ACCOMPLISHMENTS, CELEBRATIONS….

We did not let Isabel or 2003’s rains get us down ….

Thanks to loyal Saturday workday volunteers, relentless Trail Adopters, tenacious hikers, and special groups and individuals who thought of RTF when it came time to “give back” to the community, we have kept the Rivanna Trail foot path open all year. Despite snow, ice, rain, and mud, volunteers showed up for every Saturday workday.

In addition to keeping up with aggressive vegetation and high water repairs, we opened two new trails:

• New side trail between Barracks Rd. and Old Ivy – Look for fascinating stone foundations that UVA Madison House volunteers “released” from invasive vegetation.
• Side trail between Avon St. and Quarry Park – Young campers from Triple C Camp get the credit for reopening this pine forest trail.

The City of Charlottesville recently adopted a Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan that strongly supports RTF’s rustic trail-building goals. We are very grateful and look forward to a continued close working relationship with City officials and staff.

Thanks to VA Dept. of Forestry and Plow & Hearth grants, RTF printed trail guides designed especially for our younger hikers.

• “Great Hikes on the Rivanna Trail for Young Children and Their Families” contains a map and descriptions of six hikes appropriate for children. Available at Virginia Museum of Natural History at UVA and at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports.
• “The Rivanna Trail for Young Hikers” Three separate interpretive guides that reinforce VA Science SOL’s: Melbourne Road Loop, Dept. of Forestry Nature Trail, and Quarry Park to the Rivanna. Available at Virginia Museum of Natural History at UVA.

“Nature Nearby” Programs - The Virginia Museum of Natural History at UVA is offering a guided nature walk for explorers of all ages on the Melbourne Loop on January 11, at 2 p.m. Contact the Museum for more information. Telephone 434-982-4605 or email vmnh-uva@virginia.edu. Watch for future Museum programs related to the Rivanna Trail.

Second annual “Hike around the City on the Rivanna Trail.” Eight adventurous souls succeeded in completing this year’s 20-mile hike on November 1. A few road walks, three challenging stream crossings, a true “urban wilderness” experience.

Special thanks: In addition to RTF duties, many board members serve as Trail Adopters (TA’s) and actively participate in regional environmental and trail-related organizations. Our Trail Adopters kept this summer’s vegetation under control. One TA brought order to our tool shed’s contents, and another TA devised experimental concrete stepping stones for some of our trickier stream crossings. UVA Medical Center, SunTrust Bank, and Hantzmon, Wiebel & Co. dedicated United Way Day of Caring efforts to trail work. Boy Scout Troop 75 performed a massive trail clean up.  RTF members volunteered to build new trail guide boxes and to keep boxes stocked with guides. Other helpers reviewed our huge collection of trail photos and picked out the “best of the best.” Dozens of people brought out their chain saws after Isabel, and other trail lovers clipped vines on their daily walks. And … our local news media routinely give us free publicity.

LOOKING AHEAD …. Volunteers keep us going …. Foot bridges in our future ….

Volunteer Interest Form – Last year by identifying a few very specific organizational needs, RTF successfully recruited some extremely dedicated and talented people. We have revised the Form to reflect our current needs. Please see if you have a talent you want to share. Building, maintaining, and protecting our incredible trail system truly takes the work of hundreds of volunteers. Thank you in advance.

Foot bridges – This year’s rains have left us with plenty of “opportunities” for exciting bridge building projects. Please see the Volunteer Interest Form to learn how you can get involved.

SECOND SATURDAY WORKDAYS... Everyone welcome!

We meet the second Saturday of each month from 9:00 – 11:30 for fun productive work. We have tools, but bring shears or clippers if you have them. We rally at 8:55 at the Melbourne Road trailhead just downhill from the CHS football field and caravan to the work site. We welcome groups, but their leaders should contact us ahead of time. If you want to go directly to the project or have questions, get in touch with the workday leader.  See the schedule of future work days.

Charlottesville.....possibly the best trail system in the South!

RIVANNA TRAILS FOUNDATION
Footpaths encircling Charlottesville

For More Information Contact:

Rivanna Trails Foundation
P.O. Box 1786, Charlottesville, VA 22902 
Tel: 434-923-9022
Internet: dfoster@newventure.com

[ Home ] [ Up ]

Send mail to RTF Webmaster with questions or comments about this web site.