Every summer, campers at the Northern Virginia 4-H Educational Center spend 4 days in beautiful Harmony Hollow of Front Royal, Virginia, taking classes and exploring the outdoors. Students are offered choices from 26 different classes, including topics like archery, high ropes courses, leatherworking, outdoor cooking, and canoeing. This week, I was given the opportunity to become a camper for a day and see the inner-workings of this amazing program.
My day began at the Natural Resources Lab. In this class, students were creating their own identification booklets for various native and naturalized plants across the region. Since it was a rainy morning, they used dichotomous keys to identify leaf samples and then trace or rub the leaf patterns into their booklets. I was super impressed with how much some of these campers already knew about trees and forest ecology. I even heard them arguing about the best Latin tree name (Metasequoia glyptostroboides would DEFINITELY win if it were up to me).
When that class ended, I went across the campus to a course titled “Bug World”. This class was based around each camper assembling their very own insect collection! I helped the kids group their collections based on the classifications that scientists use to organize specimens. (For example, moths and butterflies are found in the order Lepidoptera, beetles are in Coleoptera, and bees, wasps, and ants are in the order Hymenoptera). I have loved insects ever since I learned how to walk, so you can imagine my excitement when there were enough leftover resources for me to start my very own insect collection! With proper preservation methods, these specimen collections will last for decades.
Later in the week we took a trip to Virginia Tech's MARE (Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension) Center. MARE is a 420 acre research station that primarily works on projects pertaining to equine health and ecosystem conservation. One of their latest projects includes research on the growth of wildflowers and warm-season grasses on land that has recently been burned. That's where the Department of Forestry comes in! Prescribed burns are important in controlling the growth of non-native invasive vegetation and restoring nutrients to the soil. I had the opportunity to work on the prescribed burn beside the professionals, learning how to use a drip torch to start the fire and how to use a swatter to keep the flames contained. In just a few months time, MARE will likely have a new plot of healthy native grasses and wildflowers on their property!
After seeing the effects of the storms that rolled through Gainesville last week, we decided that the Conway needed a little bit of TLC. Armed with a Gator and a loaded toolbox, we set out to do some trail maintenance across the forest. One of the biggest projects of the day was retrieving an 8 foot long bridge from where it had been pulled into a creek bed during flooding several years ago. Not only was the bridge partially submerged in the muddy creek bottom, but the wood had also absorbed so much water over the years that it was impossible for us to move it by hand. After some brainstorming, we decided it would be easiest if we chained one end of the bridge to a tree and used a ratchet to slowly pull the bridge back upstream. Then, we could use a second set of straps to secure the opposite end of the bridge on one creek bank and set it back in its proper position above the water. Easier said than done.
Now, Conway Robinson is looking better than ever. If only we had some special visitors to share it with…
Oh wait, we do!
Oh wait, we do!
On Thursday morning, I shadowed on a tour for a group of forestry delegates that were visiting from China. They stopped by Conway Robinson to learn about some of the management techniques in practice at the forest. We talked about mid-story removal projects that initiate oak regeneration and we also talked about the deer population control that must take place in order to assist forest regeneration as a whole. It was incredibly interesting to hear perspectives of natural resource management from another part of the world. Even though there are many differences between the forests of our nations, we were able to identify a number of similarities as well. Some people noted that there was a physical language barrier between us, but all foresters speak "the language of trees".
We had another amazing group of special visitors at Conway Robinson this week during Heritage Hunt Day! On Saturday morning, Virginia Master Naturalists gathered to provide tours to members of the Heritage Hunt active adult community. We organized walking tours for 20 participants who came to learn more about the cultural and natural history of the forest that borders their neighborhood. Throughout the tours, we discussed the term "working lands" and what it takes to keep a forest healthy.
I was happy to hear that many residents had never visited the forest before the tours, but they were all planning to return and explore with their friends and family. Feedback from this event was overwhelmingly positive from both the organizers and the participants. Thank you to Susan Farmer, Val Huelsman, Nell Benton, Cliff Pitts, Charlie Grymes, and so many others for making this event possible! I can't wait to see where you all take this in the future!