Part of a nine-mile trail system with old-growth forests and meadows, the Montpelier-Grelen Trail links the historic James Madison’s Montpelier with Grelen Nursery, a 25-year-old working tree nursery in Orange County.
Publications
The Piedmont Environmental Council produces a number of publications — follow the links below to view PDFs of our newsletters, annual reports, Buy Fresh Buy Local guides and more.
Remembering Bill Backer
A brilliant communicator, Mr. Backer created iconic advertising campaigns such as the 1971 “Hilltop” commercial for Coca Cola featuring his jingle “I’d like to Teach the World to Sing,” “Tastes Great, Less Filling” and “MillerTime” for Miller Lite, and “Soup is good food” for Campbell.
Mr. Backer’s long engagement with PEC took on national stature during a 1993-1994 debate over the Disney’s America development proposal near Haymarket, Virginia. He encouraged PEC to focus its message on the viability of alternative locations for a theme park in the Washington metropolitan area that would have less impact on the region’s traffic, air quality, and history, and avoid the sprawling development that resulted from other Disney projects.
On the Ground Summer 2016
Find out some of the ‘On the Ground’ highlights from around PEC’s region.
- Albemarle: Key Parkland Purchase, Historic Bridge at Risk
- Clarke: River and Roots Festival
- Culpeper: Working with Partners to Create a New Park
- Fauquier: Help Shape the Future of Fauquier
- Greene: Landowners Learn About Land Conservation and Land Management
- Loudoun: Planning Underway for Loudoun’s Future
- Madison: Helping Native Brook Trout Habitat
- Orange: Gordonsville Renaissance
- Rappahannock: Working with Shenandoah National Park
Grazing Along
A large herd of fluffy, yet still intimidating, sheep run full speed through a gate as they’re rotated to an alternate pasture at Over Jordan Farm in Flint Hill, Va.
“I don’t use herding dogs. The animals are trained to come to me and follow me,” says farm manager and Bean Hollow Grassfed owner Mike Sands, who has over 30 years of experience in sustainable agriculture, environmental conservation and community-based economic development…..
President’s Letter – Spring 2016
In February, I faced a new challenge—explaining the mission and programs of PEC to millennials. I was asked to give a guest lecture to an audience of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania, which included my daughter Caroline, a freshman…
This Year’s General Assembly
Each winter, one hundred state delegates and forty state senators convene for the Virginia General Assembly, in either a 45-day “short session” or a 60-day “long session.” This year—it was a long session.
Good News for the Brook Trout
We’re continuing our efforts to increase the habitat available to the eastern brook trout and other fish species with two pilot culvert removal projects…
On the Ground Spring 2016
Updates from our field offices around the Piedmont…
Bringing Landowners and Farmland Seekers Together
Increasing the local food supply and expanding opportunities for next-generation farmers in the Piedmont depends on improving access to affordable farmland. Many Piedmont landowners are interested in expanding the agricultural use of their land, and many farmers are eager to partner with landowners through farmland leases. However, both landowners and farmland seekers say that it often proves very difficult to make these matches in Virginia.
The Conservation Learning Circle
Nearly a third of the nation’s farmland—301 million acres of U.S. land—is now farmed or co-farmed by women. Some are new farmers and others have inherited family land they farm themselves or lease out to neighboring farmers. Over the next two decades, the American Farmland Trust estimates that 240 million acres of farmland are expected to change owners as aging farmers retire or leave their land to the next generation. Many of these new owners, with some estimations up to 75 percent, will be women.