FVNR Project Catalog

1. FVNR Project Catalog The following project listing offers a brief summary of the requests the Foundation has received that require funding. We encourage you to take a look at the project descriptions and find a project that may be of specific interest to you. We appreciate any and all support of the Foundation and its goals to protect and enhance Virginia’s sustainable natural resources.

2. Cowpasture River Preservation Association (CRPA) Citizen Monitoring Program • CRPA hopes to continue to expand its water quality monitoring program by training additional volunteers, purchasing monitoring supplies and equipment, and increasing the number of sites and water quality parameters monitored. CRPA has an excellent group of VASOS biological monitors and has begun to branch out into bacterial sampling using coliscan kits. This support would assist in strengthening both of these methods and allow for additional chemical methods to be added. Funding Required: Macroinvertebrate monitoring and training materials – $314 Bacteriological monitoring – $906 Chemical monitoring – $180 Total Investment: $1,400

3. Monitoring Materials for the Leesville Lake Association (LVLA) • The primary goals of the project are to: • Supplement the water quality data collected by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Since Leesville Lake was transferred to the DEQ SWRO, it is on a six-year rotation for water monitoring. The current rotation ended in 2006, so DEQ will not monitor Leesville Lake water quality again until 2012. In addition, there are too few DEQ monitoring stations to get an adequate understanding of bacteria levels in the lake. • Enhance public awareness of water quality issues by getting volunteers involved in water monitoring and publicizing the water monitoring project and its results. • Continue the LVLA Citizen Water Quality Monitoring Project that was initiated in 2007. Funding Required: Administrative support for one year -- $570 Equipment -- $1,210 Total Investment: $1,780

4. Nature Camp Foundation (Vesuvius) - Tuition for 3 youths to attend Nature Camp in the summer of 2009 • The Nature Camp Foundation will actively seek enrollment for Nature Camp within the Clinch, Roanoke, and Upper James River Watersheds by providing a scholarship for one youth from each of the three watershed areas. • It is important to the Nature Camp Foundation to encourage youth, especially in the mentioned targeted areas in which enrollment had declined dramatically, to attend Nature Camp and to develop a relationship with other organizations in Virginia. It is with this hope that the message of education and good stewardship of the Earth through experiences such as Nature Camp is more widely distributed, appreciated, and understood. Funding Required: Tuition for three youths to attend Nature Camp at $700 each -- $2,100 Educational materials and community outreach -- $400 Total Investment: $2,500

5. Claytor Nature Study Center of Lynchburg College Will be Established and Lead a Central Virginia Environmental Education Alliance • The Central Virginia Environmental Education Alliance (CVEEA) was established to facilitate inter-institutional and interdisciplinary environmental education efforts in Central Virginia. This region of the state has long been considered a “black hole” of environmental activities − a view that belies the fact that there are many dedicated and successful environmental educators in this region who have enriched the lives and increased the environmental awareness of citizens of all ages through their formal and non-formal education programs. This view results from several factors, including their own lack of promotion and the need for a mechanism to coordinate environmental education activities at a regional level. • The CVEEA will catalyze environmental education in the region by linking the educational efforts of Lynchburg College faculty and staff with the faculty of other local colleges and public and private K-12 institutions; staff of federal and state agencies, and non-profit organizations with a mandate for environmental education, with the volunteer service offered by the Greater Lynchburg Environmental Network and the Virginia Master Naturalist Central Virginia Chapter, in the outdoor classroom environmental education programs offered at the Claytor Nature Study Center of Lynchburg College, and other sites in the Roanoke and Middle James watersheds.

6. Claytor Nature Study Center (cont’d) Goals: • Establish a database of formal and non-formal environmental educators in the region, and volunteers that wish to support those programs. • Establish a mentoring program between Lynchburg College faculty and volunteer non-formal educators in K-12 environmental education, who will not only increase the skill set of these volunteers, but increase the staffing and efficiency of delivery of outdoor environmental education programs to K-12 groups. • Bring Claytor Nature Study Center K-12 environmental curricula into accordance with NAAEE standards, and closer alignment with Virginia Standards of Learning. • Deliver high-quality environmental education programs to the regions K-12 children through partnered teaching between Lynchburg College faculty and staff, other formal educators, and local volunteers in the Virginia Master Naturalist program. • Facilitate the establishment and maintenance of a regional environmental educator directory with the Greater Lynchburg Environmental Network. • The overarching goal of this proposal is to increase equal employment opportunities for youth and adults in a region of the Commonwealth where greater awareness and enthusiasm for environmental stewardship will have significant impact on water quality, land use and environmental policy. Funding Required: Administrative support -- $4,358 Educational materials -- $325 Total Investment: $4,683

7. Friends of Chesterfield’s Riverfront – Establish a Citizen’s Monitoring Program Called WaterTrends • Friends of Chesterfield’s Riverfront (Friends) and the Chesterfield County Office of Water Quality (OWQ) will work in partnership to expand and promote a joint citizen monitoring program in the county called Chesterfield WaterTrends. This new program will expand current citizen monitoring efforts in Chesterfield County and will merge the programs of Friends and the OWQ. Friends and the OWQ have been managing separate, but similar, volunteer monitoring programs in Chesterfield County for approximately eight years. Currently, volunteers for Friends perform chemical monitoring at seven stream sites. OWQ volunteers chemically monitor seven lakes and/or participate in physical stream assessments. • Through the Chesterfield WaterTrends program, volunteers in Chesterfield County will have more opportunities for training on monitoring methods; centralized trainings in the county, and more feedback and interaction from the coordinators and volunteers. Chesterfield WaterTrends will establish a centralized volunteer network for water quality monitoring in Chesterfield County. In particular, the objectives for the Chesterfield WaterTrends program are as follows:

8. Friends of Chesterfield’s Riverfront –WaterTrends (cont’d) • Promote the Chesterfield WaterTrends program managed in partnership by Friends and the OWQ; • Sustain Friends’ established monitoring sites (seven stream sites monitored for chemical parameters and located throughout the county in the James River watershed); • Sustain the OWQ’s lake monitoring sites; • Expand and develop the Chesterfield WaterTrends citizen monitoring program by incorporating bacterial monitoring and physical habitat assessments; • Upgrade the physical habitat assessment data collection procedures to the SOS Low Gradient Habitat Assessment tool (based upon the EPA Rapid Bioassement Protocols); • Engage additional citizen volunteers in the Chesterfield WaterTrends program, and • Provide the citizens of Chesterfield County with water quality data and information on citizen monitoring on a watershed basis. Funding Required: Administrative support – $1,713 Equipment – $2,318 Educational materials – $2,000 Total Investment: $6,031

9. Staff funding for environmental education outreach in the Natural Bridge Soil and Water Conservation District (Rockbridge County – Upper James River Basin) • These funds are requested to maintain and keep the infrastructure in place to deliver conservation education within our district. This funding would sustain and safeguard the educational/outreach aspect of the position of a newly hired staff member. The Natural Bridge SWCD considers the position an investment of time and specialized training. • The staff member will: • Engage youths in conservation educational activities on behalf of the SWCD by developing and implementing meaningful environmental education programs in and distributing educational materials to all Rockbridge County schools and home school programs. • Provide conservation and environmental education to teachers and other adults through public/community outreach activities, programs, and workshops. • Partner with local environmental education centers and groups to provide meaningful outdoor education experiences to students and the community. • Promote and/or coordinate programs such as: Conservation Camp, Forestry Camp, Envirothon, Chesapeake Bay Student Leadership trips, adult field trips and workshops, and TMDL outreach to citizens living near impaired waterways. • School programs will take place during the school year (August-May/June), while camps and trips will mostly be during the summer months. Adult and community education and outreach will take place year-round. • The educational programs, activities, and materials will be administered and distributed with the purpose of providing environmental education and awareness and meaningful outdoor experiences to all local students. The teacher and community workshops, activities, and outreach programs will promote citizen education and involvement in environmental and conservation issues of the community and beyond. Funding Required: $19,200 per year for 2 years Total Investment: $38,400.00

10. The Virginia Save Our Streams Program (VASOS) • VASOS has served the Commonwealth since 1988 by training local volunteers to become volunteer water quality monitors. VASOS needs funding for these 5 projects: • Administrative support for one year – $15,000 • Sponsor a comprehensive and accurate set of benthic macroinvertebrate illustrations – $1,000 per image (at least 20 are needed) • Provide training and/or certifications sessions statewide – $1,000 per session (estimate of 10 sessions) • Develop a comprehensive water quality monitoring strategy for the Upper James Watershed and the Shenandoah Watershed – $11,800 • Integrate a mapping application with the existing VASOS database $4,000 Total Investment: $60,800

11. Outdoor Classroom - Friends of the Russell Fork - Dickinson County, Virginia • The Friends of the Russell Fork watershed group plans to construct an outdoor classroom that will be available to two schools, Sandlick Elementary School and Haysi High School. With the help of this classroom, students will learn firsthand about local environmental issues. Our goal for the outdoor classroom is to promote environmental education by providing students with hands-on learning experiences. • We plan to construct an outdoor classroom on the banks of the Russell Fork River that can be used by both Sandlick Elementary School and Haysi High School. We believe such a facility to be a fundamental need for environmental education at both schools, and the design we envision will be a long-term project that will require significant volunteer and in-kind assistance, multiple sources of grant funding, and approximately two years of implementation. The funding we are requesting from FVNR will be used toward the initial construction of the shelter itself. The shelter is to have a concrete floor, a wooden framework and a shingled roof. • Our long-term ambition is to create a facility that science teachers at Haysi High School and Sandlick Elementary can use to advance their core curriculum and Virginia SOL requirements. We wish to create a place where the Envirothon team at Haysi High School can practice and learn. It will be a facility that can be used for special events like Kids in the Creek Day, as well as for everyday learning activities. Furthermore, the Friends of the Russell Fork will be able to make use of the facility to teach chemical and physical water monitoring techniques to citizen monitors and hold community activities that increase awareness of environmental issues. Total Investment: $ 4800.00 ($1000 pledged already)

12. Administrative Support Foundation For Virginia’s Natural Resources • FVNR has been trying to carry out the important task of making effective environmental education and outreach programs in Virginia more sustainable. We were established by the state legislature in 2005, but, to date, we have had no monetary support from the General Assembly. • To achieve our goals and implement our mission, we need part-time administrative assistance and need to hire consultants with expertise in marketing, Web site development and non-profit development. We have a carefully considered strategy and a strong, committed board. Contributions are tax deductible under IRS rule 170(c). Our goal is to find approximately $75,000 to carry out our goals for this year. Please contact Chairman Jay Gilliam if you would like to know more about this opportunity. • Administrative support for one year – $30,000 • Web site development – $10,000 • Marketing and development contractor – $35,000 Total Investment: $75,000