Build back biodiversity! Support Virginia Working Landscapes this Giving Tuesday!
Across Virginia’s rural countryside, the Virginia Working Landscapes team bridges the gap between science and conservation action on working lands. Biodiversity is the foundation of healthy working landscapes, and VWL generates research that directly informs best management practices that work for both our local communities and wildlife.
The VWL team has had a busy year! Check out some of our team members and what they’ve accomplished, thanks to the support of our community:
Our Program Director, Amy Johnson, has doubled the size of our team, effectively doubling our capacity to bolster biodiversity across Virginia’s grasslands.
Amy is also co-leading a new study with the Migratory Connectivity Project at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center examining the annual movements of Bobolinks, one of our most vulnerable grassland bird species.
Erin Shibley, our Survey and Volunteer Coordinator, oversaw our largest group of Community Scientists in VWL history, with over 80 volunteers in action! 2024 was our 14th year conducting annual Grassland Biodiversity Surveys with the help of these volunteers.
Erin also led our final year of data collection for our Bee-friendly Beef research, a Natural Resources Conservation Service sponsored project in collaboration with Virginia Tech and the University of Tennessee to test the impacts of integrating native wildflowers into traditionally grazed livestock pastures.
The Coordinator of the Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative (VGBI), Justin Proctor, participated in 38 outreach events so far this year, connecting more than 1,100 farmers and landowners with conservation practices for their landscapes.
Justin has also helped grow the VGBI team to include two new staff, allowing VGBI to reach more communities across a wider geography.
Research Fellow Bernadette Rigley and her team conducted the final season of data collection for our collaborative Regenerative Grazing study with the American Farmland Trust (AFT). This research has allowed us to identify best management practices for nesting grassland birds in hay fields and cattle pastures and has served as a catalyst for on the ground conservation in our region through a financial incentives program, which has led to adoption of grassland bird friendly management practices on more than 3000 acres of farmland.
This is only a small taste of what our team accomplished this year. And these strides forward for local conservation are only possible because of the generous donations from our community. VWL is supported 100% by grants and donations. For this Giving Tuesday, we invite you to please consider making a tax-deductible donation.
The whole Virginia Working Landscapes team will continue to lead critical conservation efforts and many more endeavors in 2025, and we are grateful that you are an active member of the VWL community – together we will truly make a difference.
♦ To donate by mail, please write checks out to “Smithsonian Institution” with “Virginia Working Landscapes” noted on the reference line and send to:
Attention: Dr. Amy Johnson
Virginia Working Landscapes
Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
1500 Remount Rd, MRC 5537
Front Royal, VA 22630
♦ To donate over the phone, please call our Advancement Team at 202-633-3027.
For further inquiries on how to donate, please contact Amy Johnson at JohnsonAE@si.edu, 540-635-0035
The Smithsonian Institution is a 501(c)(3). All contributions are tax-deductible.