A Trifecta of Lady Slippers at the Blackstone Gorge, Blackstone, MA.
Photo: Bonnie Combs
In This Issue
  • National Trails Day
  • Pollinator News - Pollinator Week June 22 to 28
  • Field Trip Fridays: Riverdale Mills
  • Healing Arts in the Parks
  • New Digital Oral History Project
  • BRVNHC Partnership Grants
  • 2021 Calendar Photo Contest
  • GearHeads Junior Ranger Program

We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter and that you stay connected with us on social media.
Find our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube channel links at the bottom.

The Blackstone River Valley is home to many spectacular trails and we'd love to hear which ones are your favorites!

In recognition of National Trails Day , we're making a special tribute video highlighting the many trails throughout the 25 communities of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.

Please send a photo or a short video clip (landscape mode) with location by Thursday afternoon, June 4, to Bonnie Combs at bcombs@BlackstoneHeritageCorridor.org and be a part of the celebration!
Hiking Safely: Tick Talk with Terri
Terri Michaelson of Uxbridge, MA, is a friend of BHC and a Global Lyme Alliance Ambassador. She met up with us on the trail recently to share some important tick safety tips!

To learn more, visit GlobalLymeAlliance.org and BeTickAware.org .
Meet Our Trail Ambassadors
Ernie Germani
Ernie Germani, a volunteer with BHC's volunteer Trail Ambassadors, has been leading guided hikes throughout the Corridor the past few years and we thank him for taking a leading role in organizing group hikes for the public.

Due to social distancing guidelines, the hikes Ernie had planned this season are on hold until further guidance is issued about crowd size.

Meanwhile, check out his website, Trails & Walks in Rhode Island, and explore on your own. His website includes a page for Blackstone Valley .
Marjorie Turner Hollman , a volunteer with BHC's Trail Ambassadors and Bikeway Ambassadors, is also author of Easy Walks in Massachusetts and several other walking books. She was recently contacted by Chronicle to discover some of her favorite trails, including ones with a waterfall. That led to a segment taping at the Blackstone Gorge last week. Watch for the episode in a few weeks. Thank you, Marjorie!
Tom Bik of Blackstone, MA, has been a volunteer with BHC's Trail Ambassadors since 2016 and is also a board member of Metacomet Land Trust. Tom has led several hikes at the Blackstone Gorge as well as Metacomet Land Trust properties, including Hop Brook Preserve in Blackstone.

He met up with the Chronicle producers to lead them on a hike through the trails at the Gorge and share the story about its preservation and Metacomet's role in that.

Earlier this spring, Marjorie Turner Hollman visited Metacomet's Hop Brook Preserve and wrote a blog post about her experience.

View Metacomet's website to find a list of their properties and trails to hike.
A Message from the National Park Service
Celebrate Trails Day a New Way!
Go on a Self-Guided Historical Walking Tour
Start a new National Trails Day tradition and take a self-guided tour through history with Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor's Walking Tours!

There are 24 tours in all!
Massachusetts: Blackstone, Blackstone Canal, Douglas, Grafton, Hopedale, Leicester, Mendon, Millbury, Millville, Sutton, Upton, Uxbridge, Whitinsville and Worcester.
Rhode Island: Central Falls, Chepachet, Georgiaville, Harrisville, Lincoln, Pawtucket, Providence, Rumford, Slatersville, and Valley Falls.
We're In the News!
Protecting pollinators

If you're thinking about planting a garden this year, consider making it friendly for pollinators.The Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor is asking individuals and organizations to sign a pledge to help protect pollinators,...

Read more
www.valleybreeze.com
New Pollinator Garden at the
Capt. Wilbur Kelly House Transportation Museum, Lincoln, RI
Meet Ranger Tyler Shepard, seasonal ranger with the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.

In the summer of 2019, Ranger Tyler spearheaded the pollinator garden project at the Capt. Wilbur Kelly House Transportation Museum, located at Blackstone River State Park, (1075 Lower River Rd.), Lincoln, RI.

Tyler, along with other rangers, maintenance staff, and volunteers, removed the raised beds that had been in the garden for years which had fallen into disrepair, and pulled years of weeds which had taken over the small plot. With a clean slate, Tyler was able to start installing his unique honeycomb-shaped pollinator garden design with the help from staff and volunteers.

By summer's end, a few fall plants were installed, but there is much more work to do to fill the beds with a variety of special pollinator plants that Ranger Tyler has selected for particular parts of the garden and ones that will benefit different pollinators.

If you have plants to contribute to the garden, please contact Bonnie Combs at bcombs@BlackstoneHeritageCorridor.org.
Take the Pollinator Pledge
Pollinator Week June 22 to 28
Help Protect Our Pollinators
Pollinators provide significant environmental benefits that are necessary for maintaining healthy, biodiverse ecosystems and play an important role in our food supply.

Help us spread awareness and take steps to protect them.
Field Trip Fridays: Riverdale Mills
We continue our Field Trip Fridays virtual field trip series with a visit to Riverdale Mills in Northbridge, MA.

Learn about this Blackstone Valley manufacturing success story celebrating 40 years as the leading American manufacturer of wire mesh fabrics.
Healing Arts in the Parks
Student Volunteer to Complete Tufts University Practicum with a Digital Oral History Project
Abigail Epplett of Uxbridge, MA, (pictured above in a Zoom meeting) is a BHC volunteer and has chosen Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor to complete her Tufts University master's practicum with a digital oral history project.

Last week she presented her project to BHC staff, Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park (Ranger Mark Mello), Marjorie Turner Hollman (an oral historian and BHC volunteer), Bob Evans (BHC Photography Ambassador), and Kellian Adams Pletcher from Green Door Labs.

Stay tuned for updates as the project unfolds!
Partnership Grants Available
Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor (BRVNHC) is pleased to announce a round of partnership grants for nonprofit organizations within the Corridor that are striving to keep up or advance their mission during these difficult times.

BRVNHC will provide grants up to $2,000.00 for equipment, services and training to improve remote communications (i.e. virtual meeting or e-newsletter subscriptions, cloud-based software, website upgrades, etc.), or provide alternative means of engaging the public (i.e. video/audio equipment for virtual tours or podcasts, equipment to photograph, scan, and digitize collections, etc.)

Grants are being accepted on a rolling basis. To date, grants have been awarded to:

  • Uxbridge Historical Society
  • Asa Waters Mansion
  • Bay State Trail Riders Association
  • Gallery Night Providence
  • Millbury Historical Society
  • Burrillville Historical & Preservation Society
  • Mass Audubon at Broad Meadow Brook
  • Breaking Branches Pictures, Inc.
  • Gallery Night Providence
  • Blackstone Valley Tourism Council
A Sign of the Times on the Trails
Social Distancing guidelines provided by Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation.
Social Distancing guidelines provided by Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
A view of the Blackstone River Bikeway looking south from the Manville Parking Area at 100 New River Road, Manville, RI.

Just below the parking area is the Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone Environmental Center. Be sure to visit the new trail system throughout the 12-acre property bordering the Blackstone River. There is also a canoe/kayak launch there. Simply follow the trail on the left of the property.
Go Find a Picture for the 2021 Calendar Photo Contest!
During this "down time" through COVID-19, consider going through your photos looking for "Historical Landmarks & Artifacts" in the Blackstone River Valley for the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Calendar Photo Contest.

Explore our website for ideas of places to visit to capture new photos. See link below for details and submit them electronically.

Got questions? Reach out to Bonnie at BCombs@BlackstoneHeritageCorridor.org.
Become a Gearhead Junior Ranger
Explore, Discover, Protect, and GO!
Junior Rangers in the Blackstone River Valley are called GearHeads.

GearHead (n.): a kid, powered by the Gears in their brain; who explores nature, discovers history, protects the environment, and goes on adventures through the Blackstone River Valley.

Click through the GearHeads website and claim your Junior Ranger status today!
Submit a completed activity and we'll send you a Junior Ranger badge!
From all of us at BHC, we wish you well and look forward to seeing you soon!