Ovoka Farm owner Karen Way, of Paris, is donating 10,000 pounds of locally-raised ground beef and ground pork toward The Piedmont Environmental Council’s Farm to Food Bank initiative, which is supporting food banks throughout the northern Piedmont.
Cindy Sabato
Return of brook trout signals promise for trout stream restoration efforts
Find out about recent fish counts.
Historic Rappahannock County Property Records Related to Shenandoah National Park Creation are now Available to the Public
In partnership with James Madison University, and with funding from supporters including William Dietel and Jennifer Manly, The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) has completed the digitization of thousands of legal documents related to the Commonwealth’s 1930s-era condemnation of private lands in Rappahannock County for the creation of Shenandoah National Park (SNP).
George Mason University students to survey Roundabout Meadows vegetation
George Mason University plant ecology students are helping The Piedmont Environmental Council measure the success of our wetlands restoration effort at Roundabout Meadows. With a grant from the Virginia Native Plant Society, the students are establishing a baseline dataset by collecting and identifying all plant species there.
Final Property Acquired for Gordonsville Town-to-Trail Initiative
Big news for the Town-to-Trail initiative.
The Piedmont Environmental Council connects local beef farmers with local food pantries during pandemic shortage
In partnership with American Farmland Trust, Seven Hills Food Co, and 4P Foods, The Piedmont Environmental Council is providing 800 pounds of beef to four food banks in Fauquier, Orange, Madison and Culpeper counties. PEC has raised philanthropic support, including a $2,500 gift from American Farmland Trust, to help source the beef from Culpeper’s Locust Dale Cattle Company, which is a pilot producer in AFT’s Sustainable Grazing Project.
Turning a page on involuntary land loss
In 2020, Virginia proudly became the 16th state to pass the Uniform Partition of Heirs’ Property Act.
Standing the Test of Time
When Bob and Carroll Gilges retired in 1996 from a life filled to the brim with the adventures and demands of career, raising three daughters, travel, and many moves, they found their slice of heaven in the heavily wooded northern slope of Buck’s Elbow Mountain, mere miles from Shenandoah National Park and along the bank of the Moormans River in Albemarle County’s historic Sugar Hollow and near White Hall.
Strengthening Local Food Systems
Early one May morning, a Maola Dairy delivery truck took an unusual turn through the gates and into the parking lot of the Fauquier Community Food Bank. Nearby, Director Sharon Ames’ excitement was palpable as she jumped up and down, hands clapping, smile as wide as the gates swung open that day. Since the coronavirus pandemic, Ames said the food bank has had to turn away families in search of milk more often than they’ve been able to provide it.
Spring at Roundabout Meadows
Alot is going on, at and around our 141-acre Roundabout Meadows property at Gilberts Corner in Loudoun County. We’ve got a new trail opening, the second season for the Community Farm and news to share about the market property at the northeast corner!