Community & Environmental Education, Habitat & Wildlife, Outdoor Education & Leadership

This one mile loop is the result of dedicated work from the Afternoon Outdoor Program, Mountain Bike Team, Outdoor Education Electives, and the Mountain Ecology classes—a combination of trail design, bridge construction and creation of interpretive signs.  The goal of the BRS Interpretive Trail is to provide a learning experience for its users, highlighting the natural history of the Blue Ridge School to promote a sense of stewardship.  

An interactive map of the entire BRS trail system can be viewed here.

The trail has been designed to easily traverse the terrain while highlighting the diversity of the area—through lush forests of varying ages, beside open fields of wildflowers, over tiny springs thick with vegetation, and along the rocky banks of Chesley Creek.

Numerous signs have been placed throughout the trail to identify trees and various plants, and to provide general ecology and backcountry information.  Information linked to many of the tree identification signs can be found at PlantsMap.com.

Blue Ridge School
273 Mayo Drive
St. George, VA 22935
United States

The Interpretive Trail is used as a "lab" for the Mountain Ecology course.  Students observe specific sections off the trail over the course of the year, motion-triggered infared cameras are placed on the trail to track wildlife, signage is referenced to identify trees and learn of the natural history.  Over the years Blue Ridge School students have hosted visiting preschools and homeschool groups for an Outdoor Education themed field trip.  Highlights include hikes along the Interpretive Trail and stream studies in the adjacent creek.  Students and faculty maintain the trail for both hiking and biking.  

A technology class utilized the trail for a project - Students created QR codes to link each sign's data with a website that provides more information.
An art class utilized the trail for a project - Students used Adobe Illustrator to design a custom trail blaze and a lazer cutter to imprint the design onto 2-color Acrylic sheets.  The blazes now mark the Interpretive Trail.

Interpretive Trail, Tree Identification, Outdoor Education