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This winter, Northern Virginia experienced a frosty blast from the past, as snow and ice returned after years of little to no accumulation. If your plants didn’t survive the first very deep freeze, we can help you prepare for the next one. These tips are helpful for any gardener or landowner looking to ensure their plants make it through winter each year—no matter what the climate brings!  Plant Natives  This will always be our first suggestion! Native plants are adapted to t

Two weeks ago, we gathered at Busboys and Poets in Shirlington to host our annual Conservationists of Color event—an event NVCT has hosted the last 4 years.   Did you know this event used to have a different name? Before becoming Conservationists of Color, it was the Aldo Leopold Read-a-Thon. Participants would gather to read excerpts from A Sand County Almanac. This popular event brought together inspired conservationists who wanted to honor a powerful conservation legacy. 

Another year, another successful heron count! This year marks 21 years of nest surveys at Crow’s Nest Natural Area Preserve in Stafford. For even longer, Great Blue Herons have called Crow’s Nest home, their rookery ranking among the largest Great Blue Heron nesting sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. When the Heron Rookery was acquired by NVCT in 1997, it spanned 70 acres. Through persistent work to protect additional land for inclusion in Crow’s Nest Natural Area Preserv

This week, the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust was back in Richmond as the General Assembly convened for its 2026 session. On January 28, we joined partners from across the Commonwealth for Virginia Outdoor Recreation Day, a lobby day championing the Virginia Great Outdoors Act! Virginia’s Great Outdoors Act would provide $230 million annually to protect critical natural, agricultural, historic, and water resources, expand public access, and invest in trails, parks, and