Beloved spring flowers showcase the value of protecting land in Cedar Run watershed

WARRENTON, Va. (March 24, 2026) – The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) will hold its 23rd Annual Bluebell Walk Sunday, March 29 from 1-3 p.m. along the banks of the Cedar Run at Bonny Brook Farm in Catlett, Virginia.

The walk, which will be led by Bonny Brook Farm owner Margrete Stevens, PEC staff and representatives from The Clifton Institute, Smithsonian’s Virginia Working Landscapes, and Fauquier Education Farm, will highlight restoration work at Bonny Brook Farm to enhance wildlife habitat.

“It’s a joy to host the annual PEC Bluebell walk,” said PEC board member Margrete Stevens, “The bluebells grow on a secluded bank of Cedar Run where no one ever walks. Their annual appearance offers a happy celebration of the arrival of spring but also highlights the beauty of a completely undisturbed, protected landscape visited only by wildlife throughout the year. Bluebells thrive in undisturbed woodlands and floodplains and attract a wide range of pollinators, including birds, bees, hummingbirds and moths.” 

Virginia bluebells, known to naturalists by their scientific name, Mertensia virginica, appear annually in spring in the Piedmont. Most display a deep blue hue, but some petals emerge pink, purple, and even white, responding to the acidity of the soil in which they grow. Native to North America, these flowering plants demonstrate the value of conservation. According to Virginia’s Working Landscapes, they are considered threatened or endangered in parts of their native range, due to habitat loss, destruction of floodplain forests, and the alteration of natural river flooding patterns. But at Bonny Brook Farm, they blanket the shores of Cedar Run.

The walk is free, but serves as a fundraiser for the Julian Scheer Fauquier Land Conservation Fund, which is dedicated to protecting land with important natural, historic, scenic, and agricultural resources in Fauquier County, Virginia. The Fauquier Fund is named in memory of former PEC Board Vice Chairman Julian W. Scheer, a dedicated conservationist who helped spearhead efforts to oppose the Disney Corporation’s proposed development of 3,000 acres in Haymarket. Among other accomplishments, he successfully broadened the awareness of the need to protect and preserve the historic Piedmont countryside.

“Bonny Brook Farm serves as a model for Fauquier Fund conservation efforts,” said PEC Rappahannock-Rapidan Conservation Program Manager Bryn Sonnett. “Protected by a Virginia Outdoors Foundation conservation easement in 2010, the property is part of a 2,500-acre cluster of permanently protected, productive farms. Across Fauquier County, almost 112,500 acres of land are now conserved.” It now provides the perfect habitat for bluebells and a protected riparian corridor for Cedar Run, a tributary of the Occoquan River and a vital water source in the Piedmont region.”

• Where: Bonny Brook Farm, 8446 Old Dumfries Road, Catlett, Virginia 20119
• When: Sunday, March 29 from 1- 3 p.m.
• The round trip walk to Cedar Run will be about one mile in length through (sometimes muddy) fields, so participants should wear sturdy clothing and shoes. Please leave pets at home. 
• Registration: This family-friendly event is free and open to the public but registration is required on Eventbrite. Registration provides an opportunity to donate to the Julian W. Scheer Fauquier Land Conservation Fund. 

Media Contact: Elizabeth Ransom, Media & PR Specialist, [email protected], 540-347-2334, x7029

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The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) works to protect and restore the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont, while building stronger, more sustainable communities. Founded in 1972, PEC is a locally based, community-supported 501(c)3 nonprofit and accredited land trust. At the core of PEC’s approach is a focus on educating, engaging and empowering people to effect positive change in their communities.