Photo By Sgt. Miranda DeKorte | From the left U.S. Marine Corps Col. Jenny Colegate, the commanding officer of Marine...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – U.S. Marine Corps Col. Jenny Colegate, Commanding Officer of MCB Quantico, service members, and community members celebrated the annual Bluebell Festival at Merrimac Farm in Nokesville, March 30.
“We have a soft side to Marine Corps Base Quantico and that is our environmental side,” said Colegate. “We do a lot of conservation efforts with our partners so we can help bring things to life like Merrimac Farm.”
The Bluebell Festival is an annual event that is held around the peak blooming period of the Virginia bluebell, around the start of the Spring season. It promotes conservation awareness and informs the local community about the native wildlife of Prince William County. Additionally, the festival celebrates a partnership between MCB Quantico, Prince William Conservation Alliance, and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which began preservation of Merrimac Farm and its bluebell flowers in 2008.
“In this region we hear a lot about the cherry blossoms,” said Ashley Studholme, the executive director of the PWCA. “While they’re undeniably beautiful, there is something magical about immersing yourself in our native spring ephemera that you get with a sense of the bluebells that make this place special.”
“This is the kind of vision that we need more of throughout our county, and we get there by working together,” said Studholme.
Merrimac Farm encompasses about 300 acres of land that includes wetlands, floodplains, and vernal pools that create preferential conditions for a diverse number of flora and fauna to flourish – specifically the Virginia Bluebell.
The Bluebell Trail is a two-mile walking trail which allows visitors to partake in the plant life and viewing of the bluebell blooms in the floodplains of the Cedar Run shoreline. From a distance, people can the bluebell glow blue as it rests in sunlight at a distance.
Local vendors, exhibitors, and volunteers conducted local tours, set up displays, and informed visitors of local programs and volunteer opportunities.
“I found [the festival] to be informative,” said Lucas Frazee, a resident of PWC and first-time visitor of the Bluebell Festival. “The space was beautiful. The coordinators were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about sharing, and I think that the event is going to be a yearly visit for me [now].”
To experience Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area, please visit https://pwconserve.org/staging/3382. To volunteer with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources visit https://dwr.virginia.gov/volunteer.
| Date Taken: | 04.01.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2025 14:54 |
| Story ID: | 494281 |
| Location: | NOKESVILLE, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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