Explorers Adventure Day Camp I
BRDC's first week of Explorers Adventure Day Camp offered a variety of opportunities for kids to investigate mud and weeds, ponds, woodlands, creeks and river- five days of nature exploration and wonder.
Mt. Rogers Naturalist Rally Biological Survey
As part of the Mt. Rogers Naturalist Rally this spring, participants joined BRDC guide Devin Floyd for a biological survey of the rich forest at Grindstone Campground.
Grayson 1st Graders Visit Matthews Farm
On May 13th, BRDC participated in Matthews Living History Farm Museum's Farm Day for Grayson County 1st graders.
The Blue Ridge Turning Green
The predominant color of middle May in the Blue Ridge mountains of SW VA is green.
2016 Mt. Rogers Naturalist Rally
What a fantastic Rally weekend! There was so much to explore and share!
Milkweeds: Common and Native to NC/VA
2016 Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally speaker Sarah Ross shared a list of native milkweeds for our region that you should consider planting as an alternative to showy non-natives.
Signs of Spring
Spring is a wonderful time of year, with leaves and blooms emerging, birds singing, and amphibian reproduction in full swing. But breeding occurs over a prolonged period since different species have distinct tolerances and adaptations for seasonal progression in temperature and related habitat changes.
Young Explorers Hit the New River Trail
The Young Explorers Club set out for a wildflower walk on Saturday, April 23rd in search of spring wildflowers and birds.
Explorers Club Spring Wildflower Walk
Carol Broderson led a group of 17 explorers on an early spring, wildflower walk along the New River Trail last Saturday.
Galax Enrichment Pond Exploration
Galax Middle School students explored a nearby pond last Friday, as part of BRDC's Galax Enrichment program. The students had a great time building salamander traps and searching for frogs- they discovered spring peepers and eastern newts.
Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis
Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, is one of our lovely spring ephemerals.
Bringing Nature Home
"Chances are, you have never thought of your garden — indeed, of all of the space on your property — as a wildlife preserve that represents the last chance we have for sustaining plants and animals that were once common throughout the U.S. But that is exactly the role our suburban landscapes are now playing and will play even more in the near future." Doug Tallamy
Trout in the Classroom Release
For four months, the 7th grade class at Grayson Highlands School have been raising trout from eggs to fry in a 50 gallon aquarium. On March 24, the students celebrated their success with the release of 80 small fry into Wallen's Creek.
BRDC partners with the Independence Farmers Market for Rally Dinner
Friday Night Rally Dinner goes local for the finest and freshest ingredients!
Galax Middle School Visits Matthews Museum
Galax Middle School students went on a field trip to the Mathews Museum Friday, March 11th, as part of the Galax Enrichment program. The kids were given a scavenger hunt list that challenged them to explore all the amazing exhibits.
Bernd Heinrich's Winter World
From flying squirrels to grizzly bears, and from torpid turtles to insects with antifreeze, the animal kingdom relies on some staggering evolutionary innovations to survive winter. Unlike their human counterparts, who must alter the environment to accommodate physical limitations, animals are adaptable to an amazing range of conditions.
Explorers Club Full Moon Hike
Any full moon hike is special but add the second highest peak in VA, a 250+ acre grassy bald and a gnarled beech forest and it becomes truly spectacular!
Galax Enrichment Week - Give Me Shelter
For BRDCs Give Me Shelter course, students built and installed nest and roosting boxes for owls, bats, ducks and bluebirds. They learned about nesting strategies, comparing the enormous variety of bird and bat nests, and the importance of incorporating features preferred by the particular bird species, including the entrance hole size, the height at which the box is posted, and the type of habitat surrounding the box.
Galax Enrichment Week - Build A Beast
BRDCs Build A Beast course taught students the principles of physics and mechanics while building a mechanical walking "beast" operated by pedal power.