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The Courts of St. Francis Homeowners Association Awarded $1,000

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Green Grants LogoCourts of St. Francis Homeowners Association in Loudoun County is awarded a $1,000 Green Grant in the Community Beautification category as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 15th Annual Green Grants program.    

Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address environmental concerns in their community.  Grants must focus on one of the following priorities:   Litter Prevention, Recycling & Waste Reduction, Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling, or Community Beautification. 

The Courts of St Francis is a 25-year-old urban-designed neighborhood community located in the heart of downtown Purcellville. Each summer, Courts of St Francis hosts an event called “A Night Out” where first responders enjoy a cookout with the community and children in their park. People of all ages and circumstances enjoy walking in the unique layout of the neighborhood, which facilitates social interactions with homeowners and visitors.  

Photo of entrance way to Courts of St. Francis neighborhood with wooden sign and landscaping in need of renovationThe Homeowners Association seeks to make an environmental impact by transitioning the plantings in its twelve common areas to include more native plants.  Working with Loudoun County Master Gardeners, Loudoun Invasive Removal Association, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, Piedmont Environmental Council, Blue Ridge Regional Invasive Species Management, and the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, they have evaluated the needs of the twelve common areas and completed a detailed list of appropriate native plants. 

Green Grant funds will be used to purchase native plants, bushes, and trees to enhance and rejuvenate the community. The current condition of the land is poor and deficient because the plantings were mainly dead, deemed invasive, and incorrect for the space that receives an abundance of sun. The plan includes installing boulders and steppingstones that will encourage people to sit in the garden. 

Installation of native plants that support pollinators and other wildlife will create a beautiful garden that the public can enjoy while walking their dog, pushing a stroller, going to church, or waiting to start their school day. 

Logo for Rocktown High School's Earth Club, including a dinosaur with a rake and garden hat.

Rocktown High School Earth Club Receives $750 Green Grant

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Logo for Rocktown High School's Earth Club, including a dinosaur with a rake and garden hat.Rocktown High School Earth Club in Harrisonburg City is awarded a $750 Green Grant in the Community Beautification category as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 15th Annual Green Grants program.    

Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address an environmental concern in their community.  Grants must focus on one of the following priorities:   Litter Prevention, Recycling & Waste Reduction, Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling, or Community Beautification. 

Rocktown High School Earth Club is an after-school club dedicated to environmental advocacy, sustainability initiatives, and fostering appreciation for the natural world. Their mission includes creating and supporting student-led projects that promote environmental health and awareness from hands-on conservation. 

The Rocktown High School Earth Club’s primary focus has been the design and implementation of a school pollinator garden; a space aimed to support local biodiversity and educate the school’s community about native ecosystems. The club will create bird houses, pollinator habitats, and donate acorns to educational outreach.  Funds provided by the Green Grant award will be used to create educational signs for the garden, and to purchase native fall plants from a local greenhouse. The Natural Gardens sell “habitat packs” that are customized to fit specific environmental conditions suited to the high school’s garden area.

The addition of educational signage will allow the garden to serve as a year-round learning space for both students and staff, making environmental education more accessible beyond their club meetings. These signs will serve as a visual and informational anchor for the garden, enhancing its role as a teaching tool across communities.  By incorporating fall-blooming native plants, they will extend the ecological impact of the garden beyond spring and summer, ensuring critical support for pollinators into the later months of the school year. This year-round habitat not only benefits wildlife but also enables them to maintain momentum and student engagement through hands-on activities in the fall. Furthermore, it opens up educational opportunities for teachers to engage with the garden during the fall months, broadening the garden’s role as a living classroom across more of the academic year.

The increased awareness of native plants and their role in a sustainable garden is an important lesson for everyone.  Thank you, Rocktown High School Earth Club, for demonstrating this important message in your community!

Gloucester Logo

2024 Green Grants Award #18: Gloucester County Clean Community

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Congratulations to Gloucester County Clean Community for their Green Grants award of $750 for their Community Beautification plans!

Gloucester County Clean Community strives to help keep Gloucester County clean and green. Clean Community promotes recycling and proper disposal of solid waste, facilitates group cleanups and beautification projects, conducts community outreach and education programs in schools and for groups, and applies for and manages grants that fund local cleanup and green-up projects.

Photo of a half-pike skateboard rampGloucester County has a small skatepark called Brown Park. The skating elements were installed in 2010 and 2018. At the time local skaters and families helped to paint “Virginia Is for Skaters” on the then new-to-Gloucester half-pike. As the years have passed, the weather has worn out the plywood that was painted and some touches of graffiti here and there have made the skatepark look less attractive.  Clean Community will spruce up the park and make it an inviting and fun place to be again.

With funds provided by the Green Grants award, they will repaint the half-pike, and replace the plywood.  Supplies such as paint, brushes, trays, and other items will be purchased, along with soil and native plants.  A flowerbed with some native plants to attract local pollinators will be added to further beautify the area, as well as planting wildflower seeds around the edge of the park.  High school students, National Art Society members, and other youth groups will assist with this project.

Gloucester County Clean Community believes that this will encourage families, groups and individuals to use the park again, after a period of decline. Kids can use skateboards, skates, and scooters, walk around the park, or have a picnic. It is a great place to enjoy the fresh air, get some exercise, and enjoy the flowers that will be installed.

What a beautiful community improvement!  Thank you Gloucester County Clean Community for caring about our natural and scenic environment!

 

Red flower called Scarlet Beebalm with a bumblebee

2024 Green Grants Award #12: Franklin County Master Gardeners Assoc.

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Red flower called Scarlet Beebalm with a bumblebeeCongratulations to the Franklin County Master Gardeners Association for their $500 Green Grants award in the Community Beautification category!

The Franklin County Master Gardeners Association is a 501c3 non-profit organization that has existed since 1994.  Their mission is one of sharing knowledge and enhancing the environment through sustainable landscape practices.  They use horticulture and landscaping to promote community development, improve nutrition and food security, and provide positive educational experiences for youth in horticulture. The two pollinator gardens that are the focus of this grant award are located at the 4-H center in Franklin County and are maintained by Franklin County Master Gardeners.

One pollinator garden is at the Welcome Center and the other is by the Discovery Center. Both gardens are used for educational purposes when youth are at camp from June to July every summer. Their goal is to make both gardens a place where there is a consistent and coordinated message about the importance of pollinators. Materials developed by the National Association of Pollinator Partnership will be provided to teachers at the 4H camp.

Sunflower growing in a garden, with a funny faceThe funds provided by the Green Grants award will enable them to purchase and plant native Virginia pollinator plants in both gardens to support pollinators and to provide specific, educational signage about the gardens.  The gardens will demonstrate that plants should be diverse, not just in bloom time but also in color, size and shape of flower and plant size. Butterflies and hummingbirds prefer red and orange flowers with longer tubular openings. Bees like blue, violet, yellow and white flowers, and strongly prefer the Aster family, such as Golden Alexander, Cone Flowers, Brown Eyed Susans, Sunflowers, Asters, and Goldenrod.

Franklin County Master Gardeners are dedicated to educating the public about horticulture and environmentally responsible landscape practices. The 4-H pollinator gardens are designed to provide a pollinator habitat that supports and protects life. Like habitats for any living creatures, the pollinator gardens provide food and water, safe nesting sites to raise young, plus materials for building nests, and undisturbed areas for overwintering. They will use Native plants that have co-evolved alongside native bees and other pollinators and purchase our plants from a trusted source where we know the plants have been raised without pesticides, especially the systemic ones, that are toxic to bees and butterflies.

The efforts of this Green Grant award will surely demonstrate results in Community Beautification, not only for the the children and others who visit and learn about the gardens, but for the bees and other pollinators too!

 

Drawing of a garden path with beehives

Piedmont Arts Awarded $1,000 Green Grant

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Drawing of a garden path with beehives Piedmont Arts is all abuzz with a $1,000 Green Grant for their Community Beautification plans, as part of our 13th Annual Green Grants Program.

Located in the heart of Martinsville’s Arts and Cultural District in Southwest Virginia, Piedmont Arts is an award-winning art museum that curates thought-provoking exhibitions by international, national and regional artists. The museum also offers performing arts, from concerts to plays to children’s performances, and art classes for all ages. Educational programming is offered for students of all ages, including in gallery classes as well as organizing events for in-school outreach. Piedmont Arts is the hub for arts of all varieties and arts education in Martinsville and Henry County.

Funds provided by the Green Grants award will be used to purchase bee hives, beekeeping supplies, and bees for the Art Garden and attached pollinator garden trail.

The beekeeping program will take place along the pollinator path, which is located on an area of unused land that runs from the museum’s parking lot to the Gravely-Lester Art Garden. The pathway is made of ADA-compliant crush-and-run gravel to create an accessible and beautiful space that will function as a trail and community garden. Martinsville is a Bee City, meaning the city is dedicated to the protection and stewardship of native pollinators.  The pathway will be lined with garden plots and raised beds that can be adopted by the community that will be filled with native and noninvasive pollinator plants.

The garden will have a compost station and educational signage posted throughout so that even people who do not want to plant and maintain a garden can still learn from the pollinator.  Piedmont Arts is working to create opportunities for local artists to paint signage, birdhouses, and other structures so the garden path will be filled with compelling and beautiful artwork.

The bees and butterflies will thank you by pollinating the flowers and gardens that you’re planting!

Purple meadow flowers with butterfly

City of Salem Awarded $1,000 Green Grant for Community Beautification

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Purple meadow flowers with butterflyThe City of Salem is awarded a $1,000 Green Grant in the Community Beautification category as part of our 13th Annual Green Grants Program.

Located in the Roanoke Valley along the Allegheny/Blue Ridge mountains, the City of Salem, is comprised of 15 square miles and has a population of about 25,000 residents. The City’s Landscape Management Division has a horticulturist at its helm with full and part-time employees tasked with urban forestry, landscaping of municipal parks, schools, and greenways.

In anLarge grass area on a hill in Longwood Park, City of Salem, VA effort to increase the acreage of naturalized areas for pollinators on public land, the City will convert existing turf grass to a working native prairie. They will start with a pilot plot of about half of an acre at Longwood Park, one of Salem’s largest parks.  They will plant native seed/species to (re)introduced into that area. This will serve to benefit future pollinators by inviting a diversity of species and create an attractive area in the park for the public to enjoy.  It will also reduce the need for mowing the area, which will decrease the amount of emissions put into the atmosphere.

Funds provided by the Green Grant will be used to remove current grass, prepare the ground, purchase seeds and plant by hydroseeding.  Information and educational signs will be posted to enlighten the public about the value of having a wildflower area in the park.  The signage will also help visitors understand the slow, natural process and to exercise patience.

Prairies take some time to produce the look that most people associate with a beautiful, naturalized, flowering meadow. Often, people mistake these fledgling endeavors as eyesores or weedy, unkept messes, not understanding that the native plants need a season or two to establish a hearty root system before flowering.  But by year two or three, the seeds and plants will have matured enough to begin to “wow” patrons with their flowers and provide a great food source for pollinators.

Thank you Salem, for introducing the sustainable practice of converting large areas of turf grass into a wonderland of blossoms.  The bees, butterflies, and visitors are sure to love it!

 

Kaity at Parallel Nursery

Local Businesses Sell Native Plants

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Monarch butterfly on Joe Pye Weed
Monarch butterfly on Joe Pye Weed, VNPS Wildflower of the Year

Spring is the perfect time of year to add plants to your landscape.  When selecting plants, think native!

What is the value of having plants in your yard that are native to Virginia?  And how do I know if this plant native to my region?  According to the Virginia Native Plant Society, the authority on native plants, some suppliers will label a plant “native” if it naturally occurs in the United States. An example of this is Blue Spruce which grows natively in Colorado but not in Virginia. While plants such as this will grow here, they do not provide the same ecosystem services as a plant from Virginia. In other words, birds and mammals in Colorado have co-evolved with Blue Spruce so they are able to utilize the plant. Organisms in Virginia, however, do not recognize the plant, so it provides little to no wildlife support.  Additionally, plants that are native to the area where planted are easier to maintain because they require less watering, fertilizing, pruning, and pest-control since they are well-suited for the area.

Fortunately, we have some excellent local nurseries who can help you choose native plants that are right for your garden.

Kaity at Parallel NurseryParallel Nursery is a native plant nursery in Richmond.  They are a majority woman-owned and operated nursery specializing in seed-grown native perennials from the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern USA eco-regions.  They are committed to providing you plant that are:  always bee-safe & pollinator friendly, seed-to-soil pledge of 100% pesticide free life cycle; they use ethical seed collectors and sources only; and finished plants are provided in a sustainable, peat-free, renewable, pine-bark medium.

Their broad selection of sustainably grown perennials allows you to create a diverse and healthy ecosystem in your garden, regardless of your landscape conditions or gardening experience.  And if you need a little help with design, you can inquire about landscape design consultations at [email protected]!  Visit their booth at the Lewis Ginter Spring Plantfest on Friday, May 5 & Saturday, May 6.

Seven Bends Nursery in Winchester is committed to providing lovingly curated, high quality native plants that support ecologically functional landscapes.  Their plants are chosen for both their beauty and for their role is supporting the wildlife that keeps our minds peaceful and our landscapes healthy and beautiful.

Their inventory includes an assortment of native perennial flowers, trees, and shrubs important for wildlife within the Shenandoah Valley, Piedmont, and Appalachia.  They grow from seed, cuttings, and plugs, and supplement with larger stock from like-minded nurseries. They practice sustainable resource use, are neonicotinoid-free, and focus on creating healthy plants that have the best chance at fighting off disease and pests. They grow pure species only, and you can purchase plants online here.  You can also find them at the Native Plant Sale on May 6th at Arts Herndon Lawn in Herndon.

Yellow Black Eye Susan flowers and Virginia mountainsThe New River Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society covers the counties of Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski and Wythe and the towns of Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and City of Radford. Native plants are those plants which have evolved over time in specific areas and with specific pollinators or wildlife that feed on them. Many agricultural crops need native insects to pollinate them. Other native plants including shrubs, vines and trees should be planted too so birds and other wildlife will eat the berries and seeds.  You can visit a demonstration garden by clicking on the areas indicated on this map.  They will also host a Native Plant Sale on June 10th at SEEDS Blacksburg Nature Center.

There are many chapters of the Virginia Native Plant Society throughout the Commonwealth.  Visit this page to find a local chapter near you. Most have their annual native plant sales in the spring, so check out their websites and start digging!

Colorful Autumn Leaves

Leave the Leaves

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Colorful Autumn LeavesWant an excuse to skip raking and bagging all the leaves this Autumn?  There are many good reasons to stop doing this seasonal chore.  Leaves are valuable to wildlife, your plants and lawn, and play an important part in a sustainable environment.

What you see as a messy lawn or an unkept yard is seen as a buffet for a whole host of wildlife!  Earthworms, millepedes, and snails eat the fallen leaves for the nutrients they contain.  This fattens up the insects and makes them a tasty meal for many birds such as nuthatches, robins, blue jays, and bluebirds.

The leaves that are left all winter are also a haven for next year’s pollinators, as butterflies and moths lay their eggs in the leaf litter.  The Luna moth and other species spend their winter in cocoons and rely on the fallen leaves for camouflage, so they’re not eaten by predators.  Turtles, toads and others also enjoy the safety and protection of leaf litter.

For your lawn, it’s easier and yields more benefits if you mulch or mow the leaves and leave them on your grass, as

Orange-colored Newt
Easter (red-spotted) Newt

long as they’re not so thick that they block the sunlight from the turf all winter.  Virginia Tech states in its Lawn Leaf Management pamphlet that using a rotary or mulching mower as a leaf management tool has proven to be a relatively cost effective and timesaving means of leaf disposal and it increases soil organic matter content.

If you’re just not able to adjust to a leafy landscape, consider blowing your leaves into your dormant vegetable beds and under bushes in your flower beds.  You could also send them to the outer edges of your property, maybe at a wooded edge or behind a shed, to create a wildlife oasis or two.  Just keep the leaves away from roadways, storm drains, and hardscape paths.  Virginia Tech also has a pamphlet for Landscaping for Less in the Landfill.

Leaves are a valuable part of the landscape that provides nutrients for your lawn and landscape, food insects and birds, and shelter for pollinators.  Best of all, you can avoid the time-consuming chore of putting all those leaves in plastic bags — which is good for you and good for the environment!

Monarch larva on milkweed

$1,000 Green Grant Awarded to Sustainability Matters

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Monarch larva on milkweedOne of thirty grants awarded throughout Virginia in June as part of our 12th Annual “Green Grants” Program is awarded to Sustainability Matters for their “Mowing for Monarchs” Initiative.

Sustainability Matters is a grassroots nonprofit organization rooted in the rural Shenandoah Valley that cultivates community through conservation education.  It aims to empower community members to change the environment and their own lives for the better.  Since its founding in 2018, it has hosted over 200 education and outreach programs!

Like most landfills, the Shenandoah County landfill has many open areas that are mowed twice annually, usually during the summer. Originally planted with turfgrass, the fields have, over the years, become a mixture of the original grass, vital native wildflowers that have self-sown, and invasive plants. Among the native plants is a particularly strong seedbank of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) that is the main host for monarch butterflies.

Unfortunately, under current practices, the milkweed is mowed down just when the monarchs most need it…and the mowing itself likely kills thousands of monarchs and monarch larvae.

To help reframe the mowing schedule at the Shenandoah County landfill to accommodate monarch butterflies’ lifecycles, Sustainability Matters has been awarded a $1,000 Green Grant.  Funding will be utilized to perform a comprehensive, season-long survey of the Shenandoah County landfill fields, documenting the variety and relative concentrations of native and invasive plants, as well as of monarchs and other insects.Sustainability Matters Logo

The survey will be conducted by over a dozen Sustainability Matters volunteers, high school ecology students, and professional entomologists.  The results will help inform an ideal “Mowing for Monarchs” schedule for the landfill.

The results from the study will also help produce a template for other sites with a similar situation, thus scaling the impact of positive benefits.  This is a win for native plants, pollinators of all kinds, and the beautiful monarch butterflies.

 

Butterflies on Flowers

Pollinator Habitat Garden Club is Awarded $1,000 Grant

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Butterflies on FlowersDid you hear the latest buzz?  Students in the Pollinator Habitat Garden Club at Albemarle High School in Charlottesville are addressing the important role pollinators play in the environment by researching, planning, and implementing a pollinator garden.  They are being awarded a $1,000 grant as one of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 12th Annual Green Grants Program to address the critical need of water in the garden.

The Pollinator Garden is located at the entrance to a walking trail.  When completed, it will be a wonderful spot to take a walk through a variety native plants. The students in the club have all taken the Lewis Ginter web series on growing natives in Virginia.  They’ve learned about invasive species and the importance of getting rid of non-native grass to create an environment that attracts pollinators. They will not use any pesticides or other toxic chemicals to sustain this habitat.

The placement of the Pollinator Garden is at the top of a hill, making it a challenge for students or maintenance crew to get a regular supply of water needed for the plants.  The Green Grant award will install a rainwater harvesting system on a steep roof shed with a gutter that deposits water into a large water storage container.  This system will provide enough water for the native pollinator plants.  The students will also create a sign with QR codes directing visitors to a webpage to learn more about natives and sustainable gardening.Students in new garden area

As well as solving the need for water, the new shed will hold the club’s garden tools, such as the wheel barrel, shovels, and fencing.   Students will create a sign explaining the sustainable harvesting of water. They will also measure the amount of water that comes off the roof and fills the plastic container and track the number of students who work in the pollinator garden.

Congratulations to the students for recognizing the importance of pollinators in our landscape, and for the work they’re doing to educate others!

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