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.
Farewell to the Farm
We are leaving shortly for our winter home in SW FL and are reluctantly saying goodbye to our beloved Blue Ridge mountain wildlife farm. As you can see from a photo of the house and immediate surroundings (we own 107 acres) taken on Oct. 3, the prevailing colors are tending towards brownish grasses and sedges, yellow goldenrods, and white and purplish asters. There are many signs of the approaching frosty weather.
Galax Middle School Explores Dunson Farm
On Saturday, September 24th, an enthusiastic group of Galax Middle School students visited Bill and Margaret Dunson’s Baywood farm just a few miles west of Galax. The Dunsons bought this farm with the intention of converting it from agricultural use to a wildlife resource, with improving bird habitat as the guiding principle. They have returned fields to a more natural sequence of seasonal grasses and wildflowers with an emphasis on native plants. A series of small ponds dot the landscape, some with fish and some without, to demonstrate the impact fish have on various aquatic insects and to illustrate the contrasts.
Signs of Fall Abound
Our weather is showing some cool night time temperatures, but frost is still 2-3 weeks away and there is lots of insect activity and still some late bird migration underway. Fall fruits are much in evidence, offering immediate snacks and some long term food supply. One of my favorites is the blue fruit of arrow wood viburnum. They are small enough for many species to eat and we have so many plants that they last into the fall. In contract, the winterberry hollies in our marshes are very bright red and seem to be a fruit that is not eaten so early as the viburnums. Isn't it interesting that such different colors are both so attractive to birds?
Mahogany Rock Hawk Watch
On September 23, thirty seventh graders from Grayson County Public Schools attended the Mahogany Rock Hawk Watch to experience the niche dedication of Hawk Counters and the mass migration of Broad-winged Hawks. Jim Keighton from the Blue Ridge Birders has been recording the migration of birds of prey for nearly twenty years! Each fall Jim sets up his swivel chair and interpretive displays along the parkway and begins scanning the sky. Not only does he diligently track the migration but he also takes the time to educate the passerby about the migration occurring overhead.