Back to nature
Rockwood helps suburbanites commune with Mother Nature
By Elli Morris CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Denise Flora reads a story to a group of children during a recent program at the Rockwood Nature Center.

The natural world is a fascinating place, but it can be scary and intimidating for the uninitiated. Knowledge of what's out there, how the animals behave, what is safe and what makes particular species intriguing all significantly improve one's encounters with the great outdoors.

But it can be tough to commune with Mother Nature amid Chesterfield County's sprawling shopping centers and housing developments. Fortunately, Rockwood Nature Center, located inside Rockwood Park near the intersection of Courthouse and Hull Street roads, helps suburbanites learn, explore, touch and discover more about the world around them.

Mostly stocked with native Virginia species, the nature center is home to live snakes, toads, frogs, skinks, turtles and one blind chipmunk. Generally, all of the animals were bred in captivity, but there are a few exceptions, like the blind chipmunk, which are rescue animals.

Various stuffed animals found sitting, standing and hovering in the ceilings of the center allow visitors to get a glimpse of even more native species. "Visitors often think we killed them and put them there. That is not true. They were donated by Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries. They have all either died of natural causes or were hit by cars," informs Denise Flora, the center's recreation activity specialist.

The first Rockwood Nature Center was originally built in the early 1980s but it burned in 1989. (There were no injuries because the center didn't house live animals back then.) In 1993, the existing center opened as an educational resource, complete with live animals. One current resident, the gray rat snake, was probably there for the grand opening. At 20 years of age, it is both the oldest animal at the center and the animal that has been at the center the longest. That snake still earns its keep by lounging on visitors' arms during school or public programs offered at the center.

Visitors can check out the animals in the center on their own, but signing up for a scheduled program is an excellent way to get some real hands-on time with the animals. Every other Tuesday, the center has programs for 2-year-olds, and there's usually a program for 3-4 year olds every Wednesday and Thursday from 10-11 a.m. The programs last one hour and are geared toward what is happening in the natural world depending on the season. The winter programs, for example, include pretending to be a squirrel gathering food for the cold season.

Denise Flora holds a mature corn snake (middle), which lives at the Rockwood Nature Center. Younger corn snakes (bottom) also live there. During programs, visitors to the center are often invited to interact and sometimes hold the center's animal residents. The center hopes to encourage a love and respect for nature by exposing young and old to the wildlife that lives around them.

The center offers weeklong summer day camps for 4-12 year-olds. The different camps include Summer Sprouts, Nature Nuts, Rockwood Junior Naturalist and the World of Herps. The participants "do a lot of hiking and hands-on activities out in the woods. The children are taught about preserving natural things, using their eyes to observe what's around them, and learning to be careful not to destroy stuff that's in nature," Flora explains.

The center also offers nature discovery birthday celebrations. There are four different topics to choose from, and the center can gear each program to any age, including adults.

Participants need to pre-register for all programs, which they can do by calling 748- 1623. A listing of offerings can be found in the Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation Program Guide, available at libraries and the nature center, or online at www.chesterfield.gov.

Visitors not only enjoy their time at the center, but carry away valuable information about the natural world. For example, by seeing and handling the center's eastern king snake, visitors learn that it's a good snake to have around. It can eat poisonous snakes because it is immune to their venom. By identifying the eastern king snake correctly, the educated visitor is less likely to kill the snake simply out of fear.

In addition to the live animals that call Rockwood Nature Center home, there are several stuffed species on display including this great horned owl.

Another example of the interesting tidbits visitors can learn is how to best care for a turtle crossing the road. The eastern box turtle, once common throughout the area, is "really, really in trouble due to people collecting them as pets, as well as from habitat loss. You don't see many of them around anymore which is a really sad thing," comments Flora.

Her advice for the traveler who does come upon a turtle in the road is to stop and put it across the road in the direction it was heading. Otherwise, she says, the turtle will just turn around and go back across the road to get where it was going. Also, Flora advises, no one should collect the turtles or move them to a different territory, removing them from their home base.

Whether on your own, by attending a program or hiking on nearby trails, visiting the Rockwood Nature Center is a great way to get back to nature and learn about the benefits of the great outdoors. About 20,000 people visit the center annually. The center is open Tuesday-Sunday from noon-5 p.m.

Exploring Nature with Small Hands

Rockwood Nature Center is off ering a series of introductory nature programs for 3- and 4-year-olds as part of its Exploring Nature with Small Hands Series. Each session includes a short story and simple craft . A parent or adult guardian must accompany each child, but only the participating child needs to be registered. The cost is $4 per child. All programs will meet at the center, 3401 Courthouse Rd., from 10-11 a.m. Children may be registered for either the Wednesday or Thursday session of each program.

The following sessions are being off ered:
Where are all the Animals in Winter?	Jan. 23 or 24
Where is Groundhog's Shadow?	Jan. 30 or 31
A Preschooler's First Look at Snakes	Feb. 6 or 7
What do Birds Eat?	Feb. 13 or 14
What is the Texture of Nature?	Feb. 27 or 28
What is the Wind?	M arch 5 or 6
Let's Go on a Shamrock Hunt	March 12 or 13
What Do We See in Spring?	March 19 or 20
Who Hatches from an Egg?	April 2 or 3
Does Water Get Sick?	April 9 or 10
What Do We Hear in Spring?	April 16 or 17
Who Lives in Rockwood Park	April 23 or 24
What are Butterflies?	April 30 or May 1

For more information, or to register, call Denise Flora at 674-1629.