Provided by Bull Run Mountains Conservancy
Bull Run Mountains Conservancy, Inc. (BRMC) is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization founded in 1994 to protect the Bull Run Mountains through education, research, and stewardship. BRMC (then trading under the name Friends of Bull Run, Inc.) was organized by local landowners who wanted to promote the preservation and improvement of natural resources on the Bull Run Mountains through educational, charitable, and scientific means for the benefit of the general public.
BRMC offers educational programs to adults and children, with a strong link to local history. At BRMC preservation does not mean a hands-off policy, but rather a focus on drawing people to appreciate the resources at hand and the completion of research to better understand and protect those resources. We served nearly 3,000 children and adults with over 10,000 impact hours through our public education programs in 2016. BRMC has a high leader-to-participant ratio that ensures a focused and quality education experience. All of our programs endeavor to teach how important it is to care for and protect the Bull Run Mountains.
BRMC’s popular yearlong series of nature camps (including Herpetology Camp, Nature Days, Budding Naturalist Camp, Summer Nature Camp, Chesapeake Watershed Workshop, and Winter Nature Camp) is a cornerstone of our program. Our Youth Outdoors Scholarship Program provides equal opportunities for children to attend camps.
Research underpins our education program. For 22 years, BRMC has sponsored and assisted numerous baseline studies that add important data to our understanding of the landscape. These studies have focused on stream/water quality, forest ecology/health, insect surveys including important pollinator populations of butterflies, moths, and beetles, American Chestnut restoration, and the impact of white nose syndrome on bat fauna populations. BRMC partners with organizations to conduct these studies, including Virginia’s Division of Natural Heritage, the Smithsonian Conservation and Biology Institute, and The American Chestnut Foundation.
As the most easterly chain in the Piedmont, the Bull Run Mountains include the headwaters of Occoquan and Goose Creek watersheds. The Bull Run Mountains are also rich in Virginia and Civil War history. BRMC’s recently completed Education and Interpretive Center is located adjacent to the southern 800 acres of the 2,500- acre Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, on Beverley Mill Dr., just 15 minutes from Manassas, Middleburg, and Warrenton, Virginia.
Camps Offered Summer 2017:
Herpetology Camp Session I: June 19th – June 20th Session II: June 22nd – 23rd
Herpetology is the study of reptiles and amphibians. BRMC invites your child to spend two days hiking and handling, searching, and observing salamanders, frogs, lizards, snakes, and turtles on the Preserve. Marty Martin, a premier mid-Atlantic herpetologist, will be joining both camps. 9:00 a. m. – 4:00p. m. Ages 7-12 years
Summer Camp Session I: July 17th – July 21st Session II: July 24th – July 28th
BRMC invites your child to spend an adventurous week interacting with the natural world. Each day we will focus on different groups of plants and animals on the Bull Run Mountains. Campers will add to their understanding of natural systems through hikes, stream walks, snake handling (only if desired), frog and salamander catching, bird watching, butterfly and insect collecting, crafts, and games. 9:00 a. m. – 4:00 p. m. Ages 7-12 years
Budding Naturalist Camp July 24th – July 28th
At this week-long camp, young children will be exposed to the outdoors and wildlife, as they explore life on the Bull Run Mountains through a series of discovery hikes, frog and salamander searches, snake viewing, stream exploration, nature crafts. 9:00 a. m. – 12:00 p. m. Ages 4-6 years
Chesapeake Watershed Workshop July 31st – August 3rd
BRMC is offering an educational workshop for youth focused on the conservation of the rivers and streams that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. We will explore headwater streams on the Bull Run Mountains, go downstream on Little Bull Run, and visit Turkey Run National Park. At each location students will perform stream monitoring, vegetation analyses, and stream habitat and riparian buffer evaluations. 9:00 a. m.-4:00 p. m. Ages 13-18 years
