Natural Bridge Soil & Water Conservation District
40 Magnolia Square Way, Suite 5
Lexington, Virginia 24450
Phone: (540) 319-6453
Education & Outreach
2025 ENVIROTHON Area I Competition
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The 2025 Area I Envirothon Competition was co-hosted by Mountain Castles SWCD & Natural Bridge SWCD. The event was held April 29, 2025 at McCormick Farm in Raphine, VA. The event had a wonderful turnout of student teams, judges and volunteers. On behalf of Natural Bridge SWCD & Mountain Castles SWCD, we would like to thank everyone who participated and volunteered to make the event a success!
Area 1 overall winners:
1st place: Harrisonburg High School
2nd place: Eastern Mennonite High School
3rd place: Mountain Vista
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Good luck to our Area I winners as they continue on to compete at the state level on May 18th and 19th !
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Natural Bridge SWCD booth set up by staff at the Rockbridge Regional Fair 2024.
Staff attended a Fencing School hosted by the folks at Stay-Tuff Fencing.
FIELD DAY 2024
The Natural Bridge SWCD sponsored an agricultural outreach event for local farmers and residents at John Houser's Farm in Fairfield, VA. The field day highlighted conservation programs implemented on the farm such as a solar pumping livestock watering system and rotational grazing.
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Rotational grazing practice benefits and testimonials were heard from local farmers who practice these programs on their farms on a regular basis. Vegetation suppression and control strategies in fencing, along with proper herbicide usage were discussed by Doug Horn, Extension Agent.
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Alston Horn (Chesapeake Bay Foundation) demonstrated the practical uses of a grazing stick to help identify the amount of forages available for livestock grazing during his discussion on rotational grazing.
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John Benner, Extension Agent, presented information regarding cattle marketing and the Virginia Beef Quality Assurance Program.
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Forrest Hobbs, Small Farm Outreach Program Representative, gave a short presentation.
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Lunch was provided and a big thank you to Riverside Family Farms and Rockbridge Kubota for their donations.
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John Houser was presented his Clean Water Farm Award from 2021. He was not able to have a formal presentation of his award until now due to the pandemic.
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Overall it was a great day with plenty of learning opportunities for all. Natural Bridge SWCD looks forward to hosting the next conservation field day!
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Natural Bridge SWCD Chairman, Robert G. Deyo, presenting the Rockbridge Regional Library with a donated copy of the Rockbridge County Spring Identification Project Final Report on April 12, 2023. Photo by NBSWCD staff.
Rockbridge County Spring Identification Project Final Report
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The Natural Bridge Soil & Water Conservation District entered into a partnership with SKTWorks, LLC., a local firm providing GIS services for conservation to produce a comprehensive inventory of springs within the Maury River Watershed in Rockbridge County. The voluntary springs identification project was seeking to locate springs in Rockbridge as part of an effort to raise awareness and understanding of groundwater resources. The project is part of an initiative to better monitor and protect the county's groundwater, which provides vital drinking water for residents and for agricultural purposes.
The Natural Bridge SWCD would like to thank each and every landowner, agency, board member and staff for their efforts in getting this project completed. The Rockbridge County Spring Identification Project Final Report is complete, and copies have been donated to the local library system.
For landowner's who participated in this study and would like further information about drinking water guidelines or further testing, you can contact Tom Stanley, Agriculture Extension Agent, at the Rockbridge County Extension Office 540-463-4734. The Rockbridge Extension office periodically offers water testing through VA Tech and Mr. Stanley can also provide a list of private certified labs in the region that offer analytical services.
Natural Bridge SWCD staff attended the 2023 Virginia No-Till Alliance (VANTAGE) Conference in Rockingham, VA on February 21, 2023.
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Congratulations to James Alexander of Cherry Grove Farm, recipient of the 2023 No-Till Champion Award! Tom Stanley, Rockbridge County Extension Agent, presented the award to Mr. Alexander at this year's VANTAGE Conference.
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Cherry Grove Farm, located on the northern end of Rockbridge County, has been an active participant in Agriculture Best Management Practices to improve the quality of the land and we are proud of his efforts!
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Palmer Community Center Event ​
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On June 11, 2022, Natural Bridge SWCD co-sponsored with Trout Unlimited a stream water quality and fish habitat event informing attendees about strategies to enhance healthy fish populations in local streams. Information about important land use practices was provided as well as Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (VDWR) fishery biologists to conduct the event and answer attendee’s questions. The event was held at Palmer Community Center and had an excellent turnout.
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