In Search of: A New Pickup Truck

Small, gray, covered in dirt, and what we count on to haul invasive plants off our preserves and trash bags out of the Potomac, NVCT’s (sometimes) trusty, rusty, 2008 Toyota Tacoma has been a loyal team member through the years. You might have met our truck before if you’ve ever been to a stewardship event. It has a signature “NVCT” license plate and was a gift from a generous NVCT supporter.

The NVCT truck isn’t just used for events though. It’s considered the company car which means that land stewards often take it out to site visits! This can come in handy when a landowner decides to deal with an issue on their property the same day that a site visit happens, like removing stalks of bamboo! NVCT is aways willing to lend a helping hand, rain or shine.

Our land steward Alyssa Hemler discovered that the truck had a spare wheel after a site survey of a farm property left her with a flat tire! Luckily, the truck had a spare and the landowners were happy to help.

It’s not just land stewards that drive the NVCT truck! Almost every staff member has had a chance to take the truck to an event or stewardship project. Driving our rickety “vintage” truck is somewhat of an NVCT rite of passage. Each team member has unique stories of how the old charm of the truck has resulted in anecdotes that staff has bonded over.

Fun Fact: The truck has no tie down anchors and when we pull invasive plants from properties, the goal is to not re-release them into the environment. In order to prevent plant material from flying out the bed when we travel from preserves to the dump, one of our land conservation specialists, Rentz Hillyer, has come up with a creative way to ensure materials are tied down. It involves straps and a wooden board which staff members who attend Little Hunting Creek invasive pulls in the spring have mastered!

The hand crank windows have also caused issues – they don’t always roll up when we want them too. Partnerships Coordinator Amelia Wilt recalls rolling them down on a nice day coming back from a workday but then struggling to roll them back up once she got on the highway. “It got so windy that the truck became a wind tunnel and was truly hard to steer and the back was full of invasive weeds we tried to tamp down but was a mess!”

The truck also has no air conditioning. This was discovered after we planned a stewardship work day on one of the hottest days of the summer in Stafford County. Our communications specialist and Stafford conservation specialist drove an hour down to Stafford with the windows rolled down. Music to take your mind off things isn’t really an option either; the radio is forever set to talk-show radio and gets staticky the further out you go from the beltway. The ride back after shoveling mulch and removing large trash was sweatier than the ride to the site; traffic on the beltway didn’t make it much better.

On our most recent stewardship project at the Tank Creek Preserve, we noticed that the mileage log we keep inside the truck had reached the last page. This was after struggling to move the only two seats in the truck far enough back so our Conservation Director would have enough legroom to drive!

All of these sad but memorable stories have led us to a difficult but necessary conclusion: it may be time for a new truck.

While our truck’s flaws often lead to funny stories, we have begun to realize that we need to consider an upgrade. As our team and site work expand every year, so do our needs for a vehicle that can do more for the lands we steward and the people we serve. To host larger cleanups, invasive pulls, and steward more properties, ranging from Loudoun County down to Spotsylvania, we need a more reliable ride.

Don’t worry, you won’t ever see the NVCT logo slapped on a Cybertruck! Nor are we looking for one, but perhaps we could sell one and put the money to good use?? (We’re only half joking)

We’re not picky! But we do have a few requests for a new truck:

• More legroom

• Some in-cab storage, possibly a jump seat

• Full size bed

• 4 wheel drive capability

• Spare tire

• AC that works

• Tie down anchors

If you know of or have a truck that fits this bill, please let us know! We would be extremely appreciative and promise that this new addition to our team would find a wonderful home supporting a great cause.