Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
|
|
 |
|
|
About 400 people attended the Friends of Philpott Environmental Expo on Saturday at Philpott Lake. Above, Mary Dail (left) of the state Department of Environmental Quality shows aquatic insects to visitor Drivan Patel, 6. The insects can teach scientists about a river’s health. (Bulletin photos) |
| More Photos |
Monday, April 19, 2010
By ELIZA WINSTON - Bulletin Staff Writer
About 400 visitors to an environmental expo Saturday at Philpott Lake had a chance to learn about outdoor recreation in the area, environmental stewardship and more.
The fourth annual Friends of Philpott Environmental Education Expo was held at the Philpott Visitor’s Center in Bassett. The approximately 400 visitors and 26 vendors made this year’s expo the largest yet, said Friends board member Linda Drage.
Families set up picnics and relaxed or wandered around the vendors’ booths, which were set up throughout the park.
The expo is part of National Environmental Education Week, said Drage. This year’s theme was “Be Water and Energy Wise.”
Visitors to the expo could find out about community organizations that promote outdoor activities, such as the Friends of Philpott, Blue Ridge Ski and Outing Club or the Henry County Bike Club. A member of kayaking club Creek Freaks discussed the joys of kayaking with visitors to that club’s booth.
“Once you get into kayaking, you start to realize how many other people are interested in it,” said club member Jason Divers.
Creek Freaks is based in Franklin County, but kayaking trips often take place in Henry and Patrick counties as well, Divers said. The club advocates water safety and promotes outdoor activities as well as plans several kayaking trips each year, he added.
There were also booths for state agencies and environmental organizations including Blue Ridge Soil and Water Conservation District, Dan River Basin Association, Virginia Department of Agriculture, Gateway Streetscape and the Department of Environmental Equality.
The DEQ’s booth featured tanks filled with aquatic insects from the Smith River. DEQ spokeswoman Mary Dail talked to visitors about using aquatic insects to determine the health of the river.
In addition to promoting environmental awareness and encouraging outdoor activities, vendors at Saturday’s expo were interested in how those things relate to tourism. Paul Williams of PW Guide Service said people travel to the area to fly fish in the Smith River.
To catch fish, anglers must use proper bait, Williams said. He explained that fly fishing requires a particular kind of pole, string and bait because trout eat aquatic insects.
“On a regular fishing pole, the bait is weighted, but on a fly fishing pole the bait is so light that the string is the weight,” Williams said.
Al Kittredge of Trout Unlimited demonstrated how fly fishing bait is created. He used feathers, wire and other light materials to tie a fly that would be the same weight as the insects.
There were animals at Saturday’s expo as well. Tackfully Teamed Riding Academy of Henry brought miniature horses, and Friends of Philpott member Robb Herbst let children pet a barn owl called Lenny.
“He’s so cute,” said 10-year-old Diamond Cook.
Herbst is a master falconer, and he said he uses Lenny for various educational programs. He used to use a hawk for those programs, but he released it into the wild.
“I remember seeing that hawk,” said Nicholas Goehle, 7. “We got to watch it fly.”
Nicholas wasn’t sure that he wanted to approach Lenny at first. “His claws are big,” he observed.
Herbst convinced Nicholas that Lenny wouldn’t hurt him, so he began to pet the owl. After only a few seconds of petting Lenny, Nicholas was impressed.
“This is a very nice bird,” he said. |
| |
|
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
