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Aug. 19, 2024 Editor, The News Gazette: In 2019, after learning about the impaired state of many of our local waterways, I joined the Watershed Committee of Rockbridge Conservation (RC). Since that time, my involvement with the organization has grown, and so has my awareness about the remarkable work that RC has done and continues to do to protect our natural and cultural resources.
Because RC generally does this work without a lot of fanfare, many in the county are unaware of it. With that in mind, I’d like to provide readers with a partial list of RC’s many efforts.
Current projects include:
• Running two water monitoring programs and supporting testing for chemical pollutants throughout the county.
• Running a neighborhood Food Recovery Co-op that collects food waste for composting.
• Working to get rooftop solar on Habitat for Humanity homes and supporting a county ordinance on large-scale solar development.
• Helping to coordinate the response to pollution in the Maury and Little Calf Pasture rivers caused by draining the lake at the Boy Scout Camp in Goshen.
• Promoting and assisting in the establishment of conservation easements on public and private lands.
• Developing and maintaining the Sunnyside and Uncas trails.
• Running the annual community cleanup to remove litter along county roads and waterways.
• Assisting other local nonprofits in reducing waste created during community events.
• Fostering the creation of Friends of Woods Creek to improve and protect the water quality and trail.
RC has also been instrumental in the preservation of House Mountain, protecting critical natural resources and helping other local organizations grow and prosper.
RC is a volunteer-driven organization. If you would like to get involved in the work described above, start another conservation effort, or support our organization in other ways, please contact director@rockbridgeconservation. org. GRETCHEN SUKOW Lexington
