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News from the Ridge

Blue Ridge Center Bio Blitz!
On your mark...get set...start collecting! Our assembled team of scientists, naturalists and volunteers have 24 hours to collect as many critters and plants as they can, June 4-5. Come join in the fun. Volunteer (contact Cassie Cohen) to support a team of scientists, dish up coffee and midnight snacks, staff a first-aid station or provide logistical support. Or just come for the fun! Join us between 10 am and 3 pm on Saturday, June 5, for the final tally and other BioBlitz events. BioBlitz is a rare opportunity to learn about the diversity that exists in your own backyard. Bring the kids!

Spring Break Crews Get Down and Dirty
With the arrival of spring at the Blue Ridge Center came the arrival of the first crews of volunteers. Two sets of college students chose to spend their week-long vacation not sunning at the beach but working in the trenches.

Students from Unity College of Maine spent their week off building out the chicken house that will be home to more than 200 laying hens. Returning to the Blue Ridge Center for the third consecutive season, the Unity crew retrofitted a small pre-fabricated barn by building nesting boxes, chicken doors and ramps, and creating a predator-free environment for the hens. The chicken house allows the birds to roam freely in small pastures, so they get fresh air, exercise and lots of fresh grass and insects to eat.

After much preparation and anticipation, March saw the arrival of two returning spring break crews. Six students from Unity College in Maine again decided that they wanted to work for a week on a service project instead of relaxing in Mexico or some such place. Once again they were led by Christine�s father, retired construction foreman Richard Desrosiers from Massachusetts. This year we had additional help from Christine�s nephew Glen Preston from New York. They logged 202 hours building nesting boxes for the chicken house, framing a storage room for the chicken feed, moving the chickens to their new home and building a new kiosk for the equestrian parking area on Sawmill Lane.

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars also returned for a second year. Ten students from California, Washington, Idaho, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida spent their spring break on various projects on the property. Two folks stapled chicken wire around the bottom of the chicken house to make it predator proof. All hands were on deck for cleaning up the stable area. They hauled about 30 tons of gravel, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow, and laid it down six inches deep in all the stalls. They spread bucket after bucket of compost on about half of all the garden beds. Some folks helped Tim clear vegetation from around the historic cabins and the other students helped collect trash and debris from the small stream behind the office trailer. One morning was spent cleaning up the old road bed along Harpers Ferry Road in preparation for an interpretive wayside exhibit. This group worked a total of 267 hours.

Many heartfelt thanks go out to these dedicated and hard working students. We could not have done this without you!

College Archaeologists Return to the Blue Ridge Center
The middle of March saw the return of archaeologists to the Blue Ridge Center. Ten students from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi and the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, spent a week excavating and shovel testing around Barney�s Cabin next to Wortman Pond. Over the course of several days, over 20 tests were done, with sixteen shovel tests turning up positive. Finds included the usual metal and glass finds, as well as pottery sherds, marbles, a boot, a complete bottle, and a large portion of a pink candy dish. The group worked a total of 250 hours.

In the coming months, we will continue excavations and research at Barney�s Cabin, as well as at other sites around the Ridge. Volunteers, of course, are always encouraged and welcome, and we�ll keep you updated on the dates of the public digs.

Launching the Animal Husbandry Program at Mountain View Farm (Splendor in the Grass)
Chickens, goats, sheep, and now cows, too! After spending the first six weeks of their lives in the brooder, our hens are reveling in their new life on pasture. We will augment this group of layers with a flock of mature hens and should have eggs by the middle of May. Many thanks to the Unity College crew who spent their spring break outfitting the new chicken house.

We are pleased to welcome back the Finnsheep and goats from their winter pasture. The goats will go to work clearing the brush behind the new pavilion while the sheep will remain in the pasture with Copper, our Jersey heifer, who arrived last week. Our surprise addition this year is little Nickel — a one week old Jersey/Shorthorn bull calf.

And there is more to come! In the next few weeks we will be adding several Polled Hereford cattle, a flock of katahdin sheep, and three colonies of honeybees. The first batch of broiler chickens come in May and will be ready for sale in late June. We will be taking orders soon, so please contact us if you are interested.