Homeowners need to get involved with their HOAs to ensure they avoid the use of invasive plants. There are several ways individuals can take action to do so, such as attending meetings, contacting the board members, serving on a committee, and creating volunteer events.
Restoring Wildlife Habitat
Whether you live in urban, suburban or rural areas, you can make a positive impact on surrounding fish and wildlife populations. Our web resources are intended to give you the tools to manage your Piedmont lands and waters for greater biodiversity, productivity, and environmental quality.
Stopping Invasive Species at the Source: What to Avoid at Garden Centers
One of the best things you can do to control invasive species in your area is avoid purchasing them in the first place. There are currently no restrictions on the sale of invasive species in Virginia and DC, so the responsibility falls on the consumer to avoid purchasing these invasive plants.
A Sanctuary, A Pollinator Garden
“This native plant garden provides important food and shelter for pollinators, birds and other wildlife,” reads a sign introducing a small but impactful plot of brightly colored flowers.
The Aviary
My home office is in a barn, which means I get to interact daily with the resident barn swallows, Hirundo rustica. Their Latin name means “from the country,” an emblematic moniker that I wish I could stick on the end of my name or title somehow… Swooping, diving, and catching their food in mid-air, they are a wonderful distraction for me to engage in.
Video: Orvis Giveback Days for Bolton Branch
In May, The Piedmont Environmental Council teamed up with Orvis to raise money to restore two miles of brook trout stream habitat on Bolton Branch in Rappahannock County.
Piedmont Grassland Bird Initiative
Native grasslands have suffered the most intense impact by humans of any of North America’s terrestrial ecosystems, resulting in grassland-associated birds experiencing a steeper, more consistent decline than any other guild of birds. Decades of increasingly intensive agriculture have reshaped the habitats that these grassland birds rely upon.
Beavers Are a Stream’s Best Friend
Did you know that beavers only eat the bark off branches? Well, sometimes they eat the buds and roots of their favorite trees, like willow, maple, poplar, beech, birch, alder and aspen trees.
June 24 – Conservation and Collaboration Quarterly Keynote
Although this past year has kept us physically apart, conservation and our collaborative partnerships have continued to work throughout, producing some amazing results. This is why I’m so excited to invite you to our second virtual Quarterly Keynote on June 24 that The Piedmont Environmental Council is co-hosting with our friends at the Shenandoah National Park Trust and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Virginia Working Landscapes!
Trout Stream Restoration Gifts Doubled Through May 31
Through May, we’ve teamed up with Orvis to raise money to restore two miles of brook trout stream habitat on Bolton Branch in Rappahannock County. Receive a $10 store coupon when you donate $10 or more at the register in any of the four NoVA locations: Leesburg, Arlington, Tysons and Woodbridge. Your gift will be matched dollar for dollar up to $10,000!
Brook Trout: Gems of the Piedmont Webinar + Resources
On April 29, 2021, the National Sporting Library & Museum held a public webinar with staff from PEC about the the work being done to restore habitat for the brook trout. Check out the recording below, as well as a list of helpful resources. Check out more of NSLM’s events on their website at nationalsporting.org.