The Thayers’ early support of conservation in Washington County has been key to VOF’s success in the region over the past 20 years.
Author Archives: Anita Angelone
Richard’s Fruit Market, Frederick County
What began in 1953 as a small wagon at the end of a driveway has become a destination for families in the region looking for fresh produce and fun festivals.
Gravely Nature Preserve, Henry County
Tucked along the Smith River just south of Martinsville, this gem of a community park speaks to the power of partnership and the resilience of nature.
Wes Kent, Augusta County
At Winding River Farms, Wes Kent does the conserving while robots do the milking — and the land, streams, and cows are better for it.
Virginia Military Institute Cadets Give Back at VOF’s House Mountain Reserve
Cadets help to clear a section of trail at the 875-acre reserve as part of their spring field training exercises.
Rust Nature Sanctuary, Loudoun County
63-acre preserve offers educational programs, trails, and wildlife in one of Virginia’s most rapidly growing counties.
Sally Johnson, Washington County
Sally Johnson has made her way as a cattle farmer in Southwest Virginia by combining the power of family with the power of the sun.
Scheier Natural Area, Fluvanna County
Participants in the Pond Ecology Workshop. “We all live downstream.” It’s a popular catchphrase in conservation circles nowadays, communicating in a nutshell how our waterways connect us all. Homesteaders Howard and Neva Scheier may not have heard it put quite that way when they arrived in Virginia in the 1950s, but they knew the importance […]
Shirley Plantation, Charles City County
Completed in 1738, “Great House,” is largely in its original state and is owned and lived in by direct descendants of Edward Hill I. As you walk up the drive to the “Great House” on Shirley Plantation, it’s hard to miss the three-and-a-half-foot wooden pineapple on the roof. A symbol of hospitality, pineapples appear in […]
Norfolk museum builds coastal resilience with living shoreline
In the 1930s, a red brick wall stood between the iconic Hermitage Museum and Gardens in Norfolk and several hundred feet of undeveloped shoreline. By the early 2000s, the wall marked the edge of the Lafayette River, which had whittled away the shoreline after several devastating storms and increasingly higher tides due to sea-level rise. […]