VA Grant

For Immediate Release: September 8, 2022
For more information contact Lisa Goodnight at lisa.goodnight@anshome.org or 301-523-5394.

CHEVY CHASE, MD – The Audubon Naturalist Society works with communities throughout the Washington, DC region to spark environmental action around specific issues. Now, ANS is focusing even greater attention on Fairfax and Loudoun Counties under a new, two-year program called “Empowering Environmental Stewards in Northern Virginia.”  

Thanks to a generous $50,000 grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment, ANS is strengthening its environmental education presence in Loudoun County Schools following Covid interruptions and expanding its work within historically excluded communities in Fairfax County around two issues: the ongoing redevelopment of the eight-mile-long Route 1 Corridor, from south of Alexandria to Dogue Creek in Fairfax County and the stream health of Little Hunting Creek. 

“With the disruptions caused by the global pandemic, schools need more support than ever to provide the outdoor learning experiences that foster early connections to the natural world and communities need partners in the ongoing fight for cleaner, heathier watersheds,” said ANS Deputy Director Alison Pearce. “We’re grateful to Virginia Environmental Endowment for being a significant supporter of ANS’s ongoing efforts in Northern Virginia.”  

On the environmental literacy front, ANS has provided environmental education in Loudoun County for 20 years through school programs. This summer, ANS hired a Virginia-based environmental education program manager to provide outdoor educational experiences to school children and build a sustainable model for environmental education in the county. On the advocacy front, ANS recently released its Story of the Streams Report Card to spur action around stream health in Northern Virginia and beyond. To get Route 1 right and improve the health of Little Hunting Creek, ANS will build on previous partnerships to connect residents to the creek and provide them with skills and knowledge to advocate for improved public transit and pedestrian safety, stormwater management, and green infrastructure. This program can serve as a regional and national model for more just, inclusive and sustainable land use.  

"The Virginia Environmental Endowment is pleased to support ANS’s important work to further the environmental education of the region's school children and on projects relating to healthy and cleaner communities,” said VEE Executive Director Joseph H. Maroon. “The organization's work is consistent with the Endowment's mission to improve the quality of the environment by encouraging all sectors to work together to prevent pollution, conserve natural resources, and promote environmental literacy.” 

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