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Dear Supporter,
Thank you for joining the Piedmont Environmental Council at Bonny Brook Farm for the annual Bluebell Walk along Cedar Run Sunday, March 29. Margrete Stevens and her late husband Mike have hosted this event for 23 years as a celebration of conservation and restoration, creating an opportunity to educate the next generation about the stewardship of our land and waters.
On Sunday, Margrete led participants, aged 5 to 90, on a short hike to the banks of Cedar Run to enjoy the stunning bluebells and learn about native plants, habitat restoration, and efforts that protect the cold, clean water of Cedar Run.
Bonny Brook Farm is forever protected with a conservation easement. For the Stevens, conserving their land was only the first step of their journey. Margrete and Mike have worked tirelessly to improve the land and water on their property – including participating in tree plantings through our Plantings for the Piedmont initiative, restoring native meadows and managing pesky invasive plant species. Margrete hopes that the Bluebell Walk at Bonny Brook Farm inspires all who participate to take an active role in conservation and restoration in their communities.
View and download event photos →
Margrete and Mike bought Bonny Brook Farm in 1992. In addition to conserving the land in a permanent conservation easement, land management has included the planting of 200 native trees along Cedar Run; removing miles of old barbed wire nestled in the cedar tree lines; the establishment of a wildflower meadow; and the beginning of a battle against invasive plants, including callery pears, multiflora rose and honeysuckle.
These efforts have been possible thanks to help from PEC, The Clifton Institute, Blue Ridge PRISM and the Virginia Department of Forestry.
About the Julian W. Scheer Fauquier Land Conservation Fund
The event highlighted the results of the Julian W. Scheer Fauquier Land Conservation Fund, which aims to accelerate farmland conservation and land and water stewardship in Fauquier County, with a focus on Cedar Run, the main public drinking water source for the Warrenton area and a source for the Occoquan Reservoir, which serves Northern Virginia. The forested riparian buffers along Cedar Run protect water quality and provide an important habitat corridor connecting to Wildcat Mountain. Bonny Brook Farm is one of many protected properties within the immediate Auburn Battlefield, an area that makes up the historic core of Fauquier’s early agricultural history and continues to be a center of the county’s farm economy today.
PEC staff and other experts were on hand to answer questions about conservation easements, the Fauquier County Purchase of Development Rights Program and options for restoration, including PEC’s Plantings for the Piedmont initiative, a program for planting trees along the region’s rivers and streams. We were fortunate to be joined by leading naturalists and local Fauquier organizations, including The Clifton Institute, Fauquier Education Farm and Mary Ashton of Weston Farmstead in Casanova.
If you would like additional information on any of the topics brought up at the event, I encourage you to reach out to PEC or our friends at the organizations listed above to continue the conversation!
Finally, events like this are only possible with the ongoing support of our members. If you are not yet a member of The Piedmont Environmental Council, please consider joining today at pecva.org/donate. And if you’re interested in helping protect agricultural and forested land and water in southern Fauquier County, please consider contributing to the Julian W. Scheer Fauquier Land Conservation Fund!
Cheers,
Bryn Sonnett
Rappahannock-Rapidan Conservation Program Manager
[email protected]
