Briar Woods Environmental Science students enjoyed a great opportunity this year to experience and get involved with nature thanks to Mrs. Blackwell.   As the culminating activity of her classroom unit about water and its relationship with our environment, Mrs. Blackwell took her students on an exhilarating canoe trip down the Shenandoah River. The students were taught about proper canoe safety, Virginia wildlife and how they are connected to the Chesapeake Bay by Mr. Dudash and Mr. DeMary of Potomac River and Trail Outfitters who served as guides. The Environmental students had the chance to get up close to things such as an eagle nest with hatchlings, a great blue heron, and a host on macro-invertebrates in the river itself that left many of the girls screaming. The trip was a great once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see that nature actually still exists in Virginia (much to the surprise of many residents of suburbia), and that we play an important role in the condition of our water. Students learned ways to help limit pollution of our beloved lakes and rivers, and most important of all, the Chesapeake Bay.