Meadowood Celebrates National Public Lands Day

"Kids today are AC, always connected," says Roots Public Charter School science teacher Nia Freeman.  "It's good to get them away from all that, get them unplugged and outdoors and instill in them an appreciation for our land," she says.

Freeman and twenty students from Roots Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., were among those gathered on Saturday, September 25, at Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area for National Public Lands Day.  The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which operates Meadowood, held a ribbon cutting to mark the re-opening of Meadowood's trails.  BLM's Lower Potomac Field Station received $350,000 in economic stimulus funding for improving the trails on the land.

Michael Reiland, acting director of Meadowood, said the purpose of the project was, "to rebuild the trail system to ease erosion, require less maintenance, eliminate slippery, steep and muddy sections, and provide for high quality, year round use by equestrians, hikers, dog walkers and runners.

To accomplish this, staff and volunteers over the past year:

• placed more than 3,000 tons of aggregate and other rock;
• removed nine undersized concrete culverts, some weighing up to 10,000 pounds, and replaced them with bridges and armored crossings to, reduce erosion and destruction;
• rerouted, stabilized and re-landscaped about three miles of existing trail;
• built one mile of new trail;
• contracted for a 30 foot bridge over Thompson Creek where Wood Thrush Trail crosses.

Although the stimulus money included the hiring of contractors and staff for the project, Reiland said volunteers played a vital role.  "We could not do this kind of stuff without our volunteers," he said.  "For this project alone four Eagle Scout projects provided 700 hours of volunteer labor in addition to our regular volunteers who contributed another 350 hours."

Paul Elliott, author of 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington D.C., also spoke highly of volunteers.  "I lead hikes all over the area," he said, "and we need more of a presence of volunteers."  Elliott says that, "equestrians are the ones keeping the trails open."  He explained that he most often sees equestrians using trails.  "The equestrians are on the trails, they know more about the trails than others, and they extend this into volunteer action." 

Mason Neck resident Gary Knipling has lived adjacent to Meadowood since 1980, and he remembers when the Lynch Family owned the land.  "The Lynches really loved this land and were good stewards of it," he said.  "I love that now BLM is caring for the trails and encouraging people to come enjoy them."    Knipling says he runs at Meadowood at least twice weekly.

Myra Musialkiewicz, Management and Program Analyst for BLM, praised the cooperation that enabled the project to be completed within one year.  "We had people with the vision to see what needed to be done and others with the practical ability to get it done," she said.   

The twenty students age 8 to 13 from Roots Public Charter School in Washington, D.C.,  along with their teacher and parent chaperones, camped overnight at Meadowood, attended the ribbon cutting on Saturday morning, then participated in a work project laying straw on newly planed seed. 

After lunch, which was provided by the Friends of Meadowood and the boarders of the Stables at Meadowood, the Roots students learned about horses from W. G. Van As, who teaches beginner riding lessons and leads trail rides at the Stables at Meadowood.  Most of the students had never touched a horse before, and many had a look of awe on their faces as they stroked the head and neck of Doc.  Others were not fond of the smell of a barn, and kept their t-shirt over their nose.

Roots Teacher Nia Freeman organized the field trip with Theresa Jefferson, BLM's environmental education coordinator at Meadowood.   For the Roots Public Charter School students it was an adventure they will long remember.