High Bridge Trail State Park is offering an outdoor skills program on Saturday, June 22. Participants age eight and up will earn a certificate and official High Bridge Trail State Park patch for completing a meteorology course. Boy Scouts are eligible to earn a weather merit badge. Learn such valuable skills as how weather affects farmers and other occupations, safety rules and what causes wind. Also make an anemometer (an instrument that measures the force and direction of the wind).

Everything will be provided. The course will be presented by J.T. Maxey, Assistant Boy Scout leader of Troop 6516 in Farmville and High Bridge Trail State Park employee. Meet at the River Road parking lot at High Bridge Trail State Park at 8:30 a.m. to travel approximately one mile to High Bridge.

This event is free but a parking fee applies at the River Road parking lot. Please bring drinking water. The course should end around 11:30 a.m. Pre-registration is required and the registration deadline is June 19. For more information and to register contact the park office at 434-315-0457 or email highbridgetrail@dcr.virginia.gov.

On June 22, thousands of families across the nation will gather as part of the National Wildlife Federation's “Be out There” movement, the Great American Backyard Campout. This campaign encourages young and old alike to get outside and connect with the natural world. Spending time outdoors makes kids happier and healthier. National Wildlife Federation encourages families and friends to “Be Out There” in order to give back to American children what they don't even know they've lost their connection to the natural world.