Cat Point Creek | Menokin: Rubble With A Cause

These words describe the very soul of Menokin’s mission. They represent all that Menokin has to offer, and when they are followed up by “A 500-acre classroom for heritage and natural resource conservation,” you can really get a picture of what goes on in this peaceful corner of the world.

Our mission was really put to the test this week, as Menokin played host to three different field trip groups from area schools. Each school represented a different age group and learning environment. But one thing was abundantly evident with all three. Kids love to learn, they love to explore, and they love to play.

DAY ONE – Tueday, November 6th
Aylett Country Day School, Millers Tavern, VA

Aylett is a small, private school in Essex County, VA, which is across the river from Richmond County, Menokin’s home. The school serves children from Preschool through the 8th grade. Students from Aylett come from many surrounding counties, including Essex, Richmond, King and Queen, King William and Middlesex.

The 8th-grade class visited Menokin on Tuesday. While they toured the visitor’s center, the conservation barn and the house site, the main purpose for their visit was to complete a community service project for Menokin. Armed with cans of orange spray paint, which managed to stay off the students, they hiked through the woods at Menokin with staff members Sarah Pope, Alice French and myself, marking the otherwise not-so-obvious path along the bluff overlooking Menokin Bay on Cat Point Creek.

A stop along the way introduced them to Thane Harpole of DATA Investigations, and his team of archaeologists conducting a survey here in conjunction with the Chesapeake Gateways Grant secured by Menokin earlier this year. The hike concluded with gathering water samples from Cat Point Creek and returning to the Visitor’s Center to test the water for oxygen and acidity levels.

The last few minutes before leaving were well used exploring 21st century uses for colonial toys.

The ACDS 8th grade class poses in front of the conservation barn.

Executive Director, Sarah Pope, explains how Menokin teaches traditional lime mortar production and application techniques.

Education Coordinator, Alice French, explains how all of the structural pieces of the house are identified, cataloged, and part of a 3-D framing plan.

Students check out the tagging system on each artifact extracted from the house. The tag tells the year the piece was extracted, and which number piece it was to be extracted.

Students took time out to work on their scavenger hunt of Menokin’s treasures. These girls examine a copy of the original presentation drawing of Menokin to determine the width of the house.

This beautiful mantle piece once graced the best chamber in Menokin and features a frieze that evokes the image of fish scales.

Alice French stops to explain some of the tools and techniques the archaeologists are using in their survey work.

Archaeologists Erin and Anna (next slide) shoot and map locations for test pit sites.

This tree frog was still kicking in spite of the chilly temperature.

The Menokin Nature Trail is a quiet and lovely place to walk.

Menokin Bay on Cat Point Creek is seen from a bluff along the trail.

Students get instructions on how to spray paint a tree to mark the trail.

Both sides of the tree are marked, for walkers coming and going to find their way.

The group gathered on the edge of Cat Point Creek to gather water samples for testing.

The cold water and slippery bank made this process challenging.

Back at the Visitor’s Center, the water testing begins. Turns out the water is quite clean and provides good habitat.

Students try their hand at rolling hoops…

…and find some creative uses for them as well.

18th-century toys still have the power to entertain even the most modern marvels.

The Menokin Foundation is pleased to announce that it has received $70,000 in grant money from the NPS to initiate planning and design for two public access points on Cat Point Creek at Menokin.

“We are excited to be able to begin the process of making Cat Point Creek more accessible to the public,” says Sarah Pope, Executive Director at Menokin, “And hope that the research performed during this planning phase will also help us to better understand the intricate story of the Menokin landscape.”

Cat-Point-Creek-1 — Looking up Cat Point Creek toward Menokin Bay.

The National Park Service (NPS) Chesapeake Bay Office announced on September 5, 2012 that the NPS is providing financial assistance to 21 partners and 24 projects with a combined financial commitment of $1,363,039. These projects with 21 partners in fiscal year 2012 address education, youth employment and stewardship programs, and public access and trail development in the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network and along the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail and the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Each project is leveraged through additional means such as matching funds, in-kind services, and volunteer hours.

In collaboration with many partners, the National Park Service works to expand public access to the Chesapeake Bay and tributary rivers, build visitor experiences along two national historic trails, develop teacher resources in line with state standards, and expand service and employment opportunities for youth. “Through partner engagement and participation, each of these projects has a positive impact in local communities,” said NPS Superintendent John Maounis. “Whether teaching the history of these places, introducing young people to possible career paths, or providing a new place to get to the water, these are investments in quality of life.”

The Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Park Service administers the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network of partner sites, and also manages two of the nation’s nineteen national historic trails. Both trails are comprised of land and water routes accessible through partner sites, are in active stages of development, and offer opportunities for educators and students that are both virtual and place-based. Educational programming, training in stewardship and outdoor recreation skills, and youth employment opportunities all contribute to trail development.

Trail development and youth engagement projects also advance public access goals set through the Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the federal response to President Obama’s Executive Order 13508. The strategy and subsequent draft public access plan call for the addition of 300 new sites where citizens can have a waterside experience, whether hiking, paddling, enjoying a picnic, or fishing.

Project summaries can be accessed through http://www.baygateways.net/viewrelease.cfm?press_release_id=297

Menokin: Rubble With A Cause

Tag Archives: Cat Point Creek

Menokin: Education, Exploration, Enrichment – Day One

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Menokin Receives Grant From National Park Service

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