One of my other duties here this summer is to help out with a camping program for teenagers who will visit us from Northern Virginia(NOVA) in August. I am pretty excited about this because I have some strong feelings about getting children out in nature. I think that many kids do not have enough opportunities to enjoy nature. To prepare for this event I have been working closely with one of the other rangers. We will be taking the kids on a hike and doing a GPS activity with them in Big Meadows at Byrd Visitor Center.
The Hike-
We did a preliminary hike the other day to prepare for our visitors. We will be hiking about 2 miles from the AT Trail head at Spitler Knoll Overlook to Big Meadows Campground.The weather that day was foggy and misty. This made for an amazing hike! It was like walking in the cloud forest of Ecuador. My ranger friends, Kathy and Georgette, taught me about rock formations, lichens, rock tripe and mushrooms. We saw a lot of plants like columbine, blueberries, raspberries,(YUM) common mullen, wild geranium, witch hazel, milk weed, sassafras, and cone flowers. We think we even saw some coyote scat! We saw Eastern Hemlock trees on the trail that were killed by the Hemlock woolly adelgid. Specialists in Shenandoah are currently trying to treat the remaining trees. The hemlocks play an important role in the forest ecology.Historically, Hemlock bark was once widely used in the tanning of hides, a tea was made from the leafy twig tips and inner bark. This was sipped for a variety of ailments or used as an external wash. The bark is astringent and was used as a poultice on bleeding wounds. There are some fascinating discoveries to be made on this trail and I think the kids are going to love it!
The GPS
Ranger Georgette and I had fun exploring Big Meadows, while doing a GPS Mystery Meadow Activity. Big Meadows is an amazing place full of hidden secrets waiting to be uncovered. We have several waypoints marked on a GPS for the kids to find. These points will show some historical features, like the old CCC camp. We want the students to be able to investigate the impact of natural and human activity on Big Meadows. The best finds of the day in Big Meadows were the blueberries and the brilliant orange spattering of butterfly weed throughout the meadow.
Mary this sounds so cool. I am so glad you have this opportunity and are enjoying sharing your love of nature and the outdoors with visitors. I am like you it just makes the day when you see them get it, really get it!
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