Environmental Education Expo

Friends of Philpott's 4th Environmental Educational Expo
Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 1-4:00 pm
Philpott Lake Visitor's Center in Bassett, VA

The Expo kicks off Earth Week and increases the educational impact of Earth Day with educational preparation, learning, and activities from area non-profits like DRBA, government agencies and some local businesses.

By participating you encourage youth and adults to make a difference in their schools, homes, communities and personal lives! The event is great for the whole family.

This years theme: Be Water and Energy Wise. Food, drinks and plant sale will be available for purchase from Friends of Philpott, Inc.

Mission: to provide environmentally responsible use, development, and protection of the natural and recreational resources at Philpott Lake through community involvement and education.

Submitted by: Linda Drage

DRBA's First Saturday Outing - April 3

The Dan River Basin Association will explore a new portion of the Dan River in its First Saturday Outing .
The event involves an exploration of a 7-mile section of the Dan River from Pine Hall to Madison, NC.
This portion of the river moves across the Stokes/Rockingham County line three times, creating two large, horseshoe shaped bends. The Norfolk Southern Railroad parallels the river for much of the way.
Remnant of past river uses are found in remains of Amerindian fish dams, v-shaped stuctures used by both native and European inhabitants to collect fish on their annual spawning migrations that ended when large dams were constructed down-river in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Many of the navigation structures are hidden beneath sand and water backed up about three miles by the Lindsay Bridge Dam, where the float will conclude. About a mile before the dam, some of the rocks at Cross Rock Shoal and Fish Dam may be above water, with an opening on river right for easy pasage.
Those interested should meet at 10am at the Pine Hall Bridge on Pine Hall Road, Route 1908, to unload boats and gear and set the shuttle.
Participants should arrange to supply boat, paddles, life jackets, water and lunch; wear water-shedding artificial fabric or wool; and provide a back-up change of clothing.
All participants will be asked to sign a waiver.
For more information, call trip coordinator Mark Bishopric at 336-627-6215 or e-mail him at mbishopric@3-r-o.com

Dick and Wille Passage Groundbreaking

Come out and celebrate with the Henry County Administration staff, DRBA representatives and Congressman Rick Boucher for groundbreaking on Martinsville / Henry County's latest trail,
the "Dick and Willie Passage."

The event will occur Wednesday, March 31, at 2 p.m. near the former Martinsville-Henry County Rescue Squad building on Hooker Street in the City of Martinsville. We will park there and take a short walk onto the trail.  Congressman Rick Boucher will be the keynote speaker.

Dick and Wille Passage Groundbreaking

Come out and celebrate with the Henry County Administration staff, DRBA representatives and Congressman Rick Boucher for groundbreaking on Martinsville / Henry County's latest trail,
the "Dick and Willie Passage."

The event will occur Wednesday, March 31, at 2 p.m. near the former Martinsville-Henry County Rescue Squad building on Hooker Street in the City of Martinsville. We will park there and take a short walk onto the trail.  Congressman Rick Boucher will be the keynote speaker.

Friends Begin Clean-up of Fieldale Trail

The “Friends of the Fieldale Trail” took to the trail on Sunday March 7, 2010 to begin the clean-up work of removing debris and repairing damage from the December flood events.
The Fieldale Trail sustained some damage due to high water which caused  mud deposition in low lying areas, debris accumulation and some split rail fence just plain disappearing downstream!

The heavy snowfall of the last two months has kept the trail blanketed and wet so repair work had to be postponed.  The high water brought all manner of debris to the trial from sticks, lumber, plastic and assorted trash and lots of mud.

The recent warming trend has melted the snow and allowed the mud deposited by the floods to dry out a bit and so the trail can now be accessed for some initial clean-up work.  Saturday and Sunday saw large crowds of people out on the trail, desperate for some outdoor activity after all this cold weather which has created an almost permanent state of cabin fever in our region.  Walkers, bikers, and fisherman were out in force on this Henry County favorite all weekend.

The Friends of the Fieldale Trail Group (FFT ) had an impromptu Sunday clean-up and ended up removing a truck load of trash, approx. 12 bags and numerous other articles from the trail and along the river bank. They removed limbs and sticks; and gathered some fencing into piles. A big thank you to Tracy Kennett for gathering most of the fencing that had been strewn along the trail.  They also reinstalled fencing along parts of the trail.

The group worked on the blue bird houses to prepping them for the blue birds which will start nesting late March to early April.  While on the trail, the group got a chance to engage in other hikers out enjoying the day and had some nice comments from people thanking them for all  they do to help maintain the trail.
They also had several people provide them with phone numbers to call for volunteers when they have the next work day

 Front row, left to right - Nancy Kennett and Molly the lab
Back row from left to right: Tracy Kennett, Tommy Wyatt, Cecil Holt, Joan Ragland, Frances Holt, Paula Wyatt

A big huge thank you to all Adopt-a-Trail Volunteers and special thank you to the
Friends of the Fieldale Trail, you guys rock !

Friends Begin Clean-up of Fieldale Trail

The “Friends of the Fieldale Trail” took to the trail on Sunday March 7, 2010 to begin the clean-up work of removing debris and repairing damage from the December flood events.
The Fieldale Trail sustained some damage due to high water which caused  mud deposition in low lying areas, debris accumulation and some split rail fence just plain disappearing downstream!

The heavy snowfall of the last two months has kept the trail blanketed and wet so repair work had to be postponed.  The high water brought all manner of debris to the trial from sticks, lumber, plastic and assorted trash and lots of mud.

The recent warming trend has melted the snow and allowed the mud deposited by the floods to dry out a bit and so the trail can now be accessed for some initial clean-up work.  Saturday and Sunday saw large crowds of people out on the trail, desperate for some outdoor activity after all this cold weather which has created an almost permanent state of cabin fever in our region.  Walkers, bikers, and fisherman were out in force on this Henry County favorite all weekend.

The Friends of the Fieldale Trail Group (FFT ) had an impromptu Sunday clean-up and ended up removing a truck load of trash, approx. 12 bags and numerous other articles from the trail and along the river bank. They removed limbs and sticks; and gathered some fencing into piles. A big thank you to Tracy Kennett for gathering most of the fencing that had been strewn along the trail.  They also reinstalled fencing along parts of the trail.

The group worked on the blue bird houses to prepping them for the blue birds which will start nesting late March to early April.  While on the trail, the group got a chance to engage in other hikers out enjoying the day and had some nice comments from people thanking them for all  they do to help maintain the trail.
They also had several people provide them with phone numbers to call for volunteers when they have the next work day

 Front row, left to right - Nancy Kennett and Molly the lab
Back row from left to right: Tracy Kennett, Tommy Wyatt, Cecil Holt, Joan Ragland, Frances Holt, Paula Wyatt

A big huge thank you to all Adopt-a-Trail Volunteers and special thank you to the
Friends of the Fieldale Trail, you guys rock !