Campus Photos of Stroubles Creek

When I was on campus looking for tree species, I thought I would take a few pictures of Stroubles Creek near the Duck Pond. Blacksburg and VT have made an effort to keep Stroubles clean, so you will often see signage of some sort related to Stroubles if you walk around the area.

These little guys are all over downtown Blacksburg and the VT campus. They are located directly in the concrete above storm water drains. I've seen versions of these in other locations too, that are just painted on. I really like this style because it's not paint, so it won't fade away. They really catch your eye when you're walking along. If you're not from this area, you may not realize that Stroubles Creek runs beneath the campus and downtown Blacksburg, so it's a great way to catch pedestrian attention.

This sign is near the duck pond on campus where Stroubles Creek is above ground. The duck pond gets a lot of foot traffic, including VT students, Blacksburg residents, and out of town visitors. It's nice to see that there is a community outreach program to help keep Stroubles clean. You'll also notice on the sign that it's not only through VT, but the VA DEQ is listed as well, so it lets the community see this is a collaborative effort to clean up the Stroubles Creek Watershed.

The next two photos were taken on each side of the Adopt a Stream sign above. The first one is on the left side of that sign, closest to the duck pond. The second picture shows where Stroubles Creek goes underground beneath the Drill Field on campus. This particular spot is directly under the road. You can clearly see in the photos that the water looks dirty. There wasn't a lot of litter in this particular spot, but the duck pond itself (maybe 200-300 feet from this spot) had a lot of litter along its banks, which could all eventually end up in Stroubles Creek.