Bring your family and friends to the 14th annual Hail to the Trail event at the Chapman DeMary Trail on September 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. This event is free and fun for all. Participate in hands-on activities, learn about native plants and wildlife, make a pinecone birdfeeder, get native plant seeds for your garden, help plant trees as part of the Town’s annual Arbor Day Celebration, celebrate the Town’s Tree City USA designation, and more.
Here is a list of activities and participating organizations for this year’s Hail to the Trail:
- Barlett Tree Experts – get a free tee seedling
- Imagine Well Being – explore nature with your five senses
- Keep Loudoun Beautiful – play a game about how long items take to decompose
- Loudoun Beekeepers Association – find the queen bee in the observation hive and check out beekeeping tools and supplies
- Loudoun County Building and Development – count tree rings and match leaves
- Loudoun County Health Department/Loudoun Targets Lyme – learn about tick prevention and how to remove a tick
- Loudoun County Master Gardeners – identify seeds and fruits of plants found at the Chapman DeMary Trail
- Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District – check out a display of wildlife bones
- Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy – jump like a frog and examine animal scat, tracks, and animal skulls
- Parks and Recreation Advisory Board - play a nature memory game to win a prize and get a nature scavenger hunt sheet
- Purcellville Arts Council - make pinecone birdfeeders to place along the trail and to take home
- Purcellville Library—create a nature bookmark with dried flowers and leaves
- Sweet Run State Park (Department of Conservation and Recreation) – use animal track stamps to make your own nature bookmark and examine animal skulls, furs, scat, and more
- Town of Purcellville Water Division - take a water taste test to see if you can tell which is bottled water and which is Town water
- Tree and Environment Sustainability Committee – play a nature trivia game to test your knowledge and win a prize; decorate a packet and fill it with native flower seeds for your garden
- Virginia Master Naturalists, Banshee Reeks Chapter – identify plaster casts of native wildlife, learn about the life cycle of beetles, frogs, and butterflies; identify furs
- Go on a nature trivia walk and get all of the answers to win a prize
- Help us plant trees
- Participate in the Town's annual Arbor Day Celebration and Tree City USA recognition
- Enjoy live music by Willie White
- Get a free slice of pizza
- Help us recognize scouts and volunteers for their environmental projects in the Town of Purcellville
- Get your face painted
- Complete the Hail to the Trail passport to win a prize
The Chapman DeMary Trail, a 10-acre area which is the last stand of old-growth forest in the Town, is open to the public for environmental exploration, education, and recreation. Trail projects encourage environmental stewardship and have engaged students, scouts, and members of the community in learning about and protecting this habitat. The trail runs along the South Fork Catoctin Creek which is part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The Town of Purcellville holds the conservation easement for this privately-owned property. The entrance and parking for the Chapman DeMary Trail is behind the building at 205 East Hirst Road in Purcellville.
Hail to the Trail is hosted by the Purcellville Tree and Environment Sustainability Committee, a standing committee of the Town of Purcellville that focuses on environmental programs, sustainability, enhancement of the tree canopy, and continuation of the Town's Tree City USA designation. Get more information at www.PurcellvilleVa.gov/Hail-to-the-Trail and follow Hail to the Trail on Facebook.