On a beautiful, sunny morning on Saturday, September 21st, S-N IWLA chapter board member Mike Lane, chapter members Bob and Kathy Marchant, Ray and Claudia Powell participated in the 50th anniversary Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (GDSNWR) celebration held at the new Jerico Ditch trailhead entrance off of White Marsh Road.
Left-to-Right Chapter Ikes Mike Lane, Ray & Claudia Powell
Left-to-Right, Chapter Ikes Bob & Kathy Marchant, and Wayne Utley of Keep Suffolk Beautiful
A display table was setup to meet-n-greet the general public, and for handing out free turkey feathers, bottled water, juice boxes, and informational flyers about our chapter. The flyer described our mission statement, park resources, and scheduled activities throughout the year.
We shared our tent canopy shade (which was desperately needed as the temperatures climbed during the day!) with Keep Suffolk Beautiful staff member Wayne Utley who was spreading the word on upcoming city cleanup and recycling opportunities at a separate table.
There were several scheduled activities at the event including guided nature walks, bus tours and bike rides, as well as educational program talks given by GDSNWR personnel on history, wildlife and land management. The Nansemond Indian Tribe gave a Dance Demonstration and there was a theater performance “A Maroon Story” presented at the main stage. There were live animals on display at the wildlife rehabilitation tent, as well as archery, inflatable axe throwing, scavenger hunts, arts and crafts, and food vendor trucks.
All-in-all it was a very enjoyable day and it was a lot of fun to talk with local Suffolkians and folks from neighboring Hampton Roads communities as well as folks just passing through from out-of-state. Scroll down to see more photographs taken by chapter Vice President Darden Langston at the event.
