Tour audio Listening to the Landscape: Trees of Ivy Creek

Welcome to the Trees of Ivy Creek
at the Ivy Creek Natural Area in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Our thanks go the Virginia Department of Forestry and the Ivy Creek Foundation for their support of this project.

My name is Dede and I'll be walking with you as we learn a little something about tree identification and appreciation.

I'd like to take a minute or two to review a few handy hints on how best to use this app and once we've done that, all you need to do is put in your ear buds, select start, stick your phone in your pocket, and start walking.

Because you see, each of the stops is GPS triggered and will start automatically as you approach each interpretive stop. This walk is a loop trail with the first half on the accessible paved trail, after which we will jump onto the School Trail. At any time you can take or continue to tour manually.

This walk measures about a mile. Walking leisurely and stopping at each tree, this tour will take about an hour. But at any time you can peel off and get back to the parking lot pretty easily. 

Each stop also comes with images, that you can choose to look at or not. To access these, tap on the thumbnail image as a story plays, and then tap the image again the image which enables you to swipe through all the images.

First let's be sure the settings on your phone are optimal.
Be sure your phone volume is up and that the location setting is turned on. It's also best to download the tour using a wi-fi connection. 

When you're ready to go on the tour, you might want to check to see if it has been updated - that's right next to START button. Then press START to get to the first page with a map indicating each stop. While you're on this page, just check to see that your ear speaker is on if you're using ear buds or a bluetooth and off if you want to hear it aloud. That setting is in the upper right hand menu (those 3 bars at the top right).

The TOUR ITINERARY option at the bottom of the map allows you to manually take the tour at any time and to access the images and text..

To walk it, select start and let's get on our way.... 

Our first stop will be the beginning of the paved trail to talk pines.

Directions to the Ivy Creek Natural Area
The Ivy Creek Natural Area is located six miles north of Charlottesville, VA, on Earlysville Road. It is one half mile from the intersection of Hydraulic and West Rio Roads. (map). Open 7:00 a.m. to sunset.

Please observe our rules for protecting the Natural Area. Sporting activities and pets are prohibited. For an alternative, please visit one of the many parks in the Charlottesville-Albemarle area! (See: Albemarle County parks and City of Charlottesville parks.)

 Dogwood photo by Mickaw2 / Public domain

Resources used

Common Native Trees of Virginia: 2010 Edition; Virginia Department of Forestry

American Canopy: Trees, Forests and the Making of a Nation by Eric Rutkow; Scribner 2012

The Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North American by Donald Culross Peattie; Houghton Mifflin Co 1948

The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter by Colin Tudge; Crown Publishers 2006

With thanks to all those who contributed to the text and photos on Wikipedia and Wikicommons