PURCELLVILLE, VA, October 24, 2019— The rain on Sunday, October 20 broke long enough for attendees to enjoy Purcellville’s Green Expo called Hail to the Trail. Fourteen organizations participated in this free event which was part of the Loudoun Fall Farm Tour. Hail to the Trail also includes the Town’s annual Arbor Day celebration. During the event, Jim McGlone with the Virginia Department of Forestry presented the Town of Purcellville with its 12th annual Tree City USA designation and 9th annual Tree City USA Growth Award. The Town received the special Growth Award for additional actions in 2018 which focused tree plantings to help restore the riparian buffer at the Chapman DeMary Trail. After Council Member Ted Greenly welcomed everyone and read the Town’s Arbor Day proclamation, he invited participants to help plant four new trees at the Chapman DeMary Trail. See photos from the event on the Hail to the Trail Facebook page.
The Town’s Tree and Environment Sustainability Committee hosts this annual event. This year during Hail to the Trail, the committee officially announced the “Wonder of Trees Poster Contest” for students. This contest is co-sponsored by the Tree and Environment Sustainability Committee and the Purcellville Arts Council. The contest rules and application are online. The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2020.
The organizations and activities that were part of this year’s Hail to the Trail are listed below:
- Audubon Naturalist Society to find creek creatures and use an app to help identify them
- Boy Scout Troop 969 with information about Leave No Trace and a recycling game
- Domino’s Pizza
- Franklin Park with reusable bags to be decorated
- Keep Loudoun Beautiful with recycling information and reusable bag giveaway
- Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District with activities about mammals and about pollinators
- Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy with a Wild Play Spaces area and wildlife identification activity
- Purcellville Arts Council with leaf rubbing and using items found in nature as paint brushes to create art
- Purcellville Library with environmental books and button maker
- Purcellville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board with a nature matching game and a textures in nature scavenger hunt
- Purcellville Tree and Environment Sustainability Committee with a tree identification game, milkweed seed bag decorating and filling, and information about the new Wonder of Trees Poster Contest, trees, tire inflation, energy tips, and recycling tips
- Town of Purcellville Water Division with a water taste test
- Virginia Department of Forestry with the Tree City USA award
- Wildlife Ambassadors with live animals
The Chapman DeMary Trail, which officially opened 10 years ago, is a 10-acre area in the Town of Purcellville that runs along the South Fork Catoctin Creek, part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The area is open to the public for environmental recreation, exploration, and education. The Town of Purcellville holds the conservation easement for this privately-owned property. It is managed through a partnership among Loudoun Valley High School, The Nature Generation, The Piedmont Environmental Council, and the Town of Purcellville. The entrance for the Chapman DeMary Trail is behind the building at 205 East Hirst Road in Purcellville. Get more information at www.PurcellvilleVa.gov.
The Purcellville Green Expo/Hail to the Trail is hosted by the Purcellville Tree and Environment Sustainability Committee, a standing committee that focuses on all aspects of environmental programs, sustainability ideas, enhancement of the tree canopy, and continuation of the Town's Tree City USA designation.
