SOCIAL MEDIA

Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
Showing posts with label Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. Show all posts
·

Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation Seeks Support for Graveyard Fields Improvements

Monday, April 21, 2014

No comments
Last week the Blue Ridge Parkway announced that work will soon begin on the final portion of the Graveyard Fields improvement project. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has been raising funds for this project for the past two years and seeks the support of local businesses and individuals to raise the remaining $50,000.

This project includes multiple enhancements to the Graveyard Fields area, some of which began this fall. In November, crews from the US Forest Service completed several areas of trail enhancements to both protect the environment and provide a safer resource for all visitors. The upcoming construction will provide additional enhancements to the area by doubling the parking capacity and constructing an ADA compliant restroom facility. This comfort station is part of the Park’s efforts to ‘green the Parkway’ and is designed to reduce waste and capture rainwater for cleaning purposes. This project will also include the installation of a new trail map at trailhead and four additional interpretive signs on the Loop Trail. All projects are intended to enhance visitor safety and protect the environment while ensuring visitors have an enjoyable experience.

“The Graveyard Fields Area is a significant recreational resource on the Parkway’s southern corridor, and we are thankful to the Foundation for securing a National Scenic Byways Grant to begin the work and for cultivating the interest of both visitors and neighbors to raise the funds to complete the project,” said Mark Woods, Superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Carolyn Ward, CEO of the Foundation, adds, “We deeply appreciate all of those in our Community of Stewards – now over 100 businesses, individuals and families – who have shown their love for Graveyard Fields by contributing to these efforts. Anyone who loves this treasure is invited to help improve it by joining our Community of Stewards today.”

To learn more about how to support this project, visit brpfoundation.org/graveyardfields or call 866-308-2773 x177.


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies
Read More
at
· · · · ·

Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation allocates over $740,000 to the BRP for 2013 projects and programs

Friday, March 8, 2013

No comments
The Board of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has unanimously approved over $740,000 in funding to the Blue Ridge Parkway for 2013 projects and programs. These projects and programs cover a range of initiatives, including children’s education, projects to enrich the visitors’ experience, and preservation of historic, cultural and natural resources along the length of the Parkway. Parkway Superintendent Phil Francis says "The Parkway and Foundation staffs have worked closely together to create a good list of projects that are badly needed by the Parkway during this difficult budget time. We are very fortunate to have so many wonderful supporters of the Parkway who come here year after year with their families and friends. We hope they know that we are very grateful to them for their support, and hope they will come see us again this year!"

Over $600,000 of the funding is for projects that are critical or are already in process, and these funds have been committed to the Parkway for 2013. The remaining projects will only be undertaken if external funding from grant sources, companies or private donations can be found to help offset the costs.

Committed projects for 2013 include:

• Continued funding of the Parks as Classrooms initiative for the 2013-2014 school year. arks as Classrooms is the Blue Ridge Parkway’s outreach program to children, instilling values of Parkway protection to students in all 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties that border the Parkway. Last year over 27,000 students were reached through this program.

• Graveyard Fields Enhancement project. The Graveyard Fields project is a collaborative effort with the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation to improve visitor use and stewardship of this highly trafficked area, and will expand the parking, construct a convenience station and improve the trails and interpretive signs. The Scenic Byways grant to fund this project has been approved, and the Foundation will be providing the matching funds required to complete the project.

• Completion of the Abbott Lake Trail Accessibility project. Funding will allow completion of an existing project to address accessibility through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and trail improvements. The trail around Abbott Lake was upgraded to be fully accessible last year, and this year, a fishing and viewing platform will be built across the lake from the Peaks of Otter Lodge.

• Restoration of the Heart Pond at Bass Lake. This heart-shaped pond connects to Bass Lake on the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. The wall will be rebuilt to historical details, and the pond will be drained, dredged, repointed and restocked with trout as was historically done. The project was begun last year and will be completed this spring.

• Music Programming at the Blue Ridge Music Center. This year, the Foundation will be scheduling, financing and administering the music program at the Blue Ridge Music Center. This includes Mid-day Mountain Music which is performed every day during the season, and the weekend concert series.

Projects which will require additional funding to make them a reality include:

• Repairing the Waterwheel at Mabry Mill. The wheel will be disassembled and repaired at the Parkway’s historic preservation workshop and reinstalled.

• Construction of Stone Water Fountain Replacements. In 2012, the Foundation funded a project to design easily maintainable replacements for the historic stone water fountains found along the Parkway. This year, two of the new fountains will be constructed and installed.

• Replacing damaged and worn Interpretive Wayside panels. Many of the interpretive panels along the Parkway are missing or damaged. Sixteen of these will be replaced this year at locations all along the Parkway.

• Rehab at the Mount Pisgah Campground. Parkway staff will oversee volunteers conducting repair work on campsites designed to stop erosion and flooding by improving the drainage systems.

• Price Lake Trail Accessibility. Nearly one mile of the existing accessible trail around Price Lake will be restored to meet accessibility standards. Volunteers will assist in building a boardwalk across Laurel Creek, replacing existing planks and a substandard bridge.

To see the full list and find out more information, please click here. To make a donation, please click here.


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies
Read More
at
·

Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation Launches 469 Challenge

Monday, December 10, 2012

No comments
For the second time in two years, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation announces a year-end giving initiative - the 469 Challenge.

Inspired by the miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the 469 Challenge is an end-of-year effort to bring in one donation for every mile. According to Director of Development Christy Bell, “The 469 Challenge is our way to show the Parkway what it means to us. This campaign focuses on the act of giving, and gifts of any size will help us complete this challenge. This is a great opportunity for all Parkway neighbors and enthusiasts to get involved and really make a difference!” The 469 Challenge takes place during the last two months of the year, In 2011, the Foundation raised 452 donations towards the 469 Challenge. As of December 5th, the Foundation has raised 233 donations towards the 2012 Challenge.

As the primary fundraiser and trusted steward for the Parkway, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is charged with preserving the past, enhancing the present and safeguarding the future of the Parkway. Since its founding in 1997, it has worked in close cooperation with the National Park Service to meet the needs of the Parkway, providing over $3.4 million to fund needed projects that enhance and protect the natural, cultural, historic, and recreational qualities that make the Parkway an American treasure. In 2012, the Foundation has funded projects at popular spots including Graveyard Fields near Asheville, the Heart Pond and Price Lake in Blowing Rock, and Abbott Lake near Roanoke. The Foundation also funds year-round initiatives like Parks as Classrooms, allowing interpretive rangers go into schools in Parkway communities to connect students to the natural world and the cultural heritage of the region in a way that is real and meaningful, making over 45,000 contacts with schoolchildren annually.

With over 16 million visitors a year, the Parkway is the most visited unit of the National Park Service, more than Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon combined. Yet with no entrance fee like these and other parks, declining federal budgets and the vast needs of an aging and expansive resource, the Parkway must rely on those who value it to continue to be the priceless resource treasured by millions. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation seeks the help of all Parkway neighbors and enthusiasts to complete the 469 Challenge to help protect the Parkway for today and the future.

You can learn more or donate online at www.brpfoundation.org/469.


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies
Read More
at
·

Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation Raises More Than $7000 for Parkway

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

No comments
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation announced last week the results from its first annual Plates for the Parkway, held in several communities along the Parkway last month. Through this event, participating restaurants donated a portion of proceeds from a meal or meals that day to the Foundation. To date, participating restaurants have donated more than $7000 to the Foundation. All proceeds will help the Foundation continue its work to protect, preserve and enhance the Parkway.

Karen Hawks, owner of Hungry Farmer Restaurant in Cana, Virginia, initially wanted to participate in the event because she grew up near the Parkway. “The Parkway is wonderful, but it needs a lot of help. If we don’t take care of it, who is going to? We reap so many benefits from the Parkway, from the customers it brings to the enjoyment we get from it. Plates for the Parkway was a great way to introduce our restaurant to Parkway travelers while giving back to something we love.”

Restaurants from communities along the 469 miles of the Parkway were invited to participate on the Sept. 18th event. 38 restaurants joined the affair, with several holding events on alternate dates. Christy Bell, Development Director for the Foundation, says “We are so thankful to the restaurants who participated and for the customers who braved the bad weather on the 18th to attend. We encourage Parkway enthusiasts to visit these restaurants throughout the year to thank them for their support. Next year, we hope to involve at least 75 restaurants and raise $20,000 for the Parkway.”

In Virginia, participating restaurants included: Stella, Bella and Lucy's - Waynesboro; Devils Backbone Brewing Company - Roseland; Pomegranate Restaurant & Gathering Place - Troutville; Peaks of Otter - Bedford; Local Roots (event December 6), Martins Downtown and The Village Grill - Roanoke; Hungry Farmer Restaurant – Cana; and Bubba's BBQ & Deli - Virginia Beach.

In North Carolina, participating restaurants included: Freeborne's - Laurel Springs; Mountain Aire Seafood & Steaks - West Jefferson; Mast Farm Inn - Valle Crucis; Mellow Mushroom and Pepper's Restaurant - Boone; The Blowing Rock Grill, Mellow Mushroom, The Village Café and The Woodlands Barbecue - Blowing Rock; The Morning Glory Cafe - Black Mountain; The Local Joint - Fairview; Baja Café, Cafe Azalea, Chai Pani, Chef Mo's Restaurant and Bar, Copper River Grill, Corner Kitchen, Early Girl Eatery, Filo Pastries, Loretta's Café, The Junction, Piazza, Plant, Pomodoros Cafe East, Salsa's and Tomato Jam Cafe – Asheville; City Lights Cafe and Guadalupe Café – Sylva; and Tarheel Foodie -Raleigh, NC.

Plates for the Parkway is a part of the Foundation’s larger Parkway Plus program, which allows patrons of participating dining and lodging establishments in communities along the Parkway an opportunity to add $1 or more to their bill in support of the Parkway. Recruitment for next year’s Plates for the Parkway event will begin in January. For more information about how you can help, contact Christy Bell at 866-308-2773 x177 or visit platesfortheparkway.org and parkwayplus.org.


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies
Read More
at
·

Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation allocates over $650,000 to BRP

Monday, March 12, 2012

No comments
The Board of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has unanimously approved over $650,000 in funding to the Blue Ridge Parkway for 2012 projects and programs. These projects and programs cover a range of initiatives, including children’s education, projects to enrich the visitors’ experience, and preservation of historic, cultural and natural resources along the length of the Parkway. Superintendent of the Parkway, Phil Francis says, "The staff of the Parkway and I are very grateful to the Foundation for their generous contribution this year. The support provided by the Foundation has become vital to our ability to meet some of the Parkway’s most basic needs and maintain a sustainable and healthy Blue Ridge Parkway.”

Something that I found particularly intriguing is the announcement that the Blue Ridge Parkway will be partnering with Ray’s Weather and Appalachian State University to build a comprehensive weather website and smart-phone application covering the entire Blue Ridge Parkway. Using information from weather stations and webcams installed along the Parkway, the site will include custom forecasts, live weather conditions, live webcam images and video, radar and satellite imagery, climate information and reader supplied photography and comments.

A complete list of the approved projects for 2012 can be found on the Foundation’s website.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
Read More
at
· · · ·

Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and RaysWeather.Com Partner on 2012 Calendar

Thursday, June 2, 2011

No comments
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and RaysWeather.Com announced yesterday a partnership to produce the 2012 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation Calendar.

RaysWeather.Com has sponsored a photo contest and calendar featuring photography from northwest North Carolina for the past nine years. For the 2012 calendar, the photo contest will solicit entries spanning the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway, from Waynesboro, Virginia, to Cherokee, North Carolina.

Depending on the number of calendars sold, 44% to 70% of net calendar proceeds will be donated to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

The 2012 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation Calendar photo contest is open for online entries through June 15, 2011. According to Dr. Ray Russell, President of RaysWeather.com, "We're looking for the best, most unique photos capturing the beauty, activities, and essence of the Blue Ridge Parkway in all seasons of the year."

Twenty-five photos from each of the four seasons will be selected as finalists and will be voted on by RaysWeather.Com readers. "We are so happy to be partnering with RaysWeather.Com to offer what is sure to be a must-have calendar for 2012. The photos that are already pouring in are so wonderful, we can't wait to see the winners," said Carolyn Ward, CEO of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. For more details and to submit an entry, visit raysweather.com/Photo+Contest.

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, under a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior, is the primary private fundraising organization for the Blue Ridge Parkway.

RaysWeather.Com is one of the most widely read media outlets in northwest North Carolina, and provides forecasts for the North Carolina Mountains. RaysWeather.Com (with over 20 webcams and over 50 weather stations) is in its eleventh year of operation providing custom weather forecasts, weather conditions, climate data, and other information from the Southern Appalachians.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
Read More
at
· · ·

BRP Foundation receives grant to build 2 new TRACK Trails

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

No comments
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s Kids in Parks Program received a $15,500 Active Trails Grant from the National Park Foundation to help build 2 new TRACK Trails on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. Funding for the projects will be provided by the National Park Foundation’s Active Trails Grant Program, a nationwide program designed to promote healthy lifestyles while protecting and enhancing our National Parks’ trail resources.

Jason Urroz, Director of the Kids in Parks program, said “We’re looking forward to opening two new TRACK Trails on the Parkway in Virginia. These two new trail locations will help complete a network of trails already established in communities surrounding the region. TRACK Trails are fun, easy and free and provide kids and families with an interactive way to explore the world around them.”

The TRACK Trail program is part of the larger Kids in Parks Initiative sponsored by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. Working together with partners throughout the community, their mission is to increase physical activity of children and their families, to improve nutritional choices, and to get kids outdoors and along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The new TRACK Trail adventures in Virginia will be designed to help kids explore nature through the use of self-guided brochures. The TRACK program is superimposed on existing trail systems and includes numerous adventures for visitors to experience, maximizing the educational and recreational value of each singular trail. Motivational incentives or ‘prizes’ for participation are provided through registration on the web page, www.kidsinparks.com. In this manner, not only are participants motivated to experience the first trail, they are prompted to either return or visit another TRACK Trail in order to achieve the next reward.



Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
Read More
at
· · ·

Foundation allocates $500,000 to Blue Ridge Parkway projects & programs

Saturday, March 26, 2011

No comments
As the primary fundraiser for the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation announced on Thursday that they will be providing $500,000 in funding for park projects and programs.

Superintendent of the Parkway, Phil Francis, told the BRP Foundation that, “The staff of the Parkway and I are very grateful to the Foundation for their very generous contribution to fund a variety of important needs that we have this year. Without their support, we would not be able to fund projects and programs that help us serve Parkway visitors, educate young people, and protect the Parkway for future generations.”

The bulk of those funds will support three key projects this year:

* $200,000 will go towards the construction of a new 1,200 square foot communications center building at the Blue Ridge Parkway Headquarters in Asheville. The building will house the Parkway’s interagency dispatch operation which forms the vital link and nerve center for the system of 34 microwave transmitters and receivers at ten locations serving the entire park (plus 2 NC state parks, US Forest Service, Veteran’s Administration, and King’s Mountain NMP with vital radio service).

* $105,000 will be allocated to Parks As Classrooms, one of the flagship programs funded each year by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation since 1998.

* $65,000 will be needed to purchase portable (handheld) radios and a base station in order to access the North Carolina Voice Interoperability Project (Plan) for Emergency Responders.

To view all the other projects the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation will be funding this year, please click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
Read More
at
· · ·

BRP receives $10,000 Grant for Oral Histories

Thursday, January 13, 2011

2 comments
Earlier this week the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation announced that it has received a $10,000 grant from the National Parks Foundation that will allow for the collection of a number of important oral histories.

The focus of this oral history project will be to record the first-hand accounts of the people who helped to build the parkway, including the Civilian Conservation Corps crews from the 1930’s and 1940’s. The project will also seek to conduct oral histories of the culturally diverse groups traditionally not associated with the parkway, including African-American communities, some of whom worked in racially segregated CCC camps, Cherokees who formerly lived in areas where the southern terminus of the parkway lies, and the descendants of Italian-American and Spanish-American stone masons brought from Europe to construct the intricate stone-work associated with the parkway’s bridges, walls, and overlooks.

For more information on the project you can click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
Read More
at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)