As a Landscape Designer and home gardener Ian has often had ambitious plans for the creation of amazing diverse gardens with visions of trilliums, phlox, lady slippers and other plants wild and rare. Then reality sets in with the first shovel of hard clay. Then extreme drought, pesky wood goats (deer) and other adversities took…

An ecological trip thru several habitats found along Virginia’s Blue Ridge Parkway. In this program, Butch covers riparian areas, meadows, forest edge and forest canopy. What plants are important and why? How do the plants and birds affect one another? Contact: Ellen Holtman, 389-1514

Are ticks active in the winter? Can ticks jump or fly? These answers and more may surprise you. Join Liz Gleim, a tick ecologist, and learn about some common misconceptions about ticks, what a “year in the life of a tick” really looks like, and some of the best ways to protect yourself from ticks…

Ailanthus altissima (the tree-of-heaven) is an invasive Chinese tree that has taken over portions of the Virginian landscape. Current control tactics are limited to expensive chemical and mechanical methods, and are impractical over large areas. Recently, two species of naturally occurring Verticillium wilt fungi have been found killing the tree-of-heaven in Virginia. Come learn about what we know, what…

Dry Run is a drive along a dirt road between state routes 624 and 785. It offers spectacular views of hepatica, blood root, toothwort, etc. This road follows Dry Run Branch with a few mini waterfalls and cliffs and rock outcrops. Little walking. Bring water and snack if you like. The Homeplace Restaurant is along the way…

Lapsley’s Run is a beautiful country road along Lapsley’s Run Creek and the James River. It offers a view of an old iron furnace as well as a beautiful forest of poplar trees. There is a nice waterfall along the way. This area offers a great opportunity to see twin leaf in bloom. VA bluebells are common…

Cascade Falls is one of the largest falls in Virginia standing at 69 feet. The trail is 2 miles to the falls; it is rolling with no long climbs, a moderate hike made easy with frequent stops. There are several series of rock steps. Hiking boots are highly recommended. The trail follows Little Stony Creek. The creek…

We also need volunteers with trucks, vans or trailers to take plants home for babysitting until the sale. Plants SHOULD NOT be stored indoors, on picnic tables, on shelves or on patios. They need to sit on the ground in the same kind of environment in which they would naturally grow. So woodland plants should be…

This walk seems to becoming a tradition as a “homeschoolers and spring break walk.” Green Hill is the Roanoke Valley’s prize when it comes to spring flowers. Drive into the park and go as far as the road will take you. There is a parking lot and a picnic pavilion there. The trail is behind…

Forests provide a myriad of benefits, including wood products, ecosystem services, and carbon sequestration. Sequestration of carbon in forests plays an important role in mitigating the build-up of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere that results from burning fossil fuels. There are also substantial benefits from carbon storage in harvested wood products and through substitution of wood biomass…