A grassroots campaign in Gordonsville has raised millions of dollars to turn a decaying facility into the centerpiece of an expanded park. Along the way, the project pushed Gordonsville to reckon with the pool’s segregated past — and gave the town a chance to rebuild something more inclusive in its place.

From brilliant butterflies to cranes by moonlit to magnifying raindrops and the spectacular Northern Lights, local residents captured glimpses of the natural beauty of the Virginia Piedmont. The Piedmont Environmental Council recently announced the winners of its 2025 Annual Photo Contest. This year, 115 professional and amateur photographers submitted 650 images from within Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock counties and the City of Charlottesville, according to a release.

Finalists in The Piedmont Environmental Council’s 15th Annual Photo Contest have been selected, and community members are now invited to view the images and vote for their favorites through Sunday, Nov. 16.

US farmers are facing the quadruple whammy of tariffs, inflation, worker shortages, and climate impacts, leading to a spike in the number of bankruptcies this year. New developments in agricultural science can’t overcome all of those challenges at once, but a new agrivoltaic project in Virginia aims to demonstrate that the new energy crop of the 21st century — solar energy, that is — can help provide a lifeline to farmers and local communities in these challenging times.

All over the country, there are property control fights as our energy needs for data centers, cities, etc. are increasing without adequate infrastructure to feed them.

Currently, there are no data centers located or planned in Albemarle County, but officials say they want the public to be ready in case a project is proposed.

"Data centers are not just a Northern Virginia problem. The vast and growing presence of these warehouse-like buildings housing the world’s computing power has implications for quality of life, land, energy and water across the Chesapeake Bay region. This was the main message of a half-day workshop on May 19 hosted by the Choose Clean Water Coalition at the start of its annual conference held this year in Harrisonburg, VA."

"As a little known company has proposed a data center and natural gas plant in the tourism destination — known for its natural wonder and outdoor recreation — residents are left with questions, mounting concerns and few answers."

"Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s veto of a $1.37 million line item in the Virginia budget, eliminating funding for a walking trail connected to Biscuit Run Park in Albemarle County, has disappointed local lawmakers and residents alike. A major advocate for the project says the governor went 'out of his way' to derail it, and the legislators who fought for the money say they don’t understand why Youngkin targeted such a small investment with such significant benefits for the community."

"A $47.7 million bridge replacement project funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia is facing resistance from local officials and conservation groups, who say the plan could threaten a centuries-old mill and surrounding protected land. The Virginia Department of Transportation plans to fully replace both spans of the I-66 bridge over Broad Run in Fauquier County and widen the structure to include expanded shoulders. State officials say the project is necessary to improve safety and address fatigue in the existing bridge's substructure. However, the revised design marks a shift from VDOT's original 2023 plan, which called for a more limited superstructure repair within the existing footprint."

"As Elena Schlossberg of Prince William County, Virginia, sees it, the community effort to fight the richest companies in the world seeking to build data centers began about a decade ago when opposition coalesced in the early days of the industry’s development. Then, a couple of years ago, when people began to learn much more about the warehouse-like server farms proliferating at double the earlier rate, the fight strengthened with a meeting in Warrenton."

"Chris Colvin spent two years fighting a data center proposed near her family’s historic farm in Fauquier County. Now, she’s having nightmares about another threat to their land: Dominion Energy’s new, high-power transmission line needed to feed data centers outside the county. Since learning Dominion is considering a route alongside the rear of their 268-year-old farm — about '20 yards from where I put my head on my pillow,' she says — she’s woken her husband with shouts of 'No! Stop! Help!'"

Laws are not the only way that policies are set within a state. The agencies tasked with enacting the laws also have authority to iron out details that are not specified within the laws themselves. This is called the administrative rulemaking process, and it offers another opportunity for the public to help shape policies that impact the environmental health of their waterways, forests, air quality and communities.

"'I’ve worked my entire life to finally get out here to have this little slice of country that I can farm, and now it’s like I am fighting for everything I worked for,' Sharp said. 'And there’s a lot of people up and down this area that have the same circumstances.' Sharp joins a growing cohort of Hoosiers raising their voices against the state's rush to embrace energy-hungry data centers meant to fuel the artificial intelligence craze and the environmental impacts that come with them."

"Demand for immense amounts of energy to power generative artificial intelligence is growing, pushing large technology companies into Missouri and the Midwest. Technology companies, like Meta and Google, are continuing to embrace generative artificial intelligence, but they need massive amounts of physical space and energy sources to do it."

"The annual gathering of the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) will be held on Sunday, June 8 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the 7,100 acre Eldon Farms, 4432 Sperryville Pike, Woodville. Renowned landscape architect Thomas Woltz will give a keynote address on the Eldon project as an example of sustainable landscape design that balances ecological health and productive agriculture. The program will be followed by lunch and four afternoon workshop sessions exploring different aspects of conservation work in the region. For more information, visit pecva.org/eldonfarms."

"If only grassland birds weren’t so good at hiding. 'You can easily miss a nest, even when you’re right on top of it,' October Greenfield, of the Piedmont Environmental Council, says. Also a co-coordinator of the Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative (VGBI), Greenfield guides birders, farmers, landowners, and wildlife enthusiasts through Hunt Country grasslands during the spring nesting season."

"Fauquier County residents will soon have the opportunity to tune in to a public hearing on Dominion Energy Virginia’s proposed 2024 Integrated Resource Plan, a document outlining how the utility intends to meet projected electricity demand over the next 15 years. The plan, which could include a new transmission line and power substation in Fauquier County, is currently under review by the State Corporation Commission."

"Each year in April, a spectacular display of thousands of bluebells appears on the banks of Cedar Run at Bonny Brook Farm in Catlett and the public is invited to stroll alongside. The Annual Bluebell Walk will be held 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 13. Community members are invited to reflect and celebrate with the Piedmont Environmental Council and host, Margrete Stevens. She and her late husband, Mike Stevens, have hosted this event for 22 years. This year, the bluebell walk is a special tribute to Mike, who died in February of ALS at home on their farm."

"Washington has the Potomac and the Cherry Blossoms; Fauquier has Cedar Run and the Bluebells. It sounds like a band, but it is thousands of Mertensia Virginica that are about to be in their full-bloom blue, coating the banks of Cedar Run as it winds through Bonny Brook Farm in Catlett. On Sunday, the community is invited to come have a look and see why the color blue inspired Matisse, Picasso and van Gogh and to pay tribute to one of the county’s longtime conservationists."

"The Piedmont Environmental Council Board of Directors has approved three new members this year: Kemp Hill of Madison County, Andrew Gutowski of Culpeper County, and Jane Fisher of Charlottesville."

"The fate of a lawsuit opposing a major development in the eastern end of Orange County will likely be decided in the coming weeks. Late last month, Orange County Circuit Court Judge David B. Franzen heard arguments regarding a demurrer filed to quash a 2023 lawsuit challenging the rezoning associated with Wilderness Crossing, a more than 2,600 acre proposed development adjacent to the Wilderness Battlefield. The battlefield was placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list last year. This is the second time the battlefield has been on the list, the first being in 2010 when Walmart considered a site adjacent to it before moving further down Rt. 3."

"Dominion Energy is seeking rate increases that would boost a benchmark monthly bill by 13.9% next year. Its proposed increase in its base rate for 2026 – the first base rate increase since 1992 – would add $8.51 to a benchmark $140 monthly bill for 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. In addition, Dominion is asking the State Corporation Commission to approve an increase in charges for the fuel it uses, which would add an additional $10.92 to the monthly bill."

"Before a solar developer came to town, Cody Moore was a heavy equipment diesel mechanic and hobby cattle farmer in Washington County, Tennessee. He enjoyed his job but had always hoped that if he could scratch out a living in full-time agriculture work, he would make a go of it. Today, the 27-year-old husband and father of two is a full-time farmer grazing sheep on more than 400 acres of land across five solar sites owned by Silicon Ranch Corporation, a solar developer that operates 25 similar projects across five different states."