Thanks to volunteers from New River Valley Master Naturalists, Sustainable Blacksburg, and the New River Valley Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society, our pollinator garden the the Nature Play Space in Heritage Park got a makeover this summer. Volunteers did lots of weeding, and recently added some new plants to the garden. Pollinator gardens […]

Since this summer may not be filled with summer camps and vacations to faraway places, we’ve pulled together some of the best resources from around the Internet for learning about nature, science, and the outdoors. Learn about birds, try your hand at mapping, go on a virtual field trip, discover national parks, watch wildlife and […]

Camp Branch Natural Area Preserve Photo: DCR NRLT has donated a 66-acre property in Floyd County to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, completing a conservation project that began several years ago and involved numerous public and private partners. The land is now permanently protected as part of the Camp Branch Wetlands Natural Area […]

NRLT staff tour some of the new trails Wednesday, June 24, is GiveLocalNRV, the New River Valley’s seventh annual local day of giving (formerly GiveBigNRV Day). This virtual day of giving will allow nonprofits like the Land Trust the chance to raise money for the benefit of our community, particularly during the ongoing COVID19 crisis […]

The Land Trust has been conserving farmland in the New River region for many years, and we’re always looking for additional options to support agriculture in our rural community. Thanks to a new partnership with the Agrarian Trust, we’re joining communities around the nation to announce the formation of the Agrarian Commons, a new model […]

Site of future multi-use trails on Brush Mountain Work on the new Brush Mountain trail system is expected to begin this month. We have secured the necessary permits to begin building the first miles of trail on Property 1. Work on this first phase will take about 3-4 weeks to complete. The Land Trust currently […]

On this 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, I’m thinking about how important our public outdoor spaces are. We have been working for almost two decades to promote conservation of natural and cultural resources in the New River region and several of our projects, including the new Brush Mountain Park, have been focused on public trails […]

First, we hope that everyone is safe, healthy, and weathering the uncertainty of this time as best they can. Everyone we know is scrambling to adjust to a new normal and the many challenges of the pandemic. We are continuing with our conservation work, but at a slower pace. All of our Youth Outreach programs […]

Thanks to a grant from the New River Valley Master Gardener’s Association, we’ll work with 72 fourth graders at Eastern Montgomery Elementary School to install a rain garden on school grounds this spring. A rain garden is a garden of native shrubs, perennials, and flowers planted in a small depression. It is designed to temporarily […]

The ProjectThe New River Land Trust and Poverty Creek Trail Coalition are creating a new forested park on the south side of Brush Mountain that will include about 10 miles of multi-use trails. BackgroundA $1.2 million grant was awarded to the New River Land Trust in 2018 to purchase two forested properties that will make […]