Banbury Cross Reserve is the first major cluster subdivision application in at least 10 years in the AR-2 Rural Policy Area to move forward. It sets a precedent for other developers who may contemplate larger scale residential subdivision opportunities in the area. PEC remains concerned with the unnecessary impacts of intensive rural housing development associated with the proposal.
PEC
Whiteoak Canyon Trailhead
SYRIA, VA: The new 35-foot span bridge across Cedar Run offers hikers and nature-loving community members improved access to the popular Whiteoak Canyon trailhead and opening up three miles of stream habitat to native fish for the first time in decades. The effort is a public-private partnership between Shenandoah National Park, The Piedmont Environmental Council, Trout Unlimited, and the local landowners, the Graves family.
From the Blue Ridge to the Bay
In June, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, working with the Montpelier Foundation, donated three conservation easements to PEC that permanently protected 1,024 acres at James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange County, Virginia. Thanks to a generous gift from the Mars family, the three easements will ensure the protection of agricultural resources, forest resources, scenic open space, historic landscapes and views, and wildlife habitat that exist on the property.
On The Ground – Fall 2019
Updates from around the PEC region, organized by county.
Train, bus, or something new? Australian professor talks Trackless Trams
As the population of Albemarle and Charlottesville continues to rise, a world-renowned professor of sustainability is encouraging us to imagine how a new generation of mass transportation could help create even better places to live.
Let There Be Fruits and Veggies
The Piedmont Environmental Council’s Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows was founded with two ideas in mind: to connect residents to Loudoun’s vital agricultural economy and to provide locally grown fruits and vegetables for its food-insecure families.
Albemarle County Reaches Conservation Milestone
Only the second locality in the state to reach such a milestone, Albemarle County surpassed 100,000 acres of land permanently protected by conservation easements! In 2018, an additional 1,055 acres were protected in the county, bringing the grand total to 100,629 acres.
On the Ground — Spring 2019
Updates from around the PEC region, organized by county. Albemarle: Housing and Connectivity. Clarke: Water Quality and Conservation Luncheon. Culpeper: White Farm Conserved and PDR Program. Fauquier: Transportation Fixes and New Cell Tower Regulations. Greene: Putting Stanardsville on the Map. Loudoun: Trails, Comprehensive Plan, Roundabout Meadows and Easement Program. Madison: Planning Commission Tackles Utility-Scale Solar. Orange: Healthy Watershed Pilot Program. Rappahannock: Rappahannock County Park: Attacking Invasives and Planting Natives
Dana Melby
Dana joined The Piedmont Environmental Council in October 2018. She is serving as the Gilberts Corner Farm & Land Manager, working at Roundabout Meadows Community Farm to create a more inclusive, equitable food system in Loudoun County.
Larson Native Plant Garden Opening
With umbrellas in hand, attendees of the Larson Native Plant Garden Reception ventured out to admire the well-designed landscape around PEC’s headquarters office in Warrenton, Va. Named in honor of the organization’s former vice president, Doug Larson, the visionary of the project, the garden has 118 species of native perennials, woodies and grasses.
“It’s already proving to be an educational tool,” says Doug. “People in our beautiful front yard were reading the names of the plants and really taking it all in; and that’s just folks walking down the street. I think it’s going to show people in Warrenton what they can do with native plants.”