fish landed for the day. We had a great time and are very appreciative of the good weather and the generosity of the private landowner that allowed us the privilege of GOIN' FISHIN'

Do You Know Your Trees?

Do you know the tree species that live and grow around your home and provide shade and shelter to wildlife that visit you? Well, the fifth graders of Grayson County do! 

The leaves are just beginning to bud so BRDC staff brought pressed laminated leaves of various trees of SWVA to the classrooms last week. After a quick lesson in leaf terminology, the students were turned loose with a Dichotomous Key. A dichotomous key is a tool that allows the user to determine the identity of items in the natural world, such as trees, using a series of choices that lead to the correct name of a given item. "Dichotomous" meaning, "divided into two parts", was a methodology taught to the students. It was explained that this series of questions resulted in only one correct answer and thus narrowed down the choices until specific.

With a leaf in hand, two different types of dichotomous keys, and an understanding of leaf types, margins, and arrangement, the students were well underway identifying the species of tree. Most every student correctly identified their leaf and gained an appreciation for how a dichotomous key can be a beneficial tool in identification.

Salamanders

Most every first grader knows about frogs and toads and their life cycles. And, if they know about amphibians, they may know that salamanders are part of this group too. But rarely do they talk about salamanders and get to see them up close.

This month in the K-2 Program, BRDC staff read excerpts from a youth salamander guidebook discussing the differences between salamanders and lizards (amphibians vs reptiles) and some of the features of our local salamanders, where they live, their habitats, and how they breathe. We also brought in some live, local salamanders for the kids to observe.

Our focus was on the Eastern hellbender, our largest salamander. After watching a video on the hellbender, we discussed ways to save and protect this amazing salamander and have him swimming in our rivers and streams for future generations. 

Fun Times

What a great bunch of enthusiastic kids full of stories and questions! BRDC got to spend the afternoon with the 2nd and 3rd graders at Hillsville Elementary School during their intersession. We presented our Tracks and Signs program to tie in with their animal theme. 

The class began with the distinction between animal tracks and animals signs. We quickly moved on to choosing a mold of an animal track and mixed up our messy Plaster of Paris and poured it into the mold to create a cast of that print. The students eagerly participated in the continued activities and patiently waited for their casts to harden. At the end of the program, they all removed their casts from the mold and left with their own animal track!

Getting Ready for the Stream with the NFSP

The warming temperatures at the end of February got us fly fishers ready to hit the streams. As part of our enriching programs in Grayson County Public Schools, BRDC provided a week of fly fishing lessons to the ninth grade girls and boys PE classes.

Using the National Fishing in Schools Program (NFSP), we brought a potential lifelong hobby to these students. Each day the program educates the students on various aspects of the sport, not the least of which is proper casting. But that is not all there is to fly fishing. There is the close study of the aquatic insects that are imitated by the fly fisher, the reading of the water, and understanding the habitat of the target species. Through various exercises and games, these students participated in activities that enhanced their learning of that aquatic environment. 

Each day the students handled a fly rod as well as learned the principles and foundations of fly fishing, the equipment used in the sport, aquatic insect life cycles and identification, and essential knots. They began with the most basic cast and through repetition and muscle memory, honed in their casting skills ending with the ability to shoot line and perfect a roll cast.

On Friday, they each sat at the vise and created their own imitation of a streamer...the quintessential "woolly bugger". All were proud of their accomplishments and creativity. Some very impressive flies left the building that day. It is our hope that they will end up in the mouth of a fish caught on a fly rod! As a bonus, the students were given the opportunity to write an essay about a "Fish Tale". The best essay will win a full fly rod setup (rod, reel, fly line, and case) and a beginners fly tying kit!

This is all made possible by the generous support of NFSP, VDGIF grants, Echo fly rods and Wapsi. Many thanks for your continued support for this wonderful, enriching program!

Nature Photography for Galax Intersession

Seeing something in nature that catches our eye is always worth a closer look, but if you’re carrying a camera it’s also worth the time to take a picture.  Getting outside almost always leads to beautiful sights and with photography we have the opportunity to share those visual treasures that stop us in our tracks.

Eight Galax School students were able to spend the mornings of Intersession week learning about nature photography on Matthews State Forest.  The BRDC workshop focused on the basics of photography while giving the students a chance to try out a variety of camera types from small “point and shoots” to professional level Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) styles.  

With warmer than usual February weather,  the State Forest’s loop trails offered lots of potential subjects even a few small insects and fresh leaves.  The students explored their surroundings through a camera lens as they dove into daily assignment which emphasized lessons on lighting, angle of view, background and design. As their hundreds of individual photographs were periodically sorted, the students were encouraged to separate only their very best images.  Although some of the decisions were tough, the exercise helped each student develop a more critical eye for photography. Progress throughout the week was very noticeable with fewer, but higher quality images being taken on the last couple of days.  

By the end of the week, it was obvious that these enthusiastic students were excited by the opportunities photography would give them to share their individual vision of nature.  As they headed to the bus on Friday, it was clear that they couldn’t wait to get another opportunity to develop their eye for even better images - several of the students asked “Will you be teaching this again at the next intersession.”  

Taxonomy: the Science of Classification

Taxonomy, or the science of classification, is a complex system where animals and other organisms are classified from general to the particular. There are 8 categories in the taxonomic rank but most of us focus on the last two; genus and species. 

The fifth-grade students of Grayson County explored taxonomy last week by sorting picture cards. They were given various animals and had to sort them as vertebrates or invertebrates. After the picture cards were correctly sorted, they used this information to defer phyla and classes of animals. Once they understood the process, they quickly picked up the classes of vertebrates.

The invertebrates were a little more tricky. The phyla of invertebrates were described and they then had to show which animal fell into that category. Breaking down the arthropod group was the easiest and most fun. 

Toes in the Sand

Kids are always intrigued by animal tracks and they are quick to identify our most common tracks of deer and dogs, but can they determine the other critters that travel through our area leaving only a track behind?

The K-2 Program presented the book "Whose Tracks are These? A Clue Book of Familiar Forest Animals" by Jim Nail. In this story, the reader is given clues to the description of an animal and its tracks. The clues lead you to guess "who am I?" with the answer given on the following page. The students in Grayson County Public Schools loved this book and loudly expressed Whose tracks these were! 

After the completion of the story, the students were asked to take off a sock and shoe and step into the tray of sand. They observed and described the characteristics of their tracks as a "hands-on" (using their feet) tool to aid in understanding the parts of a track. Afterward, track casts of animals found in the Blue Ridge were pressed into the sand and the students tried to guess which animal they belonged to. They were finally asked to do a homework assignment for BRDC; to go on a hike with their family and see how many animal tracks they could discover and identify. They are to report back to us in March. 

We want to thank the teachers and staff at all the schools for allowing us to come into their classrooms.....and apologize for leaving behind sandy tracks on the carpet circles all over the county!

A Visit to Jeff Matthew's Museum

On a Friday after school field trip, Galax Middle School students visited the Jeff Matthews Museum. This museum, located in Galax, next door to the public library, is a hidden gem full of wild game displays, Native American artifacts, and local memorabilia. The kids set out on a treasure hunt within the museum as a means to find some of the unique items found there.

Spending a few hours searching for various items on their lists and finding even more interesting things on their own, they decided to make a new treasure hunt for future visitors to the museum. After touring both floors of the museum, we moved outside to explore the historic buildings also found on the property and enjoyed a snack at the picnic tables just outside the door. Next years students are in for quite a hunt!

January Programs with Grayson County Public Schools

Blue Ridge Discovery Center shared two programs with 1st and 5th graders in Grayson County. Reaching five schools and seven classes in each grade. 

The 1st-grade K-2 Reading program enlisted our very own Didelphis virginiana, the only marsupial of North America. After reading, "There is an Opossum in my Backyard", the students colored, cut and pasted together their own opossum to hang around the room. We discussed all the reasons this mammal is so special and needs protecting. As one of our guides so fondly declares; "The opossum is a true superhero among animals!"

The 5th graders and the Natural Heritage Program focused on adaptations. We focused on birds, in particular, identifying many of our winter birds and learning the various ways they adapt to survive the harsh winter. Using technology to aid in identifying and sharing data about the birds in our communities, students are able to share what is going on with true Ornithologists and see the data they are helping generate as citizen scientists. Sibleys, Merlin ID, and eBird were used to demonstrate how accessible bird information can be. We viewed the eBird website and logged in to share birds we might see while watching a feeder during winter.  Using these tools, students learn the importance of this information and strengthen their relationship with nature which leads to stewardship.

One Minute Old Fossils

A fossil is the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock. Fossils Tell of Long Ago, the story read to the first graders of Grayson County Schools this month, explains the process of fossilization and the varying types of fossils that are formed. From tracks of dinosaurs to imprints of ferns, frozen woolly mammoths, bryozoans, cephalopods and brachiopods, fossils tell us of the past. 

BRDC brought examples of fossils to the classroom for the students to explore and investigate. The sharks teeth were the biggest hit. The difference between a mold and cast fossil was explained and then each student was given a chunk of clay to make their own mold fossil using various materials. 

November Programs: Grayson County Public Schools

November was a busy month as BRDC joins the 1st, 5th and 7th grade classes to study Owls, Watersheds and Trout.

The K-2 Program for November brought Barn Owls to the forefront with a story by Melissa Hill, Barn Owls. Owl and raptor parts we brought for the kids to see, touch and compare. We finished the class with a couple of rounds of Owl Bingo.

The Natural Heritage program elaborated on our watersheds. We began with the Mississippi River and traveled upstream with maps of the US and Virginia discovering the way water travels across our country, as well as locally, to reach the oceans. Students were able to locate their community on a Virginia map based on their orientation to the New River.

Eyed eggs were delivered to the middle schools as part of the Trout in the Classroom Program. Each year, the classes set up a tank to replicate the habitat of our native Brook trout. The students receive eggs and watch the transformation from egg to alevin to fry and then release the small trout in the spring. It is a great lesson on stream ecology, water quality and life processes. The class is responsible for caring for and maintaining a habitable environment for the fish.   

2nd Annual Middle School Science Fair

Snow did not stop these kids from bringing their best to the 2nd Annual Middle School Science Fair! Sixth and seventh grade students from the entire county presented over 140 science and engineering projects in competition for the Grand Prize; a mini 3D printer! The top three students in each grade were awarded gift certificates to Acorn Naturalists and a student from each school has a plaque engraved with their name representing the Best in School. 

Science Fair Projects are an opportunity for students to learn more about the world around them through rigorous experimentation and documentation. All projects had to answer a question through the scientific method or focus on innovative solutions through engineering. The participants learn to seek answers to the conditions and challenges that face us all! With help from peers, teachers, parents and mentors, the students set out to solve the hardest of questions. 

They began thinking about and preparing these projects in September. It is a lengthy process that involves questioning, research, experimentation, data collection, analyzing and communicating results. It enhances critical thinking skills and an understanding of the scientific and engineering methods. They are also encouraged to compete at the regional level at Radford University in March. This process allows students with intense interest in the sciences to be paired with mentors from colleges and universities and gain access to instruction and equipment the local schools may not be able to provide.

All participating students were winners this day. They took on a great challenge and were successful in completing that challenge. With great pleasure, we awarded the following students: Zeke Phipps, Grand Prize and Best in School at Independence Middle for Luminol: Is it Bright Glow or Slow Glow; Hiley Boyer, 1st Place 6th grade and Best in School at Grayson Highlands for What keeps and Apple from Browning; Callie Anderson, 2nd Place 6th grade for Fun with Magnets; Kaydence Boykin, 3rd Place 6th grade for Which Sponge Holds the Most Water; Matthew Rector, 1st Place 7th grade and Best in School at Fries School for Hydraulic Crane; Steven Barnette, 2nd Place 7th grade for Males vs. Females on time perception; and Harley Alderman, 3rd Place 7th grade for Do All Liquids Evaporate at the Same Rate.

A special thank you is needed for all the individuals that helped make this event a success. The 6th and 7th grade teachers and principals: Jamie Hale, Bobby Cheeks, John Alexander, Cindy Cox, Mary Tignor, Sherry Perry, and Elizabeth Blankenship; our volunteer judges: Devin Floyd, Keith and Pat Andrews, Austin Phipps, and Brenda Bonk; and the community that supported us financially with donations to pay for the awards: Grayson Express, Main Street Tire, Buck Mountain Bed and Breakfast, Anderson Insurance, Kendall Clay, and Mid Atlantic Health Specialists.

Stars, Planets and More!

In keeping with the mission of BRDC to inspire curiosity and discovery, 12 students from Galax Middle school traveled to Winston Salem to visit the new Kaleideum North, formerly SciWorks. Kaleideum’s Planetarium was an excellent extension to the astronomy study for November. After viewing a show about stars and planets, they spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring the museum.

Physics, puzzles, natural history, health and music exhibits that filled the museum both entertained and challenged the students to think critically and explore hands-on. They ventured outside and viewed the otter and raccoon in their habitat and took turns whispering across a courtyard to see if they could be heard in the sound garden.

This was a great opportunity for the kids to get out of the classroom and expand their educational experience. Learning can be fun and it was evident in all our faces.

Galax Middle School has a "Spook"tacular Week!

During Halloween week, Wildlife Rehabilitator and Naturalist Darin Handy, provided education and entertainment to the students at Galax Middle School. 

BRDC and Galax City Public Schools partner to provide after school enrichment to students in grades 5-7. Focusing on the Blue Ridge, BRDC brings hands-on, experiential learning with great guides like Darin Handy. Having 20 years experience with reptiles, he is the perfect guide to bring herpetology to the students.

Darin talked about the various species of snakes and turtles native to Virginia and the Blue Ridge.  He shared information about how they The students were thrilled to not only learn about our reptiles, but also see and touch some of them. The Black rat snake, Northern water snake, Copperhead and a Hognose snake were part of the suborder Serpentes brought on Monday while the Woodland box turtle, Eastern spiny softshell turtle, Eastern musk turtle, and the Snapping turtle finished the Testudines on Halloween. Is there any better way to send the kids off trick or treating than after coming face to face with Chelydra serpentina?!

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! 

What is an Owl Pellet?

When Blue Ridge Discovery Center brings this program to the fourth-grade students of Grayson County, they always ask, "What is an Owl Pellet". We are always excited to share what it is! Of course, after we describe what it is, there is unanimous, "Ewh, gross", and the gag reflex response. We hand out the little foil packs to each student and tell them we are going to dissect it and see what we can find inside. This really sends them through the roof! But it never fails that every student digs into that pellet with gusto. The clamor around the room is wonderful as they exclaim, "Look what I found!", "What is this from?", and "I see teeth!" The Barn owl swallows their food whole, so it is not uncommon to find entire skeletons within the pellets.

In this program, students identify an owl pellet's contents and practice recording and analyzing the data. They are all given tools for use during dissection and a bone identification chart to help determine the species of animal consumed. This aids in the understanding of the food chain of birds of prey, the Barn owl in particular. It shows the relationship between producers (plants) and consumers (animals that eat the plants or that eat other animals). This hands-on program brings scientific investigation into the classroom!