Fifth Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2019 (8 August 2019): A small, but very interested audience heard Lynn Resler of Virginia Tech's Department of Geography describe the living fossils to be found in the New River Valley. Living fossils are organisms that originated long agao and have not much changed since then; organims that were around at the time of the dinosaurs or earlier. Some of the living fossils were present and were passed around for the audience to examine (below).

Join us August 22nd for the last Outdoor Classroom lecture when we will learn about ethnobotany, the study of human uses of plants for food or medicine.

Third Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2019 (11 July 2019): It had just been raining and there was a flash flood watch, but about a dozen people came to hear RU professor and Wildwood webmaster talk about the Mushrooms of Wildwood Park. The weather held up well for us, and the sunset that followed was beautiful. Many of the most common, and some of the rarer mushrooms found in the Park were introduced.

Join us July 25 for the fourth Outdoor Classroom lecture of the summer and learn about the amazing fishes of the New River..

Second Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2019 (27 June 2019): About 25 came to the Outdoor Classroom on another beautiful evening to hear Sarah Ulrich of Virginia Tech's Department of Geossciences tell the story about how humans have figured out the history of the earth, and, in particular, the history of the Appalachians, one of the world's oldest mountain ranges, and of the New River which cuts through them. The audience was able to examine various Appalachian rocks of different ages, some containing ancient fossils.

Join us July 11 for the third Outdoor Classroom lecture of the summer and learn about the mushrooms of Wildwood Park.

Last Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2018 (23 August 2018): Close to 50 people showed up for the last lecture of the summer. Dr. Karen Powers of the RU Biology Department taught the audience basic facts about bats and then introduced the bats of our area. She had a number of specimens from the Radford University mammal collection to demonstrate the bats. At left, she is holding a specimen in a plastic container; others are shown in a box at right.

This ends an exciting and very interesting lecture series. Watch for announcements late next spring for the Outdoor Classroom Lecture Series of summer 2019. Until then, enjoy fall, winter and spring in the Park.

Fifth Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2018 (9 August 2018): This week David Horton and Ariel Firebaugh of Radford University enlightened the audience about the flying lights of summer -- the fireflies. At right Ariel, who wrote her dissertation on fireflies, holds a plush firefly model. Unfortunately the computer-projector system did not cooperate -- at left David struggles with his computer. Nonetheless they held the interest of the audience with information about fireflies and their lives. The audience included a number of Brownie Scouts and their parents, who had just held a bridging ceremony in the Park -- a full evening of activities for them.

(Once again I must thank Nancy Kent for pictures and news; I was at a remote cabin in the mountains of Grayson County.)

Fourth Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2018 (26 July 2018): As dusk fell once again on a Thursday, nature lovers gathered to hear the fascinating stories of Haley Olsen-Hodges of the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center. She told how injured birds that have been brought to the Wildlife Center are rehabilitated and trained to return to the wild. Most of the birds that come to them are eventually released. However, the little owl in the pictures, named Zombie, never was able to fly well and so joined the Wildlife Center's educational arm, instead of returning to the wild.

Join us August 9th for the fifth Outdoor Classroom lecture of the summer when we will learn about the fireflies that light up our summer evenings.

(Once again I must thank Nancy Kent for pictures and news; I was stuck in the Philadelphia airport when the talk began.)

Third Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2018 (12 July 2018): Another small but very interested audience gathered to hear about freshwater mussels, and to ask many questions. Jess Jones, a biologist at VT and at the US Fish and Wildlife Service explained how the southern Appalachians--Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee--became a hotbed of freshwater mussel diversity, with more species and more endangered species than anywhere else in the world. The audience enjoyed learning how larval mussels are parasitic on fish, and the amazing ways that Mama Mussel gets her babies into the fish. They also learned about efforts to monitor, save and restore mussel populations in our area.

Join us July 26 for the fourth Outdoor Classroom lecture of the summer and learn about Wildlife Rehab efforts to rescue injured birds.

Second Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2018 (28 June 2018): A small but very interested audience, including a number of children, gathered at dusk to hear biologist Christine Small of Radford University explain how to be a Nature Detective and contribute to the National Phenology Network, which gathers information on everyday nature observations. Phenology is a fancy word for the study of when plants and animals do their thing each year, such as flowering, dropping leaves, emerging from hibernation, building nests, etc. The Wildwood webpage feature "What was Blooming 2008?" is an example of a set of phenology records for one year.

After explaining all this to the audience, Dr. Small took the participants out into the Park to look for plants and critters to record, and showed how to record the information for Nature's Notebook.

You, too, can be a nature detective, even if you missed this week's lecture. Help track seasonal changes in plants and wildlife in Wildwood Park and your own backyard using Nature’s Notebook at www.usanpn.org. It’s fun -- and a great way to learn more about nature!

Join us July 12 for the third Outdoor Classroom lecture of the summer and learn about the freshwater mussels of Virginia.

First Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2018 (14 June 2018): A small but very interested audience gathered at dusk to hear biologist Jaime Lau of Radford University introduce them to the tiny organisms that little water bugs eat -- the bottom of the food chain in streams and ponds. Afterwards the audience was able to look through a microscope to view the minute life with their own eyes.

Join us June 28 for the second Outdoor Classroom lecture of the summer and learn how to be a Nature Detective!

(The webmaster was in New England and unable to attend. He thanks Nancy Kent for the information and photographs.

The Seventh Annual Hokie Bugfest (14 October 2017): Wildwood Park is crawling and fluttering with insects and other "bugs" of all kinds. The Hokie Bugfest was not in Wildwood Park, but was of interest to many of those who love the Park and its denizens. It was held at the Inn at Virginia Tech. and featured a live Bug Zoo with a Spiders' Lair, departmental research displays, a flea circus, a balloon artist, a bug-eating contest, and a bug whisperer. Bug enthusiasts admired a giant bird-eater tarantula, toured a live butterfly exhibit, saw a working beehive, and learned all about bed bugs and mosquitoes.

(Pictures are from the 2016 Bugfest. At left, people admire giant roaches (the one admiring them is not life-size!) At right, the Radford University display on using cockroaches to turn garbage into compost.)

Last Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2017 (17 August 2017): Shane Brandes, RU alumnus, came to the Outdoor Classroom to tell the 50 or so folk who gathered at dusk about his experiences keeping a hawk and engaging in the ancient art of falconry. Afterwards he introduced the audience to his hawk who calmly eyed them while they admired and photographed her.

This ends the Outdoor Classroom Lecture Series for 2017. Keep an eye out next summer for another series of amazing presentations on Wildwood and natural history. See the 2017 Schedule for a full review of our topics for this past summer.

Fifth Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2017 (3 August 2017): About 20 people, young and old and in-between, gathered at dusk to hear Gary Coté, RU Biology professor (and Wildwood webmaster) talk about the least noticed and least understood denizens of Wildwood Park, the lichens. After explaining what lichens were, he introduced them to many of the colorful lichens living in Wildwood and in the surrounding mountains of Southwest Virginia.

Join us August 17th for the last lecture of 2017 when we learn about falcons and falconry.

Fourth Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2017 (20 July 2017): An audience of about 50 people gathered at dusk to hear local naturalis Clyde Kessler describe the butterflies of Wildwood Park. In conjunction with his talk, Nancy Kent led interested kids in an activity to make butterflies they could take home (at right).

Join us August 3rd to learn about perhaps the most overlooked living creatures of Wildwood, the colorful lichens.

Second Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2017 (22 June 2017): An enthusiastic audience gathered at dusk to hear biologist Karen Powers of Radford University introduce them to the little creatures that inhabit the waters of Wildwood.

Join us July 6 for the third Outdoor Classroom lecture of the summer and learn about the latest technology in scientific bird feeders that are helping us to learn about bird behavior.

(The webmaster and his usual reporters all missed the first lecture. If anyone would like to fill me in on how it went, I would be happy to post the information.)

Last Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2016 (18 August 2016): About 20 people gathered in the growing darkness to hear Carol Zokaites tell them about caves and karst landscapes, which are so common in our area. She also told us a lot about the bats that live in caves. She is the National Director of Project Underground, an educational organization supporting education about cave and karst science, and described some of the resources that organization offers educators. A demonstration of how sinkholes form, using a model in a cup, composed of common materials worked beautifully to excite and educate the audience.

With the shrinking days, the Park was almost as dark as a cave when the talk ended and people had to make their way home!

This is the last summer lecture for 2016. Watch for announcements next spring of the 2017 Summer Series and join us again in the Park to learn about our world.

Fifth Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2016 (4 August 2016): Scott Klopfer of the Virginia Tech Conservation Management Institute described the efforts to conserve wildlife in the New River Valley.

Third Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2016 (7 July 2016): An audience of about 35 people gathered at dusk to hear Christine Mitchell of Radford University describe some of the edible, medicinal, and poisonous plants of our region, both inside and outside the Park. The audience learned many interesting uses that had been made of familiar plants. She stressed that many of the edible and medicinal species are in trouble because of overharvesting as well as habitat loss. She urged the audience to grow their own whenever possible and to avoid picking endangered plants.

Join us July 21 for the fourth Outdoor Classroom lecture of the summer and learn how to identify trees.

Last Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2015 (20 August 2015): The weather was beautiful this week, as the audience gathered to hear Melanie Fox of Radford University and the Virginia Master Naturalists talk about those little birds with big attitudes, the hummingbirds. They saw photos of beautiful birds from around the world, learned about their biology and behavior, and received tips on how to attract the feisty creatures to their own backyards.

This was the last entry in the popular summer lecture series for this year. For a recap of what we learned see the schedule. Next spring, keep watch for announcement of the 2016 schedule and join us again at the Outdoor Classroom?

Fifth Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2015 (6 August 2015): Rain poured down on the Park, but it didn't much bother the fish in Connelly's Run. Nor did it much bother the audience gathered under the roof of the Outdoor Classroom to hear Derek Wheaton (at right) of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland fisheries talk about Virginia's freshwater fish. The presentation included videos of spawning and nesting behavior of fish in Southwest Virginia rivers.

Following the presentation, members of the audience were able to examine native freshwater fish swimming in aquaria (lower left and right). The fish in turn, were able to examine the audience (bottom).

Join us August 20 for the last Outdoor Classroom lecture of summer 2015. Melanie Fox will be telling us about bossy little hummingbirds.

Fourth Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2015 (23 July 2015): This week, Tom McAvoy of Virginia Tech and the Virginia Master Naturalists told the audience about the insects they might encounter. Afterwards, the audience got some very close-up views of insects in the hands-on portion of the event.

Join us August 6 for the fifth Outdoor Classroom lecture of the summer and learn about the fish that live beneath our waters.

Third Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2015 (9 July 2015): This week Suzie Leslie, Virginia Master Naturalist, explained to the audience how they could bring nature into their own backyards.

Join us July 23 for the fourth Outdoor Classroom lecture of the summer and see insects up close and personal.

First Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2015 (11 June 2015): It was a beautiful evening as a small audience of folks gathered to learn about animal tracks and animal signs from Radford University professor and Virginia Master Naturalist Karen Powers (left). The audience learned how to tell what animals had been visiting or passing through even when they could not see the animals themselves. The audience was then able to examine some examples of animal tracks and signs (lower right and left).

Join us June 25 for the second Outdoor Classroom lecture of the summer and learn about the songs and calls of frogs and toads.

Last Outdoor Classroom Lecture of 2014 (21 August 2014): Unfortunately, rain sent the last lecture indoors at the Radford Recreation Center. Lee Chichester, C.J., her falcon and Cascade, her hawk were the presenters. The audience learned about hawks and falcons and using birds to hunt. Check back in the spring for news of next year's Outdoor Classroom lectures.

Local Photographer wins awards for Wildwood Photography (summer 2014): Long time Wildwood Park explorer and photographer Nancy Kent took a number of her photographs to the Salem and New River Valley fairs where they won multiple first and second place ribbons. A small sample of her images are shown here. Her work can be divided into people, dogs and nature, but all shown were taken in Wildwood Park.

As many know Nancy has been photographing in Wildwood for many years and has an extensive portfolio of photographs. Many of her extraordinary photographs have graced this website -- check out the flowers, mushrooms, butterflies, insects, and especially moths in the Flora and Fauna section. Many of her photographs have appeared in the Roanoke Times as well. Our congratulations to Nancy!