Guided Tour of Carol & George Taylor’s Property
Date/Time
Saturday, October 4, 2025
12:00 am
Categories
*** POSTPONED ***
This event is currently postponed. Hopefully to be rescheduled on a later date.
Please join us to tour a beautiful property in Swoope, VA:
Time TBD at Carol and George Taylor’s:
The Taylor’s’ 31 acres is a Habitat Restoration for wildlife, with a grand view of Elliot Knob and the Alleghenies. It is a Work in Progress which was started in 2000. When we bought the property in 1992 it was some 90% fescue pasture, happily with an old oak grove and a farm pond. There were 5 species of trees, one of which was Ailanthus! Today we have a large number of native trees and plants. Our land is under a Conservation Easement with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. We have recently added vernal pools to the property.
We will tour several ecoregions, including a woodland, savanna, wildlife corridors, and meadows, one of which was planted over a geothermal installation. There are two projects involving American Chestnuts, of which we have eleven ACF backcrosses and four from pure American chestnuts. There will be discussion and examples of various experiments such as killing Autumn Olive without poisons, the use of plants as “nannies” for protection from deer, the use of prescribed fire and the creation of planting areas without spraying herbicides.
The tours will start every half hour from 10:00 am to noon and last about an hour. Guests are invited to linger and explore the property on their own if they wish. Upon arrival, please stop at the bottom of the driveway and call George at (540) four 1 four -4 eight 2 one to check if it’s ok for you to drive up the hill (there is no passing room). 3941 Morris Mill Rd, Swoope, VA 24479
