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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. 

Bunny in snow with pine tree for shelter

It’s Easy Being Green

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Bunny in snow with pine tree for shelterContrary to what Kermit the Frog sings, it IS easy being green.  Times have changed for the better since that song was released in the 1970’s, and now there are plenty of resources to help Virginians live more sustainably.

For example, fresh grown Christmas trees are naturally green, of course, but they can become very un-green after the holidays.  Here are some useful, environmentally sound ways to make your spent Christmas tree or fallen tree limbs useful.

See if you are able to borrow a woodchipper, or get together with neighbors to rent a woodchipper.  Everyone could chip their tree or other branches to create mulch for under bushes.  It will offer protection from winter freezes, retain moisture, and suppress weeds in the Spring.

Christmas tree trunks can be sawn into thin slices to be used for fun projects around the house, such as ornaments or small signs.  Trivets and coasters can be made by applying a soft scrap fabric to the bottom of the rounds to protect furniture.  Saw different thicknesses of trunk wood to use as flowerpot rests, or to use as risers for votive candles to create a beautiful display.  If the branch or tree trunk is sturdy, you can cut off the bottom and use the remaining base as a rustic outdoor stand for a birdbath, bird feeder, or flowerpot stand.

You can chop tree trunks and branches into smaller pieces to use for next Summer’s outdoor fires.  It’s not recommended to burn a fresh pine tree in the fireplace or a wood stove indoors. The resulting creosote buildup can possibly ignite and cause a house fire.Carolina Wren in pine tree as shelter in the Winter

A simple task that’s naturally sustainable is to place the tree in a back corner of your yard or garden to make a free, all-natural habit for wildlife.  Carolina wrens will shelter there and hunt for insects.  You can also add suet, peanut butter, or birdseed to the branches to feed birds.  Bunnies will also appreciate the shelter during cold weather too.

If you have a pond or water garden, you can submerge sections of a tree or branches to create habitat for fish or other aquatic life.

If you don’t have the desire or space for Christmas tree projects, please recycle your tree instead of sending it to the landfill!  Check with the solid waste department in your city or county to learn what their policy is for tree collections.  Some retail stores and museums will also serve as collection sites to make good use of donated trees for animals or as mulch for area residents.

Small marbled salamander in gloved hand

Go Play in the Leaves

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Small marbled salamander in gloved hand
Marbled salamander

Autumn is a beautiful time in Virginia! The mountains and backroads are inviting and colorful during leaf-peeping season. But you might be less enthusiastic about the leaves that fall in your yard, but there can be a fun and rewarding side to leaf season. Leaving some of the leaves is beneficial for your backyard habitat, and playing with leaves can be good exercise for you, your kids, and pets.

There are so many advantages to leaving leaves in place, and experts are encouraging you to learn why and adopt the habit. Leaves around flower beds, around trees, and at edges or lesser used areas of your yard to provide shelter and food for many of nature’s smallest, coolest, and very valuable insects, worms, and other critters. I had never met a marbled salamander until last fall when I was scooping up leaves to add to a flower bed. A tiny box turtle was also revealed in the process. I believe I tucked them in nicely for the winter.

Tiny box turtle in the grass and twigs
Tiny box turtle

Most of all, leaves shouldn’t be treated as trash. Don’t send them to the landfill! A mulching mower will turn leaves into nutrients for your lawn, preparing it to be stronger in the Spring. Standard mowers also chew up the leaves, and can be a great way to keep ahead of a thick mat of leaves on your lawn.

You may know that spreading mulch around trees to reduce weeds, prevents water loss from the soil, protects the roots from winter damage, and reduces soil erosion. But mulch doesn’t have to mean the chopped bark that comes in plastic bags that you drive to the store to get – in fall, mulch is delivered directly to your back yard in the form of leaves. They’re an excellent source of mulch, and they’re free!

If you’re thinking ahead of a vegetable or flower garden for next year, one of the easiest ways to prepare the soil is to lay down sheets of flattened cardboard, and cover them with leaves. If you still mow the grass another time or two, alternate layers of the grass clippings and leaves on top of the cardboard. It will “cook” down over the winter, providing you with a rich soil as a start to your garden.

Leaves can also be a fun activity for play! Collect different shapes of dry leaves, spread Autumn colors of paint on the back, and press them onto paper to create beautiful pictures. Hide a ball or stick in a small pile of leaves, and let your dog search for it! Or play leaf catch competition with little ones to catch a leaf before it lands on the ground.
Leaves will provide can be so much for than just a chore this year. They’ll benefit wildlife, your garden beds for next season, and mostly time to play in the great outdoors of Virginia!

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!

Winter in VA bridge

Virginia is a Winter Wonderland

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snowy bridgeFree your body and your brain from being indoors – get outside to all the beautiful places there are to explore in Virginia!  Walking and hiking isn’t just for fair weather, friends, it’s a great way to shed some winter pounds, get a change of scenery, and breathe in fresh air!

The winter landscape offers another perspective, such as the frozen waterfalls and quiet, uncrowded trails.  Often one of the most popular places to hike in Shenandoah National Park, Dark Hollow Falls, near Luray, is fairly crowded with summertime visitors.  As a winter destination, you can see the 70-foot cascading waterfall at your own pace, without the crowds. In the coldest months, the waterfall has been known to freeze, creating a stunning winter scene.

A hiking destination for all skill levels is Mason Neck State Park, near Lorton.  They have ten hiking trails that are mostly flat.  One trail runs along the beach, showcasing wintery coastal scenery.

Located in the southern part of Gloucester County along the York River, you’ll find Machicomoco State Park.  There’s a paved trail along the main park road for walking or bike riding, and an open-air interpretive pavilion provides information on the culture, landscape and movement of Virginia Indians through displays and a walking path in the landscape.  So you can learn something and get fresh air!

If you love birds and wildlife, there’s always a chance to see critters on the Virginia Bird & Wildlife Trail, a network of 65 loops.  Virginia Department of Wildlife brags that there are 400 species of birds, 150 species of mammals, 150 species of amphibians and reptiles, 250 species of fish, plus hundreds of butterfly, dragonfly, and other invertebrate species to view in Virginia.  You can choose mountain, piedmont, or coastal regions to visit!

Or if sitting in a comfy chair indoors is your idea of a winter activity, you can look at books about hiking in Virginia, and make plans for warmer weather.  You’ll be exercising your brain!

People reading a sign

Sustainability Matters Awarded $1,000 Green Grant

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People reading a signCongratulations to today’s award of our 2021 Green Grants, Sustainability Matters, in Shenandoah County, who will receive a grant award of $1000 for its Community Beautification project.

Sustainability Matters is a grassroots organization in rural Shenandoah Valley that provides knowledge, motivation, and a peer support to landowners, farmers, and small business owners, enabling them to implement positive environmental practices, support pollinators and wildlife, and grow their own food. They recently launched the project “Making Trash Bloom,” an initiative to plant landfill trash cells with native perennial meadows instead of turf grass. Landfills seal a 5-acre trash cell every 3-5 years, and the land can never be used to grow crops or be planted with trees. Turf grass, the current preference for planting trash cells, has little ecological value.

The plan for the Community Beautification project from Sustainability Matters is to plant native wildflowers on completed trash cells instead of turf grass, turning this under-used area into a crucial habitat for wildlife and pollinators. It will also be a beautiful area for the public to see as they go to or pass by the landfill. Grant funds will be used to purchase seeds and planting supplies for blossoming gardens at landfills.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic and service organizations in Virginia were invited to apply for grants for $500 to $1,000 describing how they plan to tackle an environmental concern in their community regarding Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification.  Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has provided $254,500 for 320 different environmental programs and projects all across the Commonwealth, due to the generosity of their partnership with Altria, as well as additional support from Coca-Cola, WestRock and Keep America Beautiful.

 

Altria Logo

Coca-Cola Logo        WestRock Logo         

 

Garden Sign

It’s a Beautiful Thing!

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This is one of the best times of the year for our organization.  It’s when we get the results of the projects and programs that were awarded a 30 in 30 Green Grant back in June.  Even with some delays and redirection due to the pandemic, people in communities all across our Commonwealth were able to make a difference with the grant funds we awarded, thanks to support from Altria, in partnership with Coca-Cola and Keep America Beautiful.

The West Piedmont Planning District Commission submitted a proposal for a $1,000 grant in the Community Beautification category, to construct a demonstration garden at the Benjamin Franklin Middle School.  The school has an 1100-foot Nature Trail that includes an outdoor classroom area.  They wanted to install native plants along the trail, with informational signs, plant markers, and interpretive material to help educate the public about native plants.

It took six volunteers to prepare the area and install the plantings.  The first task was to remove non-native invasive species and poison ivy from the areas where the native plants would be installed. Franklin County Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners committed to provide volunteer hours to plant and maintain the demonstration garden areas.

Plants that are native to Virginia provide a natural habitat for wildlife and require less water, but need no fertilizer or pesticides.  This reduces the amount of chemicals in the landscape, which maintains the water quality in nearby rivers and streams.

West Piedmont PDC also developed a website for the demonstration garden: https://www.plantvirginianatives.org/franklin-county-bfms-garden.  The website includes an educational brochure about the plants at the garden.   The area will provide advanced educational opportunities for the 6,880 Franklin County students, as well as the general public. Approximately 1,300 students attend Benjamin Franklin Middle School.

The hope is that this is the first of many demonstration gardens across Virginia’s Southern Piedmont region to showcase the native plants and educate students and visitors about the value and need for native plants.

Now that’s a beautiful thing!

Deer

Virginia’s Most Dangerous Animal

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It’s been kind of tough to be an animal recently.  Fourth of July weekend saw beach closures in Cape Cod because a couple of Great White Sharks have been cruising the area.  Little people splashing in the water appear to be seals, and may therefore be tasty.

Yet another foolish human has been attacked by chimpanzees.  If you’re not Tarzan, you probably shouldn’t be sharing meals with them.

A Virginia State Trooper struck and killed a bear just outside the city limits of Richmond, Virginia.  This is in a pretty generic and suburban area, was on the interstate, and just a few miles from a very popular shopping mall.  It was also about a mile from a Starbucks.  Didn’t know that was an attractive bear lure, but there it is.

Virginia certainly has its share of scary creatures.  You can get bitten by a shark in the waters off of our beaches.  A 250 pound black bear is not an animal to be poked or prodded.  We have copperheads and rattlesnakes and little spiders that can put a hurting on you.

But is this a reason to not leave the house or abandon our wild spaces?  Heck no!

The Centers for Disease Control keep a tally on how we get sick or die, and one of the categories is kind of a “Death By Wildlife.”  Between the years 1999 and 2007 ten people died from attack by a marine animal.  According to the International Shark Attack File, only 8 people died world-wide from shark bite through that period.  While almost half of the deaths recorded occurred in Southern States, the majority of them were from creatures that we take for granted.  250 of us died from a dog attack, 509 from bee stings, and 655 from animals like cows, horses, pigs, raccoons, and cats.

Dogs are actually more terrifying than sharks if you look at it statistically.  We love dogs, but almost a million of us sought medical attention last year because of a dog bite, it cost us about $1 Billion, and the dog was most often a loving member of our family.  At the end of the day, though, they are dogs…as are wolves and coyotes.

The winner for the most dangerous animal in Virginia is (in our eyes) the Odocoileus virginianus.  Sound familiar?  It’s the White-tailed deer.  You’ve probably met one.

A healthy stag can weigh as much as 350 pounds, and some have been heavier.  That’s larger than our Richmond bear.  They feature impressive antlers, which are great for goring humans, and our State is loaded with their favorite foods.  They love acorns, clover, corn, apples, and grass.  We have plenty of all of these things.

They are also rife in Virginia.  In the 1930’s there were an estimated 300,000 of them in the entire country.  As we started to lose big predators like wolves and panthers, and as we started to regulate hunting, the deer population bounded back.  There are currently around 30 million deer in the U.S. today, so they effectively outnumber our Facebook friends.  Not that we aren’t trying.

It isn’t their size, dangerous headgear, or population that makes them dangerous, however.  It’s us.

Around 1.5 million of us hit a deer with a vehicle each year, and at a couple of hundred pounds, that’s going to leave a mark.  We file over $1 Billion each year in insurance claims, and deer ticks give 13,000 of us Lyme disease.  We’re big fans of Virginia’s agriculture, and deer cost America’s farmers around $1.2 Billion in crop loss and damages.

We’re not here to suggest that all Virginians need to arm themselves against this deadly menace.  Virginia’s hunters are actually quite interested in conservation and do a great job at reducing the number of deer each season.   And we enjoy a breezy afternoon and watching the deer graze in a beautiful meadow.  It reminds us that nature does exist and is closer to us than we think.

But for goodness sake!  Watch where you’re driving, and if you get scared out there, go hug a shark!

 

golf

The Inaugural Keep Virginia Beautiful Golf Tournament!

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Do you need a little time in the great outdoors?  Do you enjoy a little golf?  Do you want to do your part to Keep Virginia Beautiful?

Have we got an opportunity for you!

Monday, October 10th is the Inaugural Keep Virginia Beautiful Golf Tournament!  We are excited to join our host, Stonehenge Golf & Country Club for this great event.  The course at Stonehenge has been the site of national and regional tournaments in the past and is an exciting Ed Ault design.  Ed Ault was one of the most prolific course architects in America and is famous for his design of the TPC Avenel course in Potomac, Maryland.  We didn’t just pick Stonehenge for its good golf, though.  The Club is also a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.  To achieve this status they had to meet certain criteria in Environmental Planning, Wildlife & Habitat Management, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Quality Management, and Water Conservation.  Now that’s Going Green while Going FOR the Green!

Chasing a golf ball is hard work and we’re pleased to offer some great food for your effort.  We’re thrilled to be joined by The Republic Restaurant & Bar who will be catering lunch and dinner for our players and volunteers.  Why The Republic?  In addition to their amazing food they are a Virginia Green Restaurant!  You should visit their dining room with it’s stunning repurposed hardwoods.  Menus, napkins, to-go boxes?  All recycled and biodegradable.  They even use solar power!  They are bringing that to the course for us.

We still need your help, though!

Care to join us for a round?  Would your organization like to do its part to Keep Virginia Beautiful?  Opportunities abound for Players, Sponsors, and Volunteers.  You can sponsor a hole, donate a prize, or sign up to enjoy a great day of golf.  Click here to learn more about how you can participate!

Enjoy a day of golf!  Enjoy some Beautiful Virginia Countryside!  Enjoy some wonderful food!  Sign up today and join us for our Inaugural Keep Virginia Beautiful Golf Tournament!