Moving Out

Trinity has a long history of environmental stewardship, and thanks to faculty members Page Mauck and Michael Stratton ’02, the program is being given new life. The Trinity Outdoor Program (TOP), as it is now named, combines the William I. Snead Virginia Rivers Program with outdoor education, outdoor adventure and sustainability, offering students everything from rock climbing and kayaking to oyster harvesting, water quality testing and gardening. The mission of the program is to connect students to the natural environment so that they become engaged and caring stewards of their local and global communities.

The environmental program began at Trinity around 1993 with Students for Environmental Action (SEA) and the William I. Snead Virginia Rivers Program, and grew rapidly to include things like a river course, a river camp, field studies, water testing and training, gardening, canoeing and wildlife mapping. Former faculty members Bill Snead, Barbara Pearce, Mary-Courtney Kaplan ’92and Vikki Curtis and current faculty members like Marti Truman, Alice Phillips, and Page Mauck have helped to build a dynamic environmental education program that continues to thrive and evolve.

Since Hurricane Isabel in 2003, students in Alice Phillips’ AP biology regularly travel to the river to study oyster mortality. In Marti Truman’s IB environmental systems and societies course, students study biodiversity in the James River at Pony Pastures and Winston Creek (a local creek near Trinity). The 8th grade integrated science class studies the local watershed. Students in Michael Stratton’s river and environmental systems course learn how river systems function and how they are important to overall environmental systems. Students also tend to the campus outdoor garden, experimenting with seed growth and yearround crops in the greenhouse.

Michael Stratton, well-known for his own adventuring, has taken the outdoor adventure component of the program to a whole new level this year. In fall of 2013 a large group of kayakers paddled various sections of the James River, from Pittaway to Mayo Island downtown. “Tristan Kurer-Ahrens ’14 and Ian Tewksbury ’17 are so committed to the sport that they have continued to paddle through the winter despite the ice and below freezing wind chill,” said Stratton.

About 18 students, chaperones and a number of alumni went on a fall weekend hike up Crab Tree Falls to the Appalachian Trail, and then down the Priest trail. Chaperones included Stratton, Charlotte Morris, Sarah Greenlee, and Cooper Sallade ’11. Holly Zajur ’11 and Margaret Via ’12 also took part in the hike. “We have our big five day spring break hiking trip coming up soon!” said Stratton. “We are going to hike North on the AT for 50 miles from Damascus, Virginia over Mount Rogers.” Mountain biking had an exciting start in the fall and continues through the spring. Michael Tucker ’14 and Graham Brown ’15 have proven to be competitive and dedicated members to the sport. “Tucker is a veteran biker and Brown is one of the faster high school mountain bikers in the region,” said Stratton. “Huntley Polanshek ’15, Callaway Sprinkle ’15, and Andrew Greenberg ’14 were beginners when the team started in September, but have since been able to ride confidently on very difficult trails such as the Buttermilk by Belle Isle.” James Gaffney ’15 has recently joined the group as well. “He has a strong background in motocross, so has picked up on the riding technique

very naturally,” said Stratton. “I’m very excited because there is a Virginia High school Mountain Bike league that many of our students will be competing in,” said Stratton. “We’ll be looking for strong performances from Michael Tucker and Graham Brown.”

The winter climbing season has shown real promise with a number of students excelling. “Sarah Salomonsky ’15 and Callaway Sprinkle are the two strongest climbers on the team, both with years of experience,” said Stratton. Salomonsky has recently placed top ten in the region for females, and has qualified to compete at the National Youth Climbing Championships in Denver this spring. She will be competing against the top 35 female climbers under 18 in the Nation. “There have also been many beginner climbers that have progressed very quickly,” said Stratton. Beginner climbers include Ian Tewksbury ’17,

Emma Nash ’16, Elizabeth Pinnoti

’18, and Catie Palmore ’14.

Kayaking kicks up in the spring. “We have about 20 students signed up from a variety of grade levels and skill levels,” said Stratton. “We are going to start in the Greater Richmond Aquatics Partnership (GRAP) [Trinity’s pool] with the basic strokes for beginners, and how to roll. Then we will move to the river for the rest of the season. My goal is to have at least seven kids compete in the Dominion Riverrock [a Richmond festival featuring outdoor sports like running, kayaking, and biking].”

From top to bottom, left to right:

Ian Tewksbury ’17 kayaking on the James River Mountain biker Michael Tucker ’14 shows off his skills Jessica Nelson ’18 climbing at Peak Experiences Madelyn Phillips ’15 and Andy Chess ‘15 work in the greenhouse