FORESTERS VOLUNTEER TO BUILD HIKING TRAILS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 12, 1993                   TAG: 9304120064
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
FORESTERS VOLUNTEER TO BUILD HIKING TRAILS
Some modern-day trailblazing is taking place at the Explore Park. Some foresters from the Blue Ridge chapter of the Society of American Foresters have volunteered to build a network of hiking trails at the park.
Two weekends ago, the foresters - led by Matt Sampson from the Westvaco mill in Covington - and Boy Scout Troop 136 from Bonsack and Blue Ridge started building the first of the trails, which they hope to have ready for use by visiting school groups this spring.
But the foresters are doing more than just building the trails. They intend to lead the nature hikes, too - starting in late April.
"We thought this would be an excellent opportunity to get the public involved in forestry," Sampson says. At various points along the trails, the foresters volunteering their time to lead the student hikes will stop to explain various aspects of the forest.
"We'll be showing the evidence of past harvesting, what kind of trees grow back and where," Sampson says. "We'll look at the health of the trees. We'll drill some trees and pull out cores and show when harvesting took place in the past - you can tell from the tree rings when the young trees were `released'" from the shadows of their elders.
"We'll show where the different species occur together and why," Sampson says, "how different types grow in the hollows than on the ridges, how some trees are able to grow in the shade of other trees and what trees require full sun." In some cases, Sampson says, the foresters will be able to point out why some trees are growing in certain clumps because that's the way the wind has carried the seed.
Explore's environmental director, Rupert Cutler, calls the foresters' involvement a good example of how he hopes to make the park "an outdoor classroom" on man's role in the environment.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB