Plantings for the Piedmont

Top illustration by Nick Garnhart.

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.

aerial of volunteers planting trees along a stream

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.

Find My Watershed
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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 …
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| | Clean Water, Conserving Land, Conserving Your Land, Fauquier County, Julian Scheer Fauquier Land Conservation Fund, Land Conservation, Managing Your Land, Our Region, Our Work, Plantings for the Piedmont, Working with Conservation
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 …
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| | Clean Water, Culpeper County, Fauquier County, Headwater Stream Initiative, Plantings for the Piedmont
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 …
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| | Clean Water, Conservation easements, Easement Stories, James M. Rowley Goose Creek Conservation Fund, Land Conservation, Loudoun County, PEC Conservation Funds, Plantings for the Piedmont, The Piedmont View, Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative
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 …
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| | Clean Water, Headwater Stream Initiative, Krebser Fund, PEC Conservation Funds, Plantings for the Piedmont
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 …
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| | Clean Water, Plantings for the Piedmont
a green tree tube with surrounding trees tubes in a field during a planting event

Potomac Planting Program

The Potomac Planting Program includes properties in the Potomac River watershed of Clarke, Loudoun and Fauquier counties …
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| | Clean Water, Plantings for the Piedmont, Potomac Planting Program
a smaller stream entering a large river, with green land on all sides

The Land Along Life-Giving Water

This fall, we received two important grants to support and expand our work protecting rivers and streams …
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| | Agricultural BMPs, Clean Water, Conservation easements, Land Conservation, NFWF, Plantings for the Piedmont, Scenic rivers, The Piedmont View, Tree plantings, Virginia Environmental Endowment
a large tree with trees in tubes next to it in a field

750+ Trees Planted at Sky Meadows State Park

In October, volunteers helped plant 3.5 acres of trees to protect the Goose Creek Watershed …
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| | Clean Water, Fauquier County, Goose Creek, Loudoun County, Plantings for the Piedmont, Potomac Planting Program, Tree plantings
Fish Surveys with Virginia DWR

Video: Fish Surveys with Virginia DWR

PEC teamed up with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources to monitor the health of aquatic communities at two of our habitat restoration sights in Rappahannock County: Bolton Branch and Piney River! …
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| | Bolton Branch, Brook Trout, Clean Water, For Wildlife & Fish Habitat, PEC Productions, Plantings for the Piedmont, Rappahannock County, Stream Restoration / Fish Passage Projects, Video
Volunteer plants trees in Fauquier County

Video: Meadows Farm Tree Planting

WATCH: PEC staff and volunteers planted 300 trees at Meadows Farm in Fauquier County on Earth Day! …
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| | Clean Water, Conservation Case Studies, Conserving Your Land, Fauquier County, For Wildlife & Fish Habitat, Headwater Stream Initiative, Land Conservation, Managing Your Land, Our Work, Plantings for the Piedmont, Tree plantings, Video, Volunteer with PEC

PEC’s work on riparian buffers is supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund, which promotes community-based efforts to develop conservation strategies to protect and restore the diverse natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay.