Plantings for the Piedmont

Have you seen the ribbon of green growing along a stream, edging fields and mountains with vibrant life? What you are looking at is a riparian buffer, an essential part of our ecosystem in Virginia’s Piedmont.

Riparian buffers are the vegetated areas along rivers, streams, creeks, and other waterways. These areas are the single most effective means of protecting water quality throughout the Chesapeake Bay. With healthy riparian buffers, we can ensure the water we drink throughout the watershed is clean and can be a sustainable resource for future generations.

Numerous programs across our nine-county region provide free technical assistance, project design, materials, and labor for the planting of native trees and shrubs in riparian zones on qualifying properties.

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a woman plants a tree

Calling Volunteers: White Post, Berryville tree plantings help make water cleaner in the Potomac watershed

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 …
multiple volunteers in a grassy field planting tree saplings

Fall tree plantings + Orvis Giveback days

As PEC’s Tree Planting and Stewardship Coordinator, I’d like to invite you to join our conservation team this fall to plant native trees and shrubs along waterways in the Virginia Piedmont. We’re looking for volunteers …
a young woman plants a tree sapling in dirt

Fall 2022 Tree Planting Opportunities

We’re so excited to announce four volunteer tree plantings for the fall! Planting native trees and shrubs along streams, rivers, and ponds – also known as riparian buffers – is a way to help clean …
Woman Plants Tree
a man and woman stand side beside on a farm property

Planting Trees at Thunder Lane Farm for Earth Month

PEC’s Maggi Blomstrom stands with the farm owner. Credit Hugh Kenny/PEC On Thursday, April 14 and Friday, April 15, 23 volunteers joined The Piedmont Environmental Council at Thunder Lane Farm in Culpeper, VA for an …
Bluebell flowers on the banks of Cedar Run

2022 Bluebell Walk

On April 9, 2022, The Piedmont Environmental Council’s Julian W. Scheer Fauquier Land Conservation Fund hosted its annual “Bluebell Walk on Cedar Run” at Bonny Brook Farm in Catlett, VA …
two volunteers plant a tree in a grassy field

April Tree Planting Opportunities

For the month of April, we have three new and fast-approaching volunteer opportunities to help us plant trees …
aerial view of a meandering stream through two fields in a rural landscape during autumn

Re-aligning Land and Nature at the Holden Farm in Loudoun County

In 2021, the Holdens partnered with The Piedmont Environmental Council to permanently conserve their rolling 35-acre farm just south of the historic Quaker village of Lincoln …
a young woman plants a tree

Rappahannock Headwater Stream Initiative

The Headwater Stream Initiative is a joint project of The Piedmont Environmental Council and Friends of the Rappahannock …
a woman and child plant a tree together

James River Buffer Program

Our partners at the James River Association, Virginia Department of Forestry, and Chesapeake Bay Foundation are working with landowners across the middle and upper James watershed to restore or create forest buffers that improve the …