PEC is seeking about 60 community volunteers from Clarke County and surrounding areas to help plant 570 native trees and shrubs at two family-friendly events in October and November.
Press Center
Please address general press inquiries to Cindy Sabato at csabato@pecva.org or 540-347-2334 x7021 — or to the point of contact listed in a specific press release. You can also get in touch with PEC on twitter: @piedmontenviron.
![New Fifeville Trail Grand Opening set for November 5](https://www.pecva.org/wp-content/uploads/Tonsler-trail-walk211004_-Peter-Krebs_9033-1024x768.jpg)
New Fifeville Trail Grand Opening set for November 5
On Saturday, Oct. 1, community leaders and residents of Charlottesville will celebrate the formal opening of the new Fifeville Trail with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:15 a.m., followed by a Community Block Party from 12 – 4 p.m. The ribbon cutting will be at Tonsler Park, 500 Cherry Avenue; the block party will be at the Shops at Cherry Avenue, 814-830 Cherry Avenue.
![PEC Accepting Annual Photo Contest Submissions Through Sept. 30](https://www.pecva.org/wp-content/uploads/web_size_Glow_Rime_Glow_nick_palastro_landscapes_2021_photo_contest_finalist_RimeIceLightning121920-Nick-Palastro-Nick-Palastro-1-1024x684.jpg)
PEC Accepting Annual Photo Contest Submissions Through Sept. 30
Now through September 30, professional and amateur photographers alike are invited to submit their best images of the beautiful Virginia Piedmont in The Piedmont Environmental Council’s 11th Annual Photo Contest. All image submissions must be taken within Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock counties.
![Three local groups unite against proposed Amazon data center and associated transmission line](https://www.pecva.org/wp-content/uploads/Route-29-South-1024x682.jpg)
Three local groups unite against proposed Amazon data center and associated transmission line
The local citizen group Protect Fauquier and nonprofit organizations Citizens For Fauquier County (CFFC) and The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) are united against Amazon’s proposed data center project near Blackwell Road. The data center would sit at the northern gateway into Warrenton, along with a new Dominion electric substation, and would require miles of new high voltage transmission lines supported by 110-feet-tall steel towers, according to Dominion Energy.
![PEC to hold Family Day at the Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows, June 18](https://www.pecva.org/wp-content/uploads/Family_Day_Community_Farm_Credit_Hugh_Kenny_01079-1-1024x683.jpg)
PEC to hold Family Day at the Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows, June 18
On June 18, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., The Piedmont Environmental Council invites community members to a free, fun-filled Family Day at PEC’s Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows, located at 39990 Howswers Branch Drive in Aldie.
![Madison County plans May 15 event to announce and present newly digitized Madison County land condemnation records related to creation of Shenandoah National Park](https://www.pecva.org/wp-content/uploads/L-to-R_Lillie-Hawkins_Charles-Hawkins_Mattie-Lee-Hawkins_and_Marie-Hawkins_Children-of-CHarles-Edgar-Hawkins_circa-1914_Credit_Nancy-Hawkins-Knighting-1024x722.jpg)
Madison County plans May 15 event to announce and present newly digitized Madison County land condemnation records related to creation of Shenandoah National Park
In partnership with James Madison University, and with funding from the Madison County Historical Society, 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 Madison County for the creation of Shenandoah National Park (SNP).
![Renowned author and environmentalist Terry Tempest Williams to speak at Piedmont Environmental Council 50th anniversary celebration, May 21](https://www.pecva.org/wp-content/uploads/2019_Terry-Tempest-Williams_Erosion_zoe-rodriguez-photography-500x.jpg)
Renowned author and environmentalist Terry Tempest Williams to speak at Piedmont Environmental Council 50th anniversary celebration, May 21
On Saturday, May 21, at 2:45 p.m., internationally renowned author, environmentalist and activist Terry Tempest Williams will share her perspective on conservation, restoration and generational change in her keynote address, “The Open Space of Democracy,” as part of The Piedmont Environmental Council’s annual meeting celebrating the organization’s 50th anniversary.
![Now through June 30, Solarize Piedmont 2022 simplifies process of going solar](https://www.pecva.org/wp-content/uploads/Solarize-Twitterw-1024x576.jpg)
Now through June 30, Solarize Piedmont 2022 simplifies process of going solar
Just ahead of Earth Day on April 22, the Piedmont Environmental Council is pleased to announce its Solarize Piedmont 2022 campaign, in partnership with the Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) and participating municipalities.
![Rappahannock River Water Trail Wins Governor’s Environmental Excellence Gold Medal Award](https://www.pecva.org/wp-content/uploads/EVDEGAwards2022HLM006-1024x683.jpg)
Rappahannock River Water Trail Wins Governor’s Environmental Excellence Gold Medal Award
The award honored a multi-partner project resulted in the opening of two new public access points and three new non-motorized boat launches along the Rappahannock—a Virginia State Scenic River.
![Bluebell Walk on Cedar Run is about much more than bluebells](https://www.pecva.org/wp-content/uploads/Bluebells_5_CedarRun_Fauquier_photo-credit-Mike-Stevens_permission-received-for-use-1024x644.jpg)
Bluebell Walk on Cedar Run is about much more than bluebells
This Saturday, April 9, from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m., Mike and Margrete Stevens, the owners of Bonny Brook Farm in Catlett, will once again host The Piedmont Environmental Council’s Julian W. Scheer Fauquier Land Conservation Fund 14th Annual Bluebell Walk on Cedar Run (after a two year pandemic-related hiatus).