The Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) this week announced $2,099,672 in grants for 11 open-space conservation projects.
The grants were awarded from VOF’s Preservation Trust Fund, which provides grants for the protection of open space for farming, forestry, recreation, wildlife, water quality, and more. To learn more about VOF’s grant programs, visit https://www.vof.org/protect/grants/.
Grant Recipient Summaries
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Grantee: Boxerwood Education Association, Inc.
- Project Title: Boxerwood Nature Center Expansion & Preservation
- Locality: Rockbridge County
- Grant Amount: $270,600.00
Description: The Boxerwood Education Association, Inc. received a grant to expand its 20-acre Woodland Garden through the fee-simple purchase and addition of 10.38 acres to an existing Virginia Department of Historic Resources easement on the Boxerwood property. Boxerwood advances its mission to educate and inspire people of all ages to be Earth stewards through environmental education programs and public access to Woodland Garden. This project will increase public access to natural space and Boxerwood’s programmatic capacity.
- Grantee: Bryant Land Company
- Project Title: Bryant Land Company
- Locality: Southampton County
- Grant Amount: $125,000.00
Description: The Bryant Land Company, a multi-generational family-owned business, proposes the purchase of an easement on their farm, located just south of Courtland, Virginia. The family grows soybeans, peanuts, and cotton in a rotational mix. The farm includes over a mile of road frontage and old-growth cypress wetlands, which support a wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic species.
- Grantee: Calloway
- Project Title: Richlands Farm
- Locality: Culpeper County
- Grant Amount: $168,500.00
Description: The purchase of an easement will permanently protect the historic, scenic, and natural resource values found on this working farm. With over a mile of frontage on the Rappahannock River directly downstream from a public boat launch, the farm provides significant scenic enjoyment to the public. Located in both battlefield study and battlefield core areas and between two sections of the new Culpeper Battlefield State Park, the property is also adjacent to existing easements. Protection of this property will result in a block of approximately 7,300 acres of conserved land.
- Grantee: Chad Stevenson
- Project Title: Chad and Jessica Stevenson
- Locality: Smyth County
- Grant Amount: $240,000.00
Description: This grant will fund the protection of the Stevenson farm in Smyth County. Located in rural Rich Valley, this property’s northern boundary fronts the North Fork Holston River for over one mile, and the property itself provides habitat for numerous rare and endangered species. The protection of this property will form a block of nearly 2,500 contiguous acres under easement, preserving rich farmland and high elevation forests in Smyth County.
- Grantee: City of Danville
- Project Title: Riverwalk Trailhead Access Project
- Locality: City of Danville
- Grant Amount: $260,000.00
Description: The City of Danville seeks a PTF grant to acquire two strategically located parcels to establish a new Riverwalk Trail trailhead and preserve a critical future connection between existing trail segments. Currently, trail users must travel along a busy roadway without sidewalks to move between sections of the trail. This project will expand public access, improve safety, and support the city’s long-term vision for a fully connected Riverwalk Trail system.
- Grantee: Crystal Springs Land LLC
- Project Title: Crystal Springs Farm
- Locality: Sussex County
- Grant Amount: $125,000.00
Description: This proposed purchase of an open-space easement on a 465-acre property represents a high-priority conservation opportunity within the Albemarle Sound watershed, protecting agricultural, forestal, ecological, scenic, and cultural resources. The property contains 304 acres of habitat rated as outstanding by the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Virginia Natural Landscape Assessment, 5,500 feet of frontage along the State Scenic Nottoway River, and supports rare aquatic species. The riparian corridor, habitat, and biodiversity on the property make it an exceptional farm for protection.
- Grantee: Envision Critz, LLC
- Project Title: Develop a Park/Community Center in Critz. VA
- Locality: Patrick County
- Grant Amount: $91,272.00
Description: Through the purchase of an open-space easement on the property, Envision Critz, LLC will bring the vision for the Critz Community Center to life while embracing the rich history of the Critz community, offering a site where residents have a gathering place to build community and enjoy the outdoors. The proposed plan includes walking trails with educational signage about the history of Critz, exercise trails including an ADA-compliant trail, playgrounds, a picnic shelter, protected green spaces, and an outdoor classroom/pavilion.
- Grantee: Friends of Dragon Run, Inc.
- Project Title: FODR Rhodes: Protection, Stewardship, and Access
- Locality: Middlesex County
- Grant Amount: $200,000.00
Description: Friends of Dragon Run (FODR) requests funding for the purchase of an easement on the 651-acre Rhodes property to permanently protect outstanding natural communities including bald cypress-tupelo swamp, as well as cultural resources through a partnership with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. The funds will increase FODR’s capacity to steward conserved lands. Through their stewardship, FODR protects native biodiversity, preserves terrestrial and aquatic habitats, and provides opportunities for place-based education, recreation, inspirational enjoyment, history, and citizen science monitoring of species and habitats within the Dragon Run watershed.
- Grantee: Richard G. (Jr) and Mary E. Long
- Project Title: Long Meadows Farm
- Locality: Bedford County
- Grant Amount: $127,000.00
Description: The purchase of an easement on the 905-acre Long Meadows Farm will result in the permanent protection of many significant natural resources and habitat. The nearly four miles of stream contained within the property are host to a rare aquatic species. Conservation models from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of Wildlife Resources, the Department of Forestry, and the National Audubon Society all rank the property as important or high-quality habitat. Permanent protection of the property will preserve habitat for many species.
- Grantee: Town of Boones Mill
- Project Title: Carter Park
- Locality: Franklin County
- Grant Amount: $157,300.00
Description: With the use of PTF funds for a purchased easement, the Town of Boones Mill will enhance two acres of land donated to the town by Carter Bank and Trust to create Carter Park. The park will be a large green space for residents and visitors to meet, recreate, and take in the great outdoors. The town will protect large trees in the southeast corner of the park, create a small parking lot along the northeast edge, add a playground, and create a small pavilion/gazebo for music and other community events.
- Grantee: Town of Woodstock
- Project Title: W.O. Riley Park Expansion
- Locality: Shenandoah County
- Grant Amount: $335,000.00
Description: The Town of Woodstock seeks a PTF grant to acquire 16.13 acres to enlarge the adjacent W.O. Riley Park, proactively preserving open space to expand public recreation. The project will protect five acres of the Spring Hollow Run floodplain corridor for urban stormwater management. The project enables integration of a multi-use trail to link neighborhoods as outlined in the town’s master plan, a 2028 VDOT SmartScale mobility project, and the park. As a Tree/Bee City USA, Woodstock will restore native habitat, remove invasive species, and secure permanent open space.
