VEE OCTOBER 2023 GRANT AWARDS

In October 2023, the VEE Board made the following grant awards: 

Blue Ridge PRISM: $20,000 Challenge Grant in support of its core programs as well as its expansion into new programs, all related to combatting invasive species. (Virginia Program)

Chesapeake Bay Foundation: $10,000 to support its outreach and advocacy efforts to defend Virginia’s nontidal wetlands law. (Virginia Program)

Chincoteague Bay Field Station: $24,125 towards its offerings of no-cost field trips for up to 500 students in Accomack and Northampton Counties and of no-cost professional development opportunities for up to 150 Virginia teachers. (Virginia Program)

Friends of the Lower Appomattox River: $20,000 to continue its work to advance land conservation and land protection along the Appomattox River corridor. (Virginia Program)

Friends of the Rappahannock: $26,000 to respond to a surge in volunteer interest and increased project implementation. (Virginia Program)

James River Association: $30,000 to support its policy work over the next year addressing critical conservation issues facing the James River such as shad and mussel restoration and dam mitigation. (Virginia Program)

James River Association: $384,099 to accelerate its James River Living Shoreline Cost Share Program in the Lower James River watershed. (James River Water Quality Improvement Program)

Land Trust Alliance: $30,000 towards its work in Virginia building strong land trusts, developing skills, improving water quality and climate resilience, and involving more people and diverse communities in land conservation. (Virginia Program)

Mariner’s Museum: $25,000 to expand its environmental educational enrichment programs to serve 800 students from Hampton City Schools. (Virginia Program)

Mountain Lake Conservancy: $106,975 for trail restoration work as part of the Giles County outdoor recreational trail system. (Community Conservation Program)

Northern Virginia Conservation Trust: $25,000 to help finance expansion of its land protection capacity in Stafford County. (Virginia Program)

Piedmont Environmental Council: $25,000 for its ongoing riparian buffer restoration efforts in the upper Rappahannock and Potomac watersheds. (Virginia Program) 

Potomac Conservancy: $22,000 towards its Northern Shenandoah land conservation efforts focusing on priority lands in the Shenandoah Valley. (Virginia Program)

Potomac Riverkeeper Network: $30,000 to support its work to safely clean up, dispose of, and ensure long-term storage of coal ash left behind at power stations. (Virginia Program)

Rivanna Conservation Alliance: $25,000 to continue its high-quality water quality monitoring programs.   (Virginia Program)     

The Nature Conservancy: $30,000 over two years in support of its “STEP – Paths To Careers In Conservation” initiative which provides internship opportunities focused on increased diversity among its participants. (Virginia Program)

UVA (Institute for Engagement & Negotiation): $25,000 for application and implementation of The RAFT (Resilience Adaptation Feasibility Tool) in the cities of Hopewell and Petersburg and the development of The RAFT Inland Resilience Scorecard for the Roanoke region of Virginia. (Virginia Program)

Valley Conservation Council: $25,000 to support a land conservation partnership with NDPonics to protect and restore priority parcels in Rockbridge and Botetourt Counties. (Virginia Program)

Virginia Association for Environmental Education: $11,500 as bridge funding while it moves its environmental educator certification program toward self-sustainability. (Virginia Program)

Virginia Conservation Network: $40,000 in support of its work to protect clean water funding and legislation in the Commonwealth in light of the historic number of new legislators that will result in unprecedented loss of institutional knowledge of environmental issues. (Virginia Program)

Virginia Junior Academy of Science: $24,000 over two years for the Lewis and Mackenzie college scholarships. (Virginia Program)

Virginia’s United Land Trusts: $20,000 to advance land conservation through convening, collaboration, and coordination across the Commonwealth. (Virginia Program)

Waterkeepers Chesapeake: $25,000 to help it expand Virginia’s capacity for clean water advocacy in the York/Pamunkey/Mattaponi watershed. (Virginia Program)

Wetlands Watch: $225,554 over three years to assist the Community Conservation Program localities in addressing resilience, flood mitigation, and water quality improvement. (Community Conservation Program)