• Rotary Year: 2018-2019
  • Application Date: 5/31/2018
  • Club Name: Blacksburg
  • Project Name: Nature Play Space in Heritage Park
  • Project Total Expenditures: $7,000.00
  • Grant Amount Requested: $3,500.00
  • Describe the Project, its location and its objectives: A Nature Play Space is located in the Town of Blacksburg’s Heritage Community Park and Natural Area. Located at 2300 Glade Road, Heritage Park is Blacksburg’s largest park with 169 acres of natural area including a portion of Tom’s Creek, and documented wetlands and natural heritage resources. The Nature Play Space has a meeting circle with log benches and a boulder focal point, a sand pile, and shale stone chalk boards. Four interpretive signs in and around the Nature Play Space educate the public about the park and the importance of “nature play.” Nature play includes digging in the dirt, cloud watching, tree climbing, catching bugs, wading—it is unstructured free time outside in the back yard, out in the woods, on a farm, just being outside. Our project promotes child development by engaging youth to learn about being good stewards for the environment, being responsible community citizens, and through the development of an appreciation for the outdoors.

    We will be a partner in helping grow the Nature Play Space in the park by adding benches and signs, constructing a kid-sized birdhouse feature and through the sponsorship of four outdoor family classes and multiple early birders programs during the 2018-2019 year.
  • This is the Club’s: Primary Project Application
  • Expected Start Date: 8/1/2018
  • Expected End Date: 4/1/2019
  • Expected Number of Beneficiaries: 200
  • Describe how the project will benefit the community and/or improve the lives of the less fortunate: This project benefits the community by supporting multiple causes including healthy childhood development and environmental stewardship. Four interpretive signs in and around the Nature Play Space educate the public about the park and the importance of “nature play.” Nature play stimulates all of the senses and promotes every aspect of healthy child development —physical, cognitive, creative, social/emotional and spiritual. Four seasonal outdoor family classes per year are hosted in the Park as well as Early Birders events and other field experiences for youth using the Nature Play Space. The project provides community citizens an opportunity to be outdoors and to further their understanding, appreciation and engagement with the surrounding environment in Blacksburg.
  • Estimated Total Project Volunteer Hours: 80
  • Describe the Rotarian hands-on activities in the project (i.e. non-financial participation): Rotarians will assist with the installation of benches and signs in the park and with the construction of a kid sized birdhouse feature. We will also organize workdays during the year to assist with maintenance of the meadows garden and play space maintenance.

    In addition, Rotarians and their families are invited to participate in the outdoor family classes and early birders programming classes that our Club will sponsor. In addition to education, class participation by Rotarians gives us the opportunity to interact with our fellow citizens and to promote Rotary in the community.
  • Describe the publicity plan to inform the general public that this is a Rotary sponsored project: Our Club will promote the outdoor family classes and early birders programs through our various social media platforms including our Club’s webpage and Facebook page. The New River Land Trust will also promote the programs through their social media outlets. The program marketing efforts will acknowledge the Blacksburg Rotary Club as sponsors and Rotary will also be recognized the day of the events.

    The Rotary Wheel and a plaque will be displayed on the birdhouse and the benches that we install acknowledging Rotary’s contribution to the Nature Play Space.
  • Cooperating Organizations – Please list each cooperating organization, if any: New River Land Trust: works to protect farmland, forests, open spaces and historic places in the New River region of Southwest Virginia.
  • Letter(s) of Participation: Participation Letter.pdf
  • Project Expenditure Budget – list detail uses of funds for the project, or use the Budget Upload: See Budget Upload
  • Project Funding Budget – list detail sources of funds for the project, or use the Budget Upload: See Budget Upload
  • Budget Upload:E- DG2015-Budget-Template-3 (1).xls
  • Primary Contact Name: Jamie Dunn
  • Primary Contact Rotary Position: Chair - Local Community Service Committee
  • Primary Contact Email: jdunn@becpas.com
  • Primary Contact Phone: 540-808-7071
  • Financial Contact Name: Peter Weimerskirch
  • Financial Contact Rotary Position: Treasurer
  • Financial Contact Address: 
    PO Box 770
    Blacksburg, VA 24063
    United States View on Map
  • Financial Contact Email: pweimers@comcast.net
  • Financial Contact Phone: 540-505-4991
  • District Grant Project Authorization LetterProject Authorization letter.pdf
  • Project Supporting Uploads:bird house example.pdf
  • Grant Number: 1819-01
  • Grant Award: $3,500.00