Youth Volunteers on the Parkway!
The Blue Ridge Parkway is an ideal venue to reconnect youth with the outdoors while participating in a program that teaches them the importance of conservation of natural resources, preservation and protection of our environment.
Breaking News!
April 2008 was a busy month for youth Parkway projects.
On April 12, a group of FRIENDS’ college chapter members at Appalachian State University joined forces with the National Park Service to install water bars, burst debris dams, excavate and re-install a wooden bridge on the Boone Fork Trail near Price Lake in Boone, NC. The destruction that occurs from water on the Parkway trails can be devastating to the condition of the trails. Within hours after the group installed the water bars, the trail had dried out and the destructive water flow was re-channeled in strategic locations.
On April 26, FRIENDS partnered with Family Services of Roanoke Valley for this year’s Global Youth Services Day. Youth from all around the Roanoke area gathered from noon to 3:00 p.m. to work on different projects which included cleaning overlooks on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Thirteen volunteers took up their buckets and gloves and picked up garbage at the Chestnut Ridge and Gum Springs Overlooks. Despite some slight rain, the volunteers enjoyed their afternoon on the Parkway as they made a difference with their work project and experienced the beauty of the scenic vistas at the overlooks.
On April 26, five students currently enrolled in Averett University’s Master of Business Administration program decided to give back to the Roanoke community as part of a class project. The group, along with help from others, built a small bridge on the Roanoke Valley Horse Trail along the Parkway. The bridge was built at a site which had previously forced horse riders to dismount on the heavily used trail and walk through a creek. The students constructed an 18’ x 6’ wooden bridge which will accommodate up to 6500 pounds suitable for pedestrian and horse traffic.
FRIENDS will support three SCA positions on the Parkway this summer.
Two of the SCAs will work at Sandy Flat assisting the Parkway’s Wildlife Biologist with a variety of activities, such as butterfly, bird and salamander surveys, trapping and radio-
tracking of turtles, agricultural lease surveys (for the presence of rare, threatened and endangered species, wetlands and other sensitive resources), GPSing fence and wood lines of agricultural leases, wetland surveys (hydrologic monitoring), and aquatic invertebrate surveys (trapping aquatic invertebrates during day and night surveys).
The second SCA position will include a variety of activities involving freshwater resources. This intern will help oversee the removal of a small dam and will set up monitoring points to see how the dam removal affects the stream and aquatic fauna in this creek. The intern will also survey other streams along the Parkway looking for abandoned dams and culverts that block fish passage; identifying sites that need bank repairs: sampling for aquatic fauna; and researching locations of streams with native southern brook trout.
The third position will work at Rocky Knob assisting the Parkway’s Agricultural Leasing Specialist/Wildlife Biologist with a variety of activities related to the Parkway’s natural resource management program including inventory and monitoring agricultural leases (for the presence of rare, threatened and endangered species, wetlands, and other sensitive resources); use GPS for mapping fence and wood lines in agricultural leases; conduct butterfly surveys (survey for rare species and in agricultural leases for farming effects on butterflies); conduct grassland bird surveys (survey for grassland birds in agricultural fields); assist with herpetofauna work (turtle and salamander surveys); conduct predator surveys using remote cameras; wetland surveys (hydrologic monitoring); and aquatic surveys trapping aquatic invertebrates during day and night surveys.
Two high school positions will work at Gillespie Gap conducting butterfly surveys, surveying utility corridors for plants and animals and in Asheville GPSing bushwhack trails, installing emerald ash borer traps, mowing grassy bald at Craggy Gardens, and marking Galax plants.
YVIP Program
The YVIP program was developed to attract younger people as volunteers for the Blue Ridge Parkway. FRIENDS provided funding support which was used to purchase kits of books and props about various subjects. The kids were assigned kits in advance and they took these home to study about their particular topic; i.e., trees, mammals, birds, insects. Prior to their "public performances" the children met with the NPS staff to learn about the National Park Service, Blue Ridge Parkway and public speaking. Finally, the kids were ready for their public presentations. In this particular event, tables were set up and the kids decided how to display their material. As visitors came by, the children talked about their topics and had hands-on activities for the public.
The YVIPs plan to shadow some of the rangers as they rove trails and work in visitor centers.
YVIPs made their debut on the Parkway in Asheville as they did presentations at the Folk Art Center. WLOS-TV featured the program on their "Never Stop Learning" segment, and the anchors introducing the story could not stop talking about how impressed they were with the kids.
Camp Noar
Eighteen (18) youth from Camp Noar, a travel camp sponsored by Temple Emmanuel in Roanoke, traveled to the Peaks of Otter and spent the afternoon learning about the environment and then participating in a volunteer project.
The 6th, 7th, and 8th graders from the Roanoke and Charlottesville areas learned about ecology in an educational program presented by Park Service staff. The students learned about the effects of pollution on the environment and the importance of preserving the Parkway as a green space. After the program, the students headed to several area overlooks and picked up litter, leaving the Parkway nicer than they had found it.
According to Binki Titlebaum, Camp Noar coordinator, "For many of the kids, it was the first time they had been in the mountains and they really enjoyed the scenery and incredible views. I appreciate everything the FRIENDS office staff did to help me coordinate this special project with the Park Service."
SCA Youth Volunteers
FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway has been funding Student Conservation Association (SCA) volunteers to work on the Parkway for three years. These Parkway Ambassadors have made a significant difference along 469 miles of the Parkway where their help is needed.
How they make a difference?
Four crews of six high school age members and two college age crew leaders spent weeks building and maintaining trails at four locations: Peaks of Otter trails (Peaks of Otter Campground), Linville Falls trails (Linville Falls Campground), Tanawha Trails (Price Park Campground), and Roanoke Horse Trails (Roanoke Mountain Campground). These crews worked the trails for three weeks, followed by one week of recreational activity.
They rehabilitated thousands of feet of the trails, replaced damaged water bars, re-established drainage dips, brushed overgrown trails, repaired stone walls, constructed stone check dams by replacing deteriorating wooden timber, and assisted maintenance in placing tons of coarse trail material.
Roy Jones, Parkway Maintenance Mechanic Supervisor, summed up the work of the crews at the Roanoke Horse Trails, “In spite of the poison ivy, bug and spider bites, sleeping on the ground for 23 days, showers once a week, and very hot and humid conditions, they exceeded their original task to rehabilitate 13,500 linear feet of the horse trail within the first 10 days of their stay.” Jones elaborated by adding that, “This crew saved the Park Service about $12,000 in labor costs by completing the work in less time and freeing up the maintenance work force to do other work.”
In addition, there were four college age interns working for 12 weeks at the Historic Preservation Workshop at Moses Cone in Blowing Rock, NC and at Sharp Top Trail at Peaks of Otter.
Terry L. McElrath, Facility Operations Specialist with the Blue Ridge Parkway, believes strongly in the Parkway Ambassadors. “Our student crews at the Music Center really enjoyed being adopted by FRIENDS volunteers last summer. Thank you for all you do in supporting the Parkway.”
With 54 vacant positions on the Parkway due to budgetary shortfalls, the Parkway relies on FRIENDS to help maintain the trails, in addition to securing funds for interpretive, natural, and cultural programs. First and foremost, FRIENDS believes that the protection of the natural environment will depend upon the vision, inspiration and education of the young people. The exposure and experience of this program often encourages these student volunteers to seek careers in conservation.
How Can You Help?
FRIENDS has provided funds for student volunteers, but now finds itself seeking the help of North Carolina and Virginia corporations to take a major step forward to sponsor FRIENDS Parkway Ambassadors - young student volunteers! Approximately $6,000 to $7,500 will sponsor one FRIENDS Parkway Ambassador for a full season. The Blue Ridge Parkway needs significant help more than ever before. FRIENDS is reaching out to corporate and individual members to make a difference.
Susan J. Mills, Ph.D., FRIENDS Executive Director, says, “Today more than ever FRIENDS needs corporate members who can rise to the challenge! The challenge is being made to corporations to fund FRIENDS Parkway Ambassadors. This is a simple way for any corporation to give back to the Blue Ridge Parkway and make FRIENDS their cause of choice.”
Ann Childress, Chief of Interpretation and Education, Blue Ridge Parkway, sums it up when she thanks FRIENDS for “all your hard work in providing for, and providing recognition for, the outstanding work these crews accomplish!”
If you would like to help FRIENDS secure funds to keep these young Parkway Ambassadors working on the Parkway and inspiring them to carry these conservation ideals into their adult lives, please call the FRIENDS office at 800-228-PARK (7275) or send email to staff@friendsbrp.org for information on how you can make a difference!
