Case study at Tremont!
Blue Ridge Discovery Center staff and board members took a fried-chicken-fueled trip to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont to study them as a model for the future of BRDC. We came away with both inspiration and a tangible vision!
A Naturalist's Book List
With all of the wonderful apps available, it is still a good idea to have a shelf of guides to call on. We love paging through them while planning our next exploration, exploring their beautiful illustrations, and carrying our favorites with us for quick reference.
BRDC receives VDGIF eStore Grant!
Thanks to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia for supporting the Blue Ridge Discovery Center's efforts to connect our youth to the outdoors!
What's in a Naturalist's Pack?
What does BRDC Program Coordinator and Naturalist Lisa Benish have in her daypack? Here is a list of items she carries to ensure that she is prepared for all of her explorations:
Turkeys Have a Reason to be Thankful Today
You wouldn’t think that turkeys have much reason to be thankful given their place as the centerpiece of Thankgiving dinner, but since their decline to near extinction in the 1930's, turkeys in the Blue Ridge are a wildlife management success story.
Bird Feeders and Community Science
Blue Ridge Discovery Center's Natural Heritage Program brings bird feeders and citizen science to Grayson County Public Schools for the month of November.
Fries School Investigates the New River
Fries School joins Blue Ridge Discovery Center's staff for a day of Aquatic Adventure.
A Field Trip to SciWorks
Eight energized students from Galax Middle School joined BRDC staff for a day of exploration at SciWorks in Winston Salem, Saturday, November 12.
Super Moon Over the New River
This was the closest the moon has been in 70 years and will be again for another 40!
View the Super Moon Rise
Join us to watch the Super Moon rise over the New River! Sunday, November 13, 2016
4:30pm-7:30pm. Bring a chair, flashlight, binoculars, drinks, and a finger food to share.
Explorers Club Hike to Cascade Falls
13 Explorers hiked to Cascade Falls in Giles County last Saturday. It started out a cold, misty morning, but quickly warmed as the group made their way up the trail following Big Stony Creek over many rock steps and bridges. There were a great many cascades to explore along the way, and a beautiful display of fall color overhead. Along the way, the group collected a variety of leaves for later identification.
The Power of Owl Pellets
During the first week of November, Grayson County 4-H and BRDC teamed up to bring all of the 4th graders across Grayson County our famous owl pellet program.
It always begins with ew, yuck and gross, because the idea of dissecting something that was once inside a living bird, summons visions of poop or puke. We explain that an owl pellet is similar to a fur ball your house cat occasionally coughs up.
The Trout Have Arrived!
As part of the Trout in the Classroom program, classrooms set up 55 gallon tanks to create a suitable habitat for trout.
1st Graders Learn the Ways of Barn Owls
First grade students at Independence, Fries and and Grayson Highlands School learned about barn owls in this month’s K-2 Reading Program.
Volunteer Sarah Osborne read the book Barn Owls, and used talons and feathers from the BRDC collection to engage students in the study of these nocturnal raptors.
RIP Sylvester the Snake
At one month old, Sylvester was shipped to Claire Gleason in 2006. He was the amelanistic color variety of corn snake (lacking brown pigment) and eventually grew to 4'9" long.
Galax Students enjoy American Chestnut Celebration
BRDC took eight excited and enthusiastic young ladies from Galax Middle School to learn about the American Chestnut tree and enjoy the festivities.
Galax Middle School Studies Leaves, Invasive Plants and the American Chestnut
Students from Galax Middle School travel to Matthews State Forest to learn about the forests of the Blue Ridge.
Galax Intersession Suspension Bridge Construction
Galax Middle School Students spent a fun week constructing a suspension bridge!
1st Annual Volunteer Celebration
On a windy Friday evening, BRDC volunteers gathered to celebrate a successful year of programs and events. Lukas Burgher, Aaron Floyd and Rick Taylor spit roasted 2 young hogs for the group to enjoy.
Aaron thanked everyone for a great year of service toward BRDC's mission to inspire creativity, discovery, and critical thinking focused on the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 2016, our Volunteers contributed to 6,000 hours of kids being engaged in natural science valued at over $30,000 dollars. He also emphasized the important role that volunteers play in BRDC's growth. Several volunteers shared stories about their experiences working with kids over the year and Lisa Benish mentioned all of the many upcoming opportunities for volunteers to participate.
Whitetop Mountain Fieldtrip
After a week of teaching Galax Middle School kids the fundamentals of compass and map use, and working with another group on basic bird identification, these two outdoor classes hopped on a school bus to rendezvous at Whitetop Mountain for a five mile hike.