For several months, volunteers from the Sweet Briar and Amherst communities and the Central Virginia Master Naturalist program have been constructing trails and boardwalks designed to show off flora and fauna native to the Sweet Briar College campus.

On Friday, April 20, the Sweet Briar Nature Trail System will be dedicated. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 4:30 p.m., and afterwards the public is invited to explore the new trails.

A new bridge on the Wetlands Educational TrailThe natural area, which includes woodland, meadow and wetlands trails, is located off Boathouse Road. More specifically, the Woodland Field Loop begins behind the Nature Center and the Wetlands Educational Trail runs from Boathouse Road to the dam of the upper lake. Both trailheads are in close proximity.

Tim Kasper heads up the Institute for Sustainability and Environmental Education at Sweet Briar and was point man for the project. He describes the Woodland Field Loop as a “meandering, figure-eight pathway” that measures approximately a mile.

“There are a variety of fun and fascinating elements such as giant trees, animal homes, secret hideaways, and great bird watching spots – an ideal playground for the nature lover in each of us,” he said.

On the Wetlands Educational Trail, nature lovers can explore the wetlands between Sweet Briar’s two lakes. Beginning with a boardwalk, the half-mile-long trail has examples of turtlehead, Asian bittersweet, black willow trees and other native plants.

On both trails, interpretive signs enhance the learning experience.

“The completed trail system will provide interpretive education for faculty, staff, students, as well as Amherst community members,” Kasper said during construction last fall.

“A stated purpose of the trails is to provide visiting [K-12] school groups with outdoor experiential learning that can be focused on the SOL science requirements for the state of Virginia.”

According to Kasper, who designed the trails and sought grant monies for the project, CVMN volunteers donated approximately 400 hours to the effort and the Sweet Briar community logged about 200. Volunteers worked on the trails and constructing kiosks and interpretive signs.

Eighteen students from Amherst High School’s Future Farmers of America also participated in the project.

Funding for the project was provided by the Greater Lynchburg Community Trust and a donation by alumna Katzie Nager ’53.

– By Suzanne Ramsey, SBC staff writer