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).
Cindy Sabato
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!
Meet Senior Conservation Fellow Kat Imhoff
When it comes to conservation, Kat Imhoff is nothing short of a virtuoso, as abundant in inspiration and innovation as she is in action. At the helm of Montpelier, Monticello, and The Nature Conservancy in Montana, she led conservation and restoration projects that preserve significant historical, cultural and rural legacies. PEC is proud to welcome Kat into its fold as senior conservation fellow, working out of our Charlottesville office.
Year One on the Farm
Loudoun County is one of the most affluent counties in the nation and simultaneously home to some 14,000 people without reliable access to affordable, nutritious food. It is consistently one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation, and yet over 200,000 acres is planned to remain rural with over 58,000 acres of permanently conserved open space. Nestled among the three roundabouts of Routes 15 and 50 and Howser’s Branch Road, lies PEC’s Community Farm. Located at the literal intersection of suburban and rural Loudoun County, it is perfectly positioned both to shine a light on the value of conservation and to make practical, tangible progress to address food insecurity in the community.