Introduction Over the past months several Happenings articles have delt with the benefits of trees for both the environment and for our human health. Trees are the major source of the oxygen we breath; absorb the carbon dioxide that is a big component of the […]
Lawns are the single largest irrigated crop in the US. NASA led a study in 2005 that found there were approximately 63,000 square miles of turfgrass in the United States making it the nation’s largest irrigated crop by area. 63,000 square miles is about equal to the total land area […]
Have you found yourself spending more time walking and biking on our beautiful mountain trails, our historic unpaved roads, and our charming natural parks this spring and summer? Good for you — so have many of your neighbors. That is the good news. The bad […]
Matthew Soiland of Purcellville, who will attend Virginia Tech College of Engineering and was awarded $1,500 for his exceptional essay, noted that, “Being the honored recipient of the 2020 Jane Pratt & Jed Shilling Blue Ridge Mountains Educational Scholarship will be instrumental in helping me […]
This fall you are going to be able to tell Loudoun County exactly what features you would like. For years Loudoun County residents have been talking about a network of trails and linear parks throughout the entire county. As early as September 1994 the County […]
For several years, Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains has been warning our members about the impact of the Rockwool facility in Ranson, West Virginia. We have now joined with Jefferson County Vision and several other community and conservation groups in sending a letter to […]
The State Arboretum of Virginia names sassafras the 2020 Tree of the Year. Sassafras is a fast-growing tree that is native to the eastern U.S. and available from local nurseries. Their leaves display striking autumn colors, ranging from yellow to orange to red. And how […]
Except for the highest peaks, mountains appear naked without their blanket of trees. And trees play an especially crucial environmental role. In my teens trees were a great solace to me before I learned to find it within myself. I was living at my family’s […]