A great report from the Waterford Foundation:
About 75 Waterford community members attended a Labor Day weekend picnic at the Old Mill to celebrate the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the Phillips Farm Interpretive Trail on September 5. After enjoying a barbeque dinner arranged by Foundation development manager Kathleen Hughes, Phillips Farm Committee Chair Mimi Westervelt and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy (LWC) President Joe Coleman cut the ribbon, and together with John Souders, citizens of all ages enjoyed a tour of the natural and cultural history of the Phillips Farm along the new trail.
Appreciation for this new educational resource on the farm and the community was expressed to committee members, the Piedmont Community Foundation’s Peter M. Howard Memorial Fund (which provided a generous grant for the trail), and Foundation staff Margaret Good and Martha Polkey. A gift was presented to Rob Hale, in absentia, who designed the brochure, and designed and constructed the posts and new signs for the trail.
Children’s activities included a “Can You Find?” hunt for information about the Phillips Farm and identifying, tagging and releasing live Monarch butterflies. Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy President Joe Coleman and his volunteers, who partner with the Foundation on many Phillips Farm programs, discussed LWC goals and activities.
In August, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy volunteers installed netting to protect some of the more than 1,000 trees and shrubs in the riparian buffer planting from rodent damage. LWC volunteers report that the plantings are thriving.