Page 8 – Virginia Outdoors Foundation

Newton Neck Preserve, City of Chesapeake

With 90 percent of land in the Elizabeth River watershed developed, the 88-acre Newton Neck Preserve is “a bit of a unicorn,” says Liz Friel, executive director of the Living River Trust (LRT). “In an urban watershed like this one, every undeveloped piece of land counts, but this large parcel is particularly important.”

LRT board member Rolston S. Audain, Jr., shows the audience a sample of polluted sediment from the river as he talks about cleanup efforts.

In June, Friel welcomed representatives from conservation organizations and local officials to a dedication of the property to the City of Chesapeake for a riverfront park. Speakers included LRT board member Rolston S. Audain, Jr., who showed the crowd a cylinder full of polluted muck. “This is evidence of what it takes in order to renew our waterways,” he said. “The samples are coming from a project down the river and represent … a legacy of contamination. We’re replacing [this sediment] with clean sand and carbon pellets that filter the water and leave it cleaner and healthier for the organisms in our river.”

The clean-up efforts are one piece in the larger effort to rehabilitate the river, says Friel. The other is land conservation. “There’s really nothing better to protect water quality than land left in its natural state.”

LRT facilitated the purchase through fundraising, leveraging a $100,000 award from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Preservation Trust Fund to help secure a grant of $1,000,000 from the Department of Recreation and Conservation. The city closed on the sale in January 2022 and plans improvements for passive recreational use, such as unpaved trails and a kayak launch.

The preserve is part of the last 10% of undeveloped lands in the Elizabeth River Watershed that the LRT is working to protect.

Initially, there was some concern among residents of two surrounding neighborhoods, Fernwood Farms and Dominion Lakes, that a full-fledged park would increase traffic and exacerbate flooding in the quiet subdivisions. Once neighbors learned that there were no plans for an athletic field or a concert venue, they were pleased with the project. An area resident who attended the event explained, “The fact that it’s being placed into the trust as opposed to being developed is a benefit to all of us.”

Local volunteer groups have led cleanup efforts, and the city is in the process of blazing pedestrian trails on the property. VOF funding will help with entrance signs, and the preserve will be open to the public this fall.

Friel calls the dedication of the park “a community and environmental victory,” bringing together lawmakers, conservation organizations, and locals in a unique partnership. “The Living River Trust is proud to celebrate this partnership,” she says. “This natural riverfront park will be an essential part of the City of Chesapeake’s community park system.

Read Mountain Preserve North, Roanoke County

Ron Crawford has lived in the Roanoke Valley for more than 75 years, and Read Mountain has always been in his sights. “Every home I’ve lived in seemed to focus on it,” he says. “I guess I’ve always considered it my mountain.”

Crawford remembers the first time he climbed it, at the age of 12 in 1948. He also remembers when he retired in 1996 and built a house 800 feet below the ridgeline. That’s when he noticed that Read Mountain was the only mountain in the area with virtually no man-made structures on its upper slopes and ridges, and when he first thought that the mountaintop might need saving.

One treasured spot along the mountain’s trails is the “weeping wall,” which freezes in winter.

“Back in the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps had built a trail along the ridgeline,” he says. “My thinking was that maybe we could call it a historic trail and preserve a 1,000-foot-wide corridor along it. But then the greenway coordinator at the time, Liz Belcher, came out to see it and she said, ‘Think bigger.’ That was all I needed.”

Crawford founded a citizen’s group in 2000, the Read Mountain Alliance, and started a fundraising effort. “We had hikeathons with 45 to 50 people each time, we made presentations to city and conservation groups. We even made a video and gave it out to help people understand the importance of the mountain. We knocked on a lot of doors.”

The work started to pay off in 2005, when real estate company Fralin and Waldron and landowner Al Durham made the first easement and land donations, totaling 243 acres. Alliance partners in the project include the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy (BLRC), the Roanoke County Greenway Commission, Roanoke County Parks and Recreation and Virginia Outdoors Foundation.

A grant from VOF’s Forest Core Fund in 2019 added 304 acres and protected the addition with an open-space easement deeded to VOF. Another grant, this time from VOF’s Preservation Trust Fund, will help the county add another 56 acres. The acquisition of the additional land and the easement to protect it are being finalized.

The 2019 addition to the preserve includes Buzzard’s Rock and its views of the mountain ranges surrounding Roanoke Valley. Formerly, hikers could access the popular destination thanks to an informal agreement with the owners. Now that Roanoke County owns the property, an easement formalizes this access.

Greenway coordinator Frank Maguire stresses the importance that public-private partnerships have had in pursuing a shared vision of keeping the mountaintop whole. Private landowners, he states, “are setting a good example of what’s possible” in conservation.

Maguire is talking about the Bradshaws, John and Matilda Holland. Matilda grew up on the Andrews family farm on the northern slope of the mountain and has many memories of climbing trees in the apple orchard with her sisters. When it came time to sell, the family wanted Roanoke County to have the property, knowing that it would be protected by an easement and added to the preserve, nearly doubling it in size.

“It’s very special to us,” she states. “We could see other mountaintops with pin cushions all across for cellular towers. I know that the towers are necessary, but we were excited to keep our mountaintop pristine.”

New trails on the northern slopes will add to the existing 4.5 miles of trails in the preserve.

Now both the north and south slopes of the mountain and the ridgeline are protected, but Crawford and the Alliance show no signs of slowing down. The group raised $90,000 toward the acquisition of the 56-acre addition and are setting to work on a master plan for a new trail head and trails on that side of the mountain.

“It’s all about getting conversations started and keeping them going,” Crawford says. “But I didn’t have to convince anybody; everybody I talked to saw this mountain as a resource.”

Spotlight on Paleontology with Ben Kligman

As promised, we continue our spotlight series by introducing you to another member of the Preserve community making a major difference. This time we would like to tell you a bit about BRMNAP’s resident time-traveler, Ben Kligman!

While he may not literally be able to go back in time (that we know of), as a paleontologist, Ben’s work allows us to reconstruct what the area that is now the Preserve looked like hundreds of millions of years ago! A doctoral candidate at Virginia Tech, Ben’s specific time period of interest is the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic boundary. This stretch of time about 200 million years ago is significant as the fourth major extinction event occurred then, wiping out massive numbers of entire lineages and paving the way for the world we know today. A lot is known about how this affected marine life–where about a quarter of all species went extinct–but comparatively little is known about terrestrial ecosystems.

That’s where VOF’s Preserve at Bull Run Mountains comes in. The soon-to-be Dr. Kligman is always on the lookout for potential fossil sites. Using his expertise in geology, he was able to identify a special opportunity for discovery here. The Preserve is home to a very unique bedrock exposure called the Waterfall Formation. This type of rock is incredibly rare worldwide, and Bull Run’s is the southernmost Jurassic sediments in Eastern North America. Even more exciting for Ben, this is exactly the kind of rock that tends to yield fossils from the early Jurassic, shedding light on the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event. As Ben told me:

“[The Waterfall Formation] is a very unique and important chunk of rock for understanding one of earth’s largest extinction. It has real potential to enlighten our understanding of this event.”

Since he began his work here, Ben has unearthed over 100 articulated fossil skeletons. These include lake-dwelling species such as clam shrimp, ray-finned fishes, lobed fishes including the famous Coelacanth, and even evidence of terrestrial creatures like early reptiles. Some of the most impressive finds include entire, intact coelacanth skulls! Animals like this are critical for understanding our own evolutionary history, as such lobed fishes are more closely related to modern mammals than they are to ray-finned fishes.

Beyond the animal fossils, he has found many plant species as well, including cycads and cypress-like trees. This provides an understanding of what the entire community might have looked like so many million years ago. This snapshot provides key insight into an otherwise fairly unknown chapter in Earth’s living history.

Ben will be continuing his work here at the Preserve this Fall. We cannot wait to see what other surprises the Mountain will reveal to us. Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the latest discoveries!

$2 million available in latest grant round for open space projects

The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is making $1.8 million available from its Preservation Trust Fund program and $200,000 from its Get Outdoors Fund for grants that protect open space for public use and other public benefits.

Preservation Trust Fund grants for the fall 2022 grant round will prioritize projects that result in significant public access, but may also be used for projects that protect exceptional conservation values such as water quality, historic and cultural resources, wildlife habitat, and high-quality farmland and forestland. A real estate interest must either be acquired by a local government or conveyed to VOF to be eligible for funding, and protection must meet the requirements of Virginia’s Open-Space Land Act. There is no minimum or maximum on Preservation Trust Fund grants, but historically they have averaged approximately $150,000.

Get Outdoors Fund grants may be used to fund projects that create, protect, expand, or enhance access to open space in underserved communities. Proposals up to $25,000 may be considered.

The Get Outdoors Fund requires pre-applications to be submitted through VOF’s online grants portal by August 10, 2022. Invitations to submit a full application will be issued within one week of pre-application receipt. No more than 25 applicants will be invited to submit a full application. If an organization has been awarded more than $5,000 in a past grant round, the previous project must be completed before an applicant may reapply. Past applicants must submit new pre-applications. A resubmitted pre-application without significant revision will not be considered. In addition, applicants may not apply more than twice with the same concept.

Full applications for both programs must be submitted online using our grants application portal. Full applications must be submitted by August 22, 2022. Grant awards will be announced sometime in October. Eligibility requirements, sample applications, and other materials may be found online at https://vof.org/ptf and https://vof.org/go. VOF encourages potential applicants to contact staff prior to applying to discuss eligibility and seek guidance on producing a successful application. Contact grants@vof.org or (434) 282-7054 with questions or for information on how to apply.

The 2023 Artistic Fellowship (Bringing our traditional folk music back to life!)

2023 Artist Fellowship (Bringing our traditional folk music back to life!)

Project: Reviving the musical past of the Bull Run Mountains

Arts & Disciplines: Folk/Traditional Arts, Music/Sound, Music Composition

Theme: Music of the Mountains: Early African-American folk songs, Bluegrass, Blues, and Traditional Folk music

Fellowship Award: $5,000.00

Seeking applications from artists representing the widest range of perspectives and demographics. While we are looking for some traditional insight, we are hoping we can get some non-traditional perspectives and creative interpretations. We welcome all to apply – from students, to newly emerging talent, to well-established artists!

As the basis for this 2023 Artist Fellowship, we have lyrics recorded from within the Bull Run Mountains by a 1930’s Work Progress Administration historian Susan Morton. With historical and musical accuracy and an abundance of talent, we are looking to have applicants:

Traditionally recreate the four folk songs we have lyrics (but no sheet music for) utilizing historical and musical research and their talents. View the lyrics here.
Digitally record these recreate these four songs in their supposed traditional sound and then creatively reinterpret at least one or two of those songs in a modern/novel/genre bending approach. Or a unique song inspired by your time coming to know the Bull Run Mountains and its diversely peopled past. Potentially anchor these recordings in an analog format (depending upon additional interest and funding).
Create content for a minimum of 6 social media posts and 2 blog post that details the creative journey.
Perform a recorded set on-site within the heart of Virginia’s Bull Run Mountains where these songs were traditionally sung.

Update 7/21/22

Thanks to local naturalist and historian, Janis Stone, the fellow will now have access to several additional folk songs! View the new additions here.

Project Background:

VOF’s Preserve at Bull Run Mountains acts as the conservation spine of the eastern most mountain range within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve protects 2,500 acres that is surrounded by an additional 5,700 acres of land protected from development – in the form of conservation easements held on private land. Given this, it is surprising to some that this mountain held such a diversely peopled past.

Many marginalized peoples historically viewed these mountains as a sort of societal sanctuary. Historic mill operations and the economic gains that accompany them, anchored each end of the Bull Run Mountains. It was the ridges and hollows in between that provided respite to those who found themselves economically disadvantaged, or otherwise outside of the prevailing mainstream society of the time.

There are tales of First Nations People who escaped the “Trail of Tears” by hiding within the Bull Run Mountains. Other tales tell the story of enslaved peoples who found freedom through Underground Railroad routes that cut right through this mountain range. Both, pre-American Civil War “free Blacks” and post-Emancipation African-Americans, owned land, made lives, and raised families here.

As much as this landscape provided life, it often proved to be a challenging one, and people began to leave this mountains’ rugged landscape when presented with greater opportunity. As a result, human habitation began to dwindle by the 1940s, leaving behind dozens of cultural history ruins (homesteads and cemeteries), countless artifacts, folklore, stories – and in a few remarkable cases, song.

This Fellowship is intended to help us bring this mountains’ rich history back to vivid life and tell the stories of the people who made their life here. Creating a new avenue of connection of to this place and our VOF Preserve’s Making History Our-story initiative.

Site Background

The Bull Run Mountains are the easternmost mountains in Virginia. The Virginia Outdoors Foundation owns and operates a 2,350 acre preserve that sits just 35 miles outside of our nation’s capital. Before becoming a state-designated Natural Area Preserve and being managed as an open-air museum and living laboratory, this mountainous landholding was home to many marginalized peoples. For the past three years, staff of the Preserve have been researching and presenting the historical narrative of the Preserve in honest, open, and empowering ways.

Long-term housing will not be offered during this fellowship, as work can be done mostly remotely and we don’t want to limit ourselves by proximity alone, but at least two visits (and free stays at our VOF Research Outpost located within the heart of VOF’s Preserve at Bull Run Mountains) will be requested, as we want an individual who wants to connect to this place and our history. So, while this fellowship is open to applicants everywhere, this project unfortunately cannot be completed entirely remotely without advanced approval of extenuating circumstances.

Application Requirements

To apply, please reach out to our VOF Preserve Manager, Joe Villari, at jvillari@vof.org

Please include in your application:

A short bio (and CV if available).
If a musical group, please list all individuals’ names and their role in this project.
At least 2 samples of your work, but ideally a full portfolio of past work.
A brief proposal is preferred. One that describes your intended approach to this fellowship project (max one page). This should include a short description of why you would be the best fit for this project, what materials you would need (if any) to complete it, and the realistic timeline anticipated for this project

Food Justice Corridor, City of Richmond

Alecia Venable sees change happening right outside her door. She lives in Mosby Court, across from Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, where a new community-focused initiative has transformed a parcel next to the school into a garden, with established fruit trees and plans for paths and raised beds. “I’m watching it grow,” she says. “It’s such a wonderful experience to watch the dream of the community come true.”

Venable has done more than just watch, however. As a Mosby health ambassador, she goes door-to-door to make sure her neighbors are included in the process of deciding what the garden will offer. “I’m in the trenches,” she says, “getting people engaged, letting them know the benefits of coming to the garden and telling us what they would like to see out there.”

Venable’s outreach work is part of a larger movement, Community Unity in Action (CUIA), a consortium of over 30 grassroots organizations working to address health and wellness issues within Richmond’s East End since 2015. The brainchild of longtime Richmond activist and urban farmer Arthur Burton, CUIA has developed six growing sites in the area so far, all of which are helping to address food deserts and the lack of tree canopy that creates urban heat islands. A grant from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Get Outdoors Program is helping to fund improvements to two of the sites: MLK/Mosby and Gilpin Court.

Outreach events meant that community members contributed to the overall vision of the garden at the MLK site.

“We want to make the spaces more inviting,” says Hannah Quigley, a food access specialist for the city’s health department, which supports CUIA by writing and administering grant applications. The VOF grant will pay for raised beds, more fruit trees, and paths to encourage walking among the trees for the MLK/Mosby site. At Gilpin Court, which already produces a large vegetable harvest that is available to residents, the grant has funded a mural, signage, and site preparation for a future outdoor kitchen.

“The two sites are so different,” Quigley notes, although she adds that they are both “steps away” from the communities they serve. “The MLK/Mosby site is smaller; it used to be just a pathway—a short-cut between neighborhoods. It’s currently mostly used for restorative mental health practices and mindfulness during school hours.” Efforts are underway to create a safe space for all during non-school hours as well, with possibilities for berry-picking, a space for kids to play, and a picnic area.

The Gilpin site is a larger-scale community garden, where raised vegetable beds provide food to residents. A portion of the site planted in sunflowers has become a destination, Quigley states, a spot for families to convene and take pictures.

Both Quigley and Venable look forward to partnering more closely with all the groups that make up CIUA. “In-school, after school, and community programming happen in isolation from each other right now,” Quigley explains, “but we just had a re-kickoff meeting with all partners. We’re really trying as a group to pinpoint more opportunities” to align the work and reach farther into communities.

Grant money from VOF commissioned a mural for the Gilpin site.

At the MLK/Mosby site, that means “engaging with the whole family and inviting them out to see what the community is building and how they can be a part of it,” Venable explains. Or as Quigley puts it, “We need to make sure that the kids and their families understand it’s not just their school, it’s also their park.”

Volunteer Spotlight: Michael Custodio

With almost 2,500 acres of land to maintain, it really does take a village to keep the Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve running smoothly. Preserve staff rely on a small army of committed volunteers and research associates and we could not be more thankful for their help.

We would like to introduce you to a few of these amazing individuals over the next few weeks, starting with trail maintenance superstar, Mike Custodio!

Mike volunteers as part of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC), which serves several communities in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. As co-district manager for the Preserve for the past three years (alongside the fabulous Janis Stone), Mike keeps a close eye on the trail system. This year alone, Mike has already logged an impressive 92 hours of invasive plant removal, chainsaw operation, weed eating, and more!

His favorite parts of BRMNAP are the “Unique cultural history, special scenery/natural resources that are off-trail, and most all, the awesome staff!” We promise we did not bribe him to say that.

This is all in addition to his full-time position in the Roads, Trails, and Grounds (RT&G) division at Prince William Forest Park. With over a decade of professional trail maintenance experience, Mike brings much-needed skill and expertise to the Preserve team.

When I asked Mike why this work is so important he gave a thoughtful reply I’d like to share.

“Volunteering, especially in the capacity as a Land/Trail Steward is critically important to me. The spirit of volunteerism is how preserving our lands began in the first place. The special human individuals that came before us, dedicated their livelihood, essentially volunteered themselves, in the hard work of creating our public (and some private) lands for the preservation, protection and conservation of our natural, cultural and recreational resources for all generations to come.”

Mike proudly continues that tradition of volunteerism and generational thinking. If you’re interested in PATC, reach out directly to the PATC team.

And if you’d like to volunteer with the Preserve directly, feel free to email me (tarynbk@vof.org).

Thank you, Mike! We couldn’t do this without you.

VOF announces $1.89 million for 35 open-space projects across Virginia

The Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) today announced $1,891,206 in grants for projects that increase access to public open space in 24 counties and cities.

The 35 grants were awarded from VOF’s Preservation Trust Fund and Get Outdoors grant programs. The Preservation Trust Fund program provides grants for acquisitions, easements, rights of way, and other methods of protecting open space for farming, forestry, recreation, wildlife, water quality, and more. The Get Outdoors program provides grants for projects that increase equitable access to safe open space in underserved communities.

To learn more about VOF’s grant programs, visit https://www.vof.org/protect/grants/.

Grant Recipient Summaries

Preservation Trust Fund Grants

Grantee: Fairfield Foundation

Project: Preserving Historic Fairfield Property

Locality: Gloucester County

Amount: $115,000

Description: This land acquisition will protect 20.77 acres of land from development and increase a greenway surrounding historic Fairfield manor, which was built in 1694.

Grantee: Meadowview Biological Research Station

Project: Caroline Diamonds – The Oak Barrens at Barrel Springs

Locality: Caroline County

Amount: $100,000

Description: This project will protect 96 acres of a globally rare gravel bog, an historic 1840 farmhouse, and surrounding oak barren uplands and add it to an adjoining 17-acre preserve. The site is used for guided tours, research, educational, and recreational purposes.

Grantee: New River Land Trust

Project: Brush Mountain Property 3

Locality: Montgomery County

Amount: $100,000

Description: This funding will be used to purchase 203 acres of intact forest on Brush Mountain and donate it to the Town of Blacksburg as part of a larger recreational area. The project is a partnership between the New River Land Trust and the Poverty Creek Trails Coalition.

Grantee: New River Soil & Water Conservation District

Project: New River Hill Park Project

Locality: Grayson County

Amount: $125,000

Description: The funding will be used to purchase a 30-acre tract of land on the New River that will be operated and maintained by the New River SWCD as a public natural area and be protected from development in perpetuity. The site will have approximately 13 miles of trails, interpretative signage, and a parking lot.

Grantee: Northern Virginia Conservation Trust

Project: Accotink Floodplain and Trail Conservation Project

Locality: Fairfax County

Amount: $63,656

Description: The project will protect 6.7 acres on several parcels of stream valley floodplain alongside an existing public trail in suburban Fairfax County and place it under easement with Fairfax County.

Grantee: Renew Richmond

Project: Farmstrong Community Farm Development

Locality: Henrico County

Amount: $150,000

Description: Farmstrong Community Farm is a project that engages youth and community members in hands-on, skills-based immersion in agriculture, STEM, and environmental sustainability that will promote food access, career opportunities, and educational advancement.

Grantee: Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism

Project: Read Mountain Preserve, North Expansion

Locality: Roanoke County

Amount: $150,000

Description: Read Mountain Preserve, North Expansion, is focused on the acquisition of 56 acres adjacent to the 547-acre Read Mountain Preserve in Roanoke County. The existing preserve has three conservation and open-space easements protecting the natural environment, but only one limited public access point. This addition would allow for direct public access.

Grantee: Tadpole Land and Trail Conservancy (TLTC)

Project: Ballenger Creek Nature Preserve (BCNP)

Locality: Fluvanna County

Amount: $67,550

Description: In 2021, TLTC purchased 76 acres along Ballenger Creek to create public trails. TLTC will place 73 acres of the property under open-space easement with VOF and create trails and a parking area for public access.

Grantee: The Conservation Fund

Project: Dock Street – James River Park System

Locality: City of Richmond

Amount: $150,000

Description: The Conservation Fund is working to create a new riverfront public park on Dock Street in Richmond’s historically underserved East End neighborhood. The additional parkland will be added to the City of Richmond’s James River Park System and will protect the “View That Named Richmond.”

Grantee: Town of Abingdon

Project: Abingdon Skills and Pump Cycling Park Project

Locality: Washington County

Amount: $125,000

Description: The town is developing a skills and pump cycling park to complement the growing use of the Virginia Creeper Trail and solidify Abingdon’s reputation as a cycling community. The project will be constructed on 1.8 acres, owned by the Town, that borders Interstate 81, the Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail, and the new Meadowview Sports Complex.

Grantee: Town of Saltville

Project: Salt Trail Gateway Park

Locality: Smyth County

Amount: $90,000

Description: The Salt Trail Gateway Park preserves and restores one acre of land at a critical entry to the town limits. Recently purchased by the town, this area had been noted as a deterrent by visitors and residents, overrun by debris and abandoned buildings but sitting directly near an important rail-to-trail facility.

Grantee: Town of Warrenton

Project: Preserve Warrenton Horse Show Grounds Open Space

Locality: Fauquier County

Amount: $100,000

Description: The 9.57-acre historic Warrenton Horse Show grounds in the Town of Warrenton is home to the oldest continuously operating horse show in the country. The town wishes to purchase the land from private ownership to preserve the unique land and open it to the public year-round. This would create the first public park in Warrenton’s Ward three.

Grantee: White’s Mill Foundation

Project: White’s Mill Phase II Public Access and Improvements

Locality: Washington County

Amount: $55,000

Description: White’s Mill, one of few remaining operational watermills in Virginia, seeks funds to acquire and improve an adjacent parcel of land to enable public access to a broader area of the surrounding existing White’s Mill property.

Grantee: Wythe County Parks and Recreation

Project: The Reed Creek Blueway Initiative

Locality: Wythe County

Amount: $100,000

Description: This project would create two safe access points for the public to utilize Reed Creek and Miller Creek for free public recreation such as kayaking, fishing, wading, and tubing.

Get Outdoors Grants

Grantee: Afro American Historical Association of Fauquier County

Project: The Morgantown School Project

Locality: Fauquier County

Amount: $25,000

Description: This proposal requests funds to stabilize the at-risk building and grounds of the Morgantown School on Free State Road. This small school served Morgantown’s African American Community for more than 70 years.

Grantee: Albemarle County

Project: Simpson Park Fitness Walking Trail

Locality: Albemarle County

Amount: $25,000

Description: The Simpson Park Fitness Walking Trail project entails the construction of an approximately 2,250-foot stone dust trail around the perimeter of an existing park in the rural village of Esmont in southern Albemarle County, which is a predominately working-class community and boasts significant African American history.

Grantee: Bessie Weller Elementary School

Project: Weller Woods Learning Trail

Locality: City of Staunton

Amount: $25,000

Description: Bessie Weller Elementary is establishing an outdoor learning and play area on a wooded lot adjoining the playgrounds. Improvements to the area will include a trail connecting a creek to “Investigation Stations” designed for nature-based learning. The area will be accessible for public use and open for use by all schools in the city.

Grantee: Calfee Community & Cultural Center, Inc.

Project: Greene Natural Outdoor Playspace at the Calfee CCC

Locality: Pulaski County

Amount: $17,500

Description: The Calfee Community & Cultural Center will revitalize a Jim Crow-era African American school into a facility that will house community programs including a high-quality early childcare center that will serve 100 children primarily from low- to moderate-income families.

Grantee: Camp Under the Stars, Inc.

Project: Overnight Summer Camp

Locality: Prince William County

Amount: $12,000

Description: This project supports an inclusive overnight summer camp serving campers from the greater Washington, D.C. area. In 2021, 40 percent of campers received financial assistance and 60 percent identified as people of color. Camp activities include kayaking, waterfall walks, campfire cooking, STEM, yoga, mindfulness, exploring nature, and outdoor play.

Grantee: County of Pulaski, Virginia

Project: Fairview Home Pocket Park

Locality: Pulaski County

Amount: $25,000

Description: Pulaski County in partnership with the Fairview Home Board is engaged in a year-long planning effort to design a new public park. The Fairview Home Pocket Park’s focus will be on universal design, with a special emphasis on serving individuals with disabilities, limited mobility, and the elderly.

Grantee: Defensores de la Cuenca

Project: Conectando la comunidad- Connecting with the Community

Locality: Fairfax County

Amount: $25,000

Description: Through this project, Defensores de la Cuenca will engage Latino and

Spanish-speaking families to participate in fun, family-friendly activities in parks and community green spaces in Northern Virginia. Participants will make positive connections to nature, learn about the benefits of a clean environment and the connection to healthy families, and be offered leadership opportunities in the green space.

Grantee: DuPont Elementary

Project: Heart of Hopewell Wellness Loop

Locality: City of Hopewell

Amount: $25,000

Description: DuPont Elementary desires to create the “Heart of Hopewell” wellness loop and hub using the designs generated by 5th grade students and various community partners. The wellness loop will connect to a .5-mile exercise loop, community garden, LOVE sign, and social gathering places.

Grantee: Friends and Family of Battlefield Park Road Cemetery

Project: The Battlefield Park Road Community Cemetery Restoration

Locality: Henrico County

Amount: $6,000

Description: To recover and restore a forgotten, unseen, and unidentifiable cemetery for African Americans in the St. James Community.

Grantee: Friends of New River Trail

Project: Ivanhoe Birding Trail

Locality: Wythe County

Amount: $20,000

Description: The Ivanhoe Birding Trail will be accessible for the enjoyment and education of visitors, students, citizen scientists, and the mobility challenged. The trail will be on 48 acres owned by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation adjacent to the New River Trail and the historic Ivanhoe Trestle.

Grantee: Friends of Sons & Daughters of Ham Cemetery

Project: Sons & Daughters of Ham Cemetery – Every Acre Counts

Locality: City of Richmond

Amount: $25,000

Description: This is Phase Two of a multi-year project that will restore the dignity of, and access to, this historic African American cemetery. This will be by identifying cemetery boundaries, rerouting the existing neighborhood trail from the middle of the cemetery to the perimeter, locating a memorial meditation garden, and providing interpretive signage and programs.

Grantee: Girls on Outdoor Adventure for Leadership and Science, Southwest Virginia

Project: Girls on Outdoor Adventure for Leadership and Science (GALS)

Locality: Montgomery County

Amount: $1,500

Description: GALS is a summer program for high school students to learn science while backpacking in the Virginia wilderness. GALS seeks to increase opportunities for students who identify as female or gender nonconforming and are from other groups traditionally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Grantee: Groundwork RVA

Project: Cherae Farm and Community Space at Hillside Court

Locality: City of Richmond

Amount: $17,500

Description: Groundwork RVA and Hillside residents started Cherae Farm in 2021 to grow and distribute fresh produce to residents. Funds will create classes and programming in gardening/farming, wildlife wonders, and cooking/nutrition.

Grantee: Hampton Roads Urban Agriculture

Project: HRUA Farmer’s Market

Locality: City of Newport News

Amount: $25,000

Description: HRUA offers a Farmers Market and Food Pharmacy at its garden on Saturdays and accepts EBT/SNAP benefits. The market provides families with an opportunity to receive healthy fresh food options for their household. HRUA also offers a Youth Urban Agriculture and Entrepreneur program.

Grantee: Historic Pocahontas, Inc.

Project: Pocahontas Town Park and Trail Linkage

Locality: Tazewell County

Amount: $25,000

Description: Provides a park in a former coal town whose residents face increasing physical and mental health challenges. The park will offer children a safe space to explore the outdoors, increase physical activities, and spend time with family and friends.

Grantee: Lambsburg School-Community Complex, Inc.

Project: Lambsburg Community Center Walking Trail

Locality: Carroll County

Amount: $15,229

Description: Funds will be used to improve and make safer an existing walking trail located on the community center’s grounds.

Grantee: Patrick Henry High School

Project: Outdoor Classroom Environment

Locality: Washington County

Amount: $7,271

Description: The project will create a multi-purpose outdoor education pavilion that supports outdoor learning for students.

Grantee: Save Historic Thoroughfare

Project: Ethel Johnson House

Locality: Prince William County

Amount: $25,000

Description: The project seeks to transfer ownership and to continue restoration of the last original standing home of Historic Thoroughfare, a community that was home to generations of free people of color and their descendants.

Grantee: Town of Belle Haven

Project: Town of Belle Haven Park Beautification

Locality: Accomack County

Amount: $25,000

Description: The town desires to provide a town park for the community, while also encouraging revitalization and beautification.

Grantee: Town of Clinchco

Project: New Camp Road Pocket Park

Locality: Dickenson County

Amount: $25,000

Description: This project is the first of five potential interconnecting “pocket parks” that would form Clinchco’s McClure River Blueway. It creates a park with safe and easy access for the public, a parking area, a canoe/kayak/tubing/fishing access ramp, an observation deck, picnic tables, and safety signage.

Grantee: Valley Conservation Council

Project: Complete the Silver Lake Path

Locality: Rockingham County

Amount: $3,000

Description: Silver Lake is a 10-acre, spring-fed lake located within the Silver Lake Historic District in the Town of Dayton. The lake is used by the public for wildlife viewing, boating, and fishing. The lake does not have full public access around its perimeter and the public must currently trespass to access the lake in its entirety. This project aims to create a public access right of way across several private parcels in partnership with the town.

Birding Bull Run with Jacob Saucier

Preserve Assistant Deneith Reif and I recently had the opportunity to join ornithologist Jacob Saucier on a birding hike around the Preserve’s south section. Jacob is a long-time friend of the Preserve and museum specialist at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Between his travels to record bird songs and calls all over the world, Jacob enjoys spending time at the Preserve, where he is currently building a “sound library.” Make sure to follow our Facebook page where we regularly share his latest recordings!

Both Deneith and myself are avid birders, but are working on developing our “birding by ear” skills. Jacob graciously offered his expertise, so the three of us met up to learn how many bird species we could see—and hear—on the public trail system. We started at 7 AM, sleeping in by birding standards, but wanted to get a feel for what species would be active during the trails’ open hours (8-6).

Over the next five hours, we covered several miles of the red, green, and yellow trails. But the birding began even before we reached the trailhead. The Preserve’s parking lot area creates excellent “edge habitat.” Many striking species of bird prefer these liminal spaces between forest and open land. In the first few minutes we spotted the indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea), cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), and European rock doves, AKA pigeons (Columba livia). Once on the trails, highlights included several prolonged views of scarlet tanagers (Piranga olivacea) and the discovery of an active black vulture (Coragyps atratus) nest, including an adorable baby! We also enjoyed wood thrushes, a red-shouldered hawk, Acadian flycatchers, and more.

Although birding was the focus of the day, we also paused to appreciate other fascinating features of the Preserve ecosystem. We came across an American toad (Bufo americanus) hopping along the trail and we took the time to admire a rare living American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) tree. Sometimes being so focused on maintaining the Preserve can distract from its beauty and significance. It was so refreshing to take a day to fully appreciate the wonderful place we get to work.

Check out the full list of the 36 bird species recorded on this hike at ebird.com. By uploading our data here, we are also providing valuable data points for scientists studying bird populations. Deneith and I hope to offer birding hikes like this one to the public soon—so keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram for updates!

Black and African American History of the Bull Run Mountains: A Cultural History Fellowship Report

The Preserve’s brilliant and talented cultural history interpreter Barinaale Dube recently graduated from the prestigious Howard University! In celebration of this fantastic achievement, we are happy to share the completed report on her fellowship work, co-authored by Barinaale and Preserve staff.

Barinaale began her time here as the first Cultural History fellow in 2020. Despite the unique challenges of the last two years, she managed to not only complete her fellowship, but to further her research and its impact as cultural history interpreter. This report contains summaries of her findings focused on three families integral to the history of the Bull Run Mountains, as well as discussions of the importance of Black history and the unique challenges and questions that arise in this kind of inquiry.

Featuring timelines, family trees, pictures, blog posts, and even a transcript of one of her guided hikes, this report represents hundreds of hours of hard work. Take the time to read and you will step back in time to meet some of the incredible Black and African American people who called these mountains home for generations. We are very proud of Barinaale for her dedication to this project, and wish her the best in her new endeavors!

Newton Neck Preserve, City of Chesapeake

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$2 million available in latest grant round for open space projects

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VOF announces $1.89 million for 35 open-space projects across Virginia

Grant Recipient Summaries

Preservation Trust Fund Grants

Get Outdoors Grants

Birding Bull Run with Jacob Saucier

Black and African American History of the Bull Run Mountains: A Cultural History Fellowship Report

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