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.
Conserving Your Land
Find out more about permanently protecting your land with a Conservation Easement.
July at the Piedmont Memorial Overlook
The native flower meadow our Piedmont Memorial Overlook property is almost at peak bloom!
This 50-acre property, which has one of the best views in Northern Virginia, is publicly accessible via Sky Meadows State Park. It’s a one-way 1.6-mile hike there via the Ambassador Whitehouse Trail, but many people make it a 4.6-mile loop that includes a stretch of the Appalachian Trail.
The Relentless Pursuit
In the 16 years I’ve been working for The Piedmont Environmental Council, I have had the privilege and opportunity to help many landowners protect the wonderful natural, cultural, and scenic resources of our Piedmont region. During that time, I’ve never been accused of finding a property unworthy of protection.
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!
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.
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.
Award-Winning Farmer Protects Farmland for Future Generations
This past summer, in an effort to preserve the prime farmland and help ensure continued operations, the Nixons chose to permanently protect 382 acres of their land through a conservation easement with the Piedmont Environmental Council, Culpeper Soil and Water Conservation District and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
A Legacy of Love
Through the Headwaters Stream Initiative, an astounding 3,765 trees were planted on 16 acres the Goodall property in Madison County, including 4,600 linear feet of stream.
Neighborly Effort to Protect the Piedmont
“This beautiful and agricultural open land was here before we purchased Waverley and it’s my hopeful intention that it will look the same as it does today long after I’m gone,” remarked Charlotte Tieken, Somerset resident and owner of Waverley Farm.
The Piedmont Environmental Council worked with Ms. Tieken to put 669 acres of her property under conservation easement at the close of 2017.
More About Roundabout Meadows
Over a 20 year period, The Piedmont Environmental Council has played a leadership role in preserving the historic and scenic landscape at Gilberts Corner. This Rte. 15 & 50 corridor serves as the symbolic gateway to the Piedmont; essentially a transition point between suburban and rural Loudoun County. PEC has defined the vision, forged the partnerships, created the policy framework and actively engaged in a series of conservation transactions covering some 326 acres that is designed to preserve the rural character of Gilberts Corner.