Butterfly Garden Opens at Wilson Park

J. Frank Wilson Park now has a Butterfly Garden! With help from the Martinsville-Henry County Master Gardeners, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville Leisure Services, and volunteers, the Butterfly Garden was put in place Saturday, June 13th. Lynn Berry organized the program to inform and educate individuals about the benefits of butterfly gardening while we all worked to plant the flowers.

Studio 107 and Piedmont Arts Association will be providing stepping stones for the garden in the near future.

Thanks to Stephanie Ernst, Lynn Regan, Jo Carter, Besty Pace, Barbara Shrader, Lynn Berry, Ronnie & Susan Henderson, and Gary, Susanm and Brianna Cody for volunteering!

Story and photos provided by Gary Cody

Edited by Jennifer Doss

Adopt-A-Trail Volunteers Enhance Area Trails

Take a walk along one of our area trails and you just might see a group volunteers working to improve recreational opportunities along the Smith River- and having fun while at it! Tommy Wyatt and Tracy Kennett are shown above installing the new permanent sign for the Fieldale Trail. This is just one of the many tasks that their trail team "Friends of the Fieldale Trail" is doing to help support the trail system.

The Adopt-A-Trail program, which kicked off this month is quickly becoming a success. More than ten volunteers have signed up so far to care for three sections of the Smith River Trail System. The program is a partnership between the Dan River Basin Assocaiton, Henry County Parks & Recreation, and the City of Eden. To learn more about the Adopt-A-Trail Program see this previous post.

To adpot a section of trail, please contact the Adopt-A-Trail Coordinator, Jennifer Doss at 276-634-2545 or jdoss@danriver.org.

Volunteers Enhance Area Trails

Thanks to a group of DRBA volunteers, our local trails just got a little better! On Tuesday of this week, the troupes rallied together to install three benches along the new Phase II extension of the Fieldale Trail. Each bench had to be moved down the trail individually so garden carts and teamwork were the key to this project.

Now that the task is complete, walkers have several places to rest and enjoy the scenic Smith River while out on the trail. Special thanks to the Magna Vista High School FFA Club, and their instructors: Mr. Holland, Ms. Stout, and Ms. Metz for assembling the benches.


On Wednesday the volunteers gathered at the Richard P. Gravely, Jr. Nature Preserve in Ridgeway to spruce up Jones Cliff Trail. They removed rocks, stumps, and roots from the trail surface that had the potential to become tripping hazards. Now the trail is in much better condition and ready for joggers and walkers to enjoy it.

Special thanks to Brian Williams, Chad Hall, Paul May, Linda Drage, and Wayne Kirkpatrick for helping out with these two projects!

If you'd like to volunteer on a trail workday or participate in the Adopt-a-Trail program, please contact Jennifer Doss- Rivers & Trails Project Manager at 276-634-2545 or jdoss@danriver.org.

Photos by: Jennifer Doss & Brian Williams

Article by: Jennifer Doss