The Rivanna Rambler

June 12, 2008

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (46)

This show originally aired on June 12, 2008 on “The Rivanna Rambler,” a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net

It could be any spring day on the river. True, the weather is especially cooperative: May morning temperature just rising from the low 60’s as we approached the water. Cumulus and blue above, the green fully leafed out over the river. You might say that it was as scenic as a perfect Virginia morn, as you put your boat in the water amongst cattails and the fresh mist from the sheets of water tumbling over the dam at the South Fork Rivanna River Reservoir.

Or, you might, as we were, be launching your kayaks and canoes for a trip with the specific task

Read the rest of this entry »

May 15, 2008

This show originally aired on May 15, 2008 on “The Rivanna Rambler,” a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (162)

The community water supply plan that is under question has been permitted, as it must be, by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality on February 11, 2008. That plan was approved unanimously by the City Council and Albemarle County Board of Supervisors in 2006.

Read the rest of this entry »

May 8, 2008

This show originally aired on May 11, 2006 and was aired again on May 8, 2008 on “The Rivanna Rambler,” a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (140)

A couple of years ago, I visited the bottomland owned by Jane and Stirling Williamson along a stretch of the South Fork of the Rivanna River, to learn about tree planting for river protection.

As we descend the hill and cross a thin stream, the floodplain opens up in front of us and we an assortment of trees planted four years ago: red maple, box elder, northern red and willow oak. We, too, are a motley crew: Hank Helman, has brought along his two young children who run alongside, weaving in and out of the plastic tubes that mark where trees were planted. Angus Murdoch, who for years has grown and planted trees around the entire watershed for the Rivanna Conservation Society. And me, curious to figure out the point of planting these trees.

Read the rest of this entry »

This show originally aired on February 7, 2008 on “The Rivanna Rambler,” a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (202)

February 7, 2008

On a day in January when the snow is still on the ground in the higher elevations, Rose and I drive out Garth Road turning onto 810 at White Hall and head towards the Browns Gap Turnpike. With the landowner’s permission, we drive across pastures that slope uphill into the headwater basin of the Doyles River.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bird-watching, like other outdoor pastimes that have a specific focus, provides another lens through which to see and understand a watershed. This week, the Rambler joins the Monticello Bird Club for a morning tour of sites in northern Albemarle County.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (622)

This show originally aired on January 31, 2008 on “The Rivanna Rambler,” a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net.

Recently, I have been thinking about the variety of ways one can get to know the watershed. You can take to the water, by canoe or kayak, by jon boat, or propelled by oars. If you don’t have a boat, you can observe from water’s edge, along public trails and at parks that snug the banks of rivers and streams. From bridges, you can see a whole lot, too – so by foot, by bike, by car, even, you can start to know the waterways and the vistas, a sense of the terrain. And there’s also the manner of seeing, focusing on habitat, or geology, or plants. Last week, I joined some folks from the Monticello Bird Club and exercised my vision in yet another way.

Now, I am not what you might think of as a birder.

Read the rest of this entry »