"Happy Trails to You" Senior's Day

Fieldale, VA—“Friends of the Fieldale Trail”, a team of Adopt-a-Trail volunteers, in coordination with the Dan River Basin Association (DRBA) and the Henry County Parks & Recreation (HCPR) would like to invite the community to attend a special event celebrating senior citizens at the Fieldale Trail on Saturday, October 24th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

According to team captain Paula Wyatt, “the group would like to give the senior citizens a chance to find out what all the talk is about on the Fieldale Trail.” The free event will include guided tours, live music, and informational booths on senior’s health and fitness. “This will be a time to show the community what these trails have to offer people,” said Wyatt.

Throughout the day a variety of informational booths will be set up to inform and educate seniors about fitness, health, and programs available to assist them in the Martinsville and Henry County area. Guests will also have a chance to enjoy live music and guided tours of the trail. Two sections of trail are offered: one is just under a mile long and the other is 1.5 miles long. Both sections are flat and easy to walk. For seniors that are unable to walk the trail, special tours on a golf cart will be provided so that they may too experience this great resource. It is important for the general public to know that motorized vehicles are not permitted on the Fieldale Trail; special permission was obtained from Henry County to use golf carts for this one-day event.

The “Friends of the Fieldale Trail” volunteer team began in May 2009 when DRBA and HCPR first partnered together to develop an Adopt-a-Trail Program. Since its inception there are now six teams with more than 40 members working to monitor trails along the Smith River Trail System in Martinsville and Henry County. Hosting events like the senior’s day, allows the volunteers to showcase the wonders found on their trails. Volunteers Charles and Pat Dameron feel that walking the Fieldale Trail is “a golden opportunity to see Mother Nature up close and personal right in our own backyard.”

The Fieldale Trail is located in Fieldale, Virginia on South River Road past the Lower Smith River Water Treatment Facility. It is open daily from dusk to dawn and admission is free. Ample parking, restroom, river access, and picnic tables are available for your convenience. The Fieldale Trail is funded in part by the Dominion Foundation and operated by Henry County Parks & Recreation. For more information on the event or to sign up for a tour, contact “Friends of the Fieldale Trail” by calling 276-647-3274 or 276-340-2234.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Held at Jamson Mill Park

Volunteers from the Henry County Bike Club, Southern Virginia Mountain Bike Association (SVMA) Danville, Franklin County Free Wheelers, and Friends of Philpott donated over 988 volunteer hours on the building of the trail. Pictured above: Linda Drage, Mary Lawson, Dave Wiseman, Harold Ellis, Jim Firth, Hazel Hale and Bobby Thompson.

The army of volunteers created a beautiful trail for mountain bikes and hiking. The work took a year and a half to complete. Linda Drage, President of Friends of Philpott stated “that sometimes the weather was at odds with the volunteers; as well as the contour of the land; where they had to deal with large rocks and steep terrain”. Back in 2007 Jamison Mill was slated to be closed. In time the trail will join other parks on the eastside of Philpott Lake creating approx. 10 miles of trail. Pictured above: Robb Herbst on the trail.

The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was held in honor of National Public Land Day which is the largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands Americans enjoy. In 2008, 120,000 volunteers built trails, removed trash and invasive plants and planted over 1.6 million trees. Pictured above: Dave Wiseman, Mary Lawson, Harold Ellis, Jim Firth, Linda Drage, Hazel Hale, Roy Hale and Bobby Thompson.

Food Lions from Bassett Forks and Stanley Town sponsored the event.

Contributed by: Linda Drage

Go Green with Martinsville Leisure Services

Making simple changes to your everyday life can have a positive effect on the environment.  Martinsville Leisure Services is offering two informative classes this fall to help you do just that!

Reduce the amount of waste that your household produces by learning to compost:
Composting 101
Learn about the process of composting and its benefits to your gardening. You’ll make a mini-compost to take home! All ages. Call 634-4185 to register. Deadline to register is Oct.5.
DATE/TIME: Oct. 17, Noon
LOCATION; J. Frank Wilson Park
FEE: $5

Help protect native plants and animals by learning to deal with invasive species:
Foreign Invaders
Invasive species are everywhere in Martinsville. Learn what invasive species are and how to control them in your back yard. This program is for any homeowner who has these invaders in their yards. Meet at the VMNH then we will walk to be Piedmont Art Natural History Garden.
DATE/TIME: Oct. 17, 10am-12
LOCATION: Distance Learning Classroom at VMNH
FEE: $5


Class information contributed by Gary Cody, Director- Martinsville Leisure Services

Help Raise Awareness about Climate Change

Sure we all know that Halloween is just around the corner. But do you know what October 24th is?

It is the International Day for Climate Action. On that day, paddlers around the world will be gathering on local waterways and using their canoes, kayaks and rafts to spell out the number "350" on the water. This event is an effort to increase public awareness about the need to control climate-changing greenhouse gases, and to show support for effective climate change legislation.

Why the number "350?"  In 2008, NASA released studies that showed that if we let the amount of carbon in our atmosphere climb above 350ppm (parts per million), we will do serious damage to the planet. In its reports, NASA said that a planet with carbon in excess of 350ppm will not remain "similar to the one on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted."

Unfortunately, we are currently at 386ppm, so we have already exceeded this limit. Strong citizen action is needed now to reverse this dangerous situation. Environmental activist and author Bill McKibben launched a website called www.350.org in response to the NASA reports, and his organization is organizing the International Day of Climate Action. The goal of this campaign is to push global leaders to reach an agreement at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference this December that will reduce the level of carbon in the atmosphere to 350ppm.

Climate Action Day will feature events on land, on the water, and even in the air. As of today, there are 1784 actions scheduled in 141 countries.  Let's add to the count!

On October 24th, go outside and enjoy nature. Schedule a paddling day on your favorite lake or river, form your 350 and capture it with pictures or video. Your 350 can be any size,and your event will be a fun way to get friends and family out on the water. Whether your 350 is large or small, it will send a strong message that paddlers are concerned about climate change. This is not just limited to paddlers though, cyclists, hikers, geocachers, and walkers are also invited to participate. Every action will make a difference.

If you plan to participate, let us know and also go to the event registration page at http://www.350.org/ and register your Climate Action Day event. Please send your photos/videos to drba.va@danriver.org to show off your 350 and we'll post them here for all to see.

Info and photos contributed by the American Canoe Association.

Some More Beary Good Photos...

About an hour after the first reported sighting of a mother bear and three cubs in Fieldale yesterday (see previous posts), the family was spotted again in Stanleytown. The mother bear is seen at right peeking out over the hill side to make sure that it is safe for her babies.

When the coast is clear the mother leads her cubs across the field to where ever they are going. Perhaps they were off to the Smith River for some yummy trout and riverside berries!

 

Thanks to everyone who has been contributing these cool shots!

Patrick County Farm Tour this weekend!

Patrick County Farm tour is this Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. This self-guided tour is a MUST addition to your fall excursions. You'll see historic farms, Christmas trees, wineries, fresh local produce, dairy cows, landscaping plants ... the list goes on. Patrick County has breathtaking scenery and friendly people. The tour is free and more information is at http://www.patrickcountyfarmtour.com/. See you out there!

Three-quarters of the way there!

Thanks to generous donors, we have now reached 75% of our fundraising goals for the Fieldale Iron Bridge Preservation Project!  More fundraising still needs to be done, as we will need $3,000 more to complete the project. It's not too late to purchase a plaque for yourself or a loved one to be placed on the bridge. Plaques start at just $100 and also include a memorial space on DRBA's website.

To purchase a plaque or for more information, contact DRBA at 276-634-2545 or jdoss@danriver.org. Here is a sample of some of the plaques and memorial spaces that have been purchased so far.

Donated by

The Family of Ashby Pritchett
Martinsville, Virginia

In Memory of

Grace, Fred & Carlos Flick
by Carl Flick

In Memory of
Cornel John & Clara Pruitt Kasey

by Kitty, Rita, and Naomi

In Memory of Chipper, our beagle
who loved to fish at the bridge.
by David & Debbie Sharp

In Memory of

John W. & Gladys Martin, 1919

by Bea Bullard & family

John & Gladys Martin moved to Fieldale in 1919 where John was one of the first employees to work in the weave room of Fieldcrest Cannon mills. They were the parents of Beatrice Bullard. Shown in the photo is her older brother Robert Randolph as an infant.

A Beary Interesting Sight

Several residents of Henry County got a rare chance to see some of mother nature's amazing creature's today. A mother bear and three cubs made an appearance as they crossed highway 57 at the 220 bypass in Fieldale this morning.

According to the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, "black bears are becoming an increasingly common sight in Virginia — bears now live in almost every county! We are fortunate to have a healthy and sustainable population of these animals in the Commonwealth. But even as our black bear population grows and expands, at the same time, residential areas are encroaching into the forested lands and habitats used by bears and other wildlife, thus increasing the chances for bear/human interaction or conflicts."

To learn more about black bears in Virginia, watch this informative video:
http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/video/living-with-black-bears/

Volunteers Adopt Area Trails

Members of the Smith River Trail System's Adopt-a-Trail Program met this past week for a pizza dinner and to learn more about how they can help the area trails.  About 6 miles of the Smith River Trail System has been adopted so far and more sections are available. At the meeting the new teams and ones with more experience were able to trade stories and learn from one another.

Teams Represented included:

"Friends of the Fieldale Trail"- 2.5 miles of Fieldale Trail
The Gardner Family- 1 mile of Rhododendron Trail
Girl Scout Troop 691- 0.5 mile of Doe Run Wildlife Trail
Martinsville Uptown Revitalization Association/Boys & Girls Club- 0.6 mile of Uptown Spur Trail
The Tatum & Foley Families- 1 mile of Jones Cliff Trail
The Pitzer Family 0.5 mile of River View and Burgess Loop Trails

If you are interested in becoming an Adopt-a-Trail volunteer there are many ways you can help. You can adopt a section of trail with your business, club, church, or family or you can join up with one of the existing teams. For more information on the program, contact DRBA at 276-634-2545.

Front (l-r) Jenniffer Jamison, Katie Jamison, Campbell Pitzer

Sitting (l-r) Pat Dameron, Paula Wyatt, Nancy Kennett with Hunter Doss, Lee Probst with Henry Probst
Back (l-r): Charles Dameron, Benny Setliff, Tracy Kennett, Martin Gardner, Louis Pitzer, Neil Tatum

Not pictured: Brian Williams, Jennifer Doss, Hayden Probst