Loudoun Soil & Water Conservation District

Leesburg, VA (April 3, 2018) – The Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District, in partnership with the Leesburg Environmental Advisory Commission (EAC), will offer four rain barrel workshops in Leesburg during April and May 2018. While the workshops are open to all, Leesburg residents can receive a discount on rain barrel purchases, through a Town of Leesburg program sponsored by the EAC.

“Rain barrels have two main benefits,” explains Charles Greenough, chair of the Leesburg Environmental Advisory Commission. “First, by capturing the water that runs off your house’s roof, a rain barrel reduces the amount of stormwater that flows into our storm sewer system. Second, you can use the water from your rain barrel on your lawn and garden. It’s free water. Who doesn’t like something that’s free?” The rain barrel workshops will be held at Tuscarora Creek Park (425 Solitude Court SE).

The 2018 workshop dates are:
• Tuesday, April 24
• Wednesday, April 25
• Tuesday, May 22
• Wednesday, May 23

Each workshop runs from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. It takes about 20 minutes to make a rain barrel. Participants have the choice of making a rain barrel or purchasing a pre-made barrel. Kits to make a rain barrel cost $60 each; the pre-made barrels cost $80 each (prices include tax). As a bonus, Leesburg residents can receive a $25 discount on the purchase of a rain barrel as an incentive to promote water conservation. There are a limited number of discounts that will be given on a first-come, first-served basis (limit two per household).

Participants are reminded to dress appropriately if they will be constructing their own barrels.  Complete the registration form and send with check to: Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District; 30 Catoctin Circle, SE., Suite H; Leesburg, VA 20175.  For more information, call Suzanne Brown, District Operations Manager for the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District, at 571-918-4530, ext. 105.

Project Funding Now Available to Homeowners!

Through the statewide Virginia Conservation Assistance Program, the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District provides financial incentives to Loudoun County homeowners and business owners to create more watershed-friendly landscapes.  Eligible practices include: conservation landscaping, rain gardens, impervious surface removal, porous pavement/pavers, cisterns, dry well, vegetated swales, bioretention, and infiltration trenches.  For more details about the program, visit the VASWCD website.

This year’s theme is “Watersheds – Our Water, Our Home.” A watershed is land that sheds water. Every piece of land on the planet is part of a watershed. You’re sitting in a watershed right now!

Designing a poster and researching the theme can give you a voice in your community on important conservation is-sues! Posters capture people’s attention and tell important stories in a language that everyone can understand. They inspire, increase awareness, and encourage us to work together to protect our natural resources. The Poster Contest is open to all Loudoun County public, private and homeschooled students in grades K—12.  For more information, see our flyer with all the details and specifications.  Please complete the entry form and submit with your poster to Charlotte DeMolay, Education Specialist at Loudoun SWCD, 30 Catoctin Circle, SE., Suite H; Leesburg, VA 20175.

If you are currently enrolled in grades 9 through 12 and are interested in learning more about our natural resources, and studying subjects such as aquatics, soils, forestry, watersheds and water quality, wildlife, and environmental problems, you should consider spending a week this summer at Youth Conservation Camp, July 8th – 14th. You will learn about natural resources through field trips and activities, make new friends with other high school students who share your interest in the environment, and enjoy many recreational activities in the area.

The Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District is looking for two interested students in Loudoun County (must be residents of the County) who would like to participate. The fee for camp, $550 will cover the students meals, lodging, activities and transportation while at camp. Students are responsible for obtaining their own means of transportation to and from Virginia Tech for the beginning and end of camp, plus personal items. The District is offering two partial scholarships of $400 each.  For highlights and application form. For more information, please contact Charlotte DeMolay, Education Specialist, Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District at charlotte.demolay@lswcd.org or call (571) 918-4530, ext. 109. Applications are due to the District office by Friday, April 27, 2018.

The Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District, in partnership with the Loudoun County government, is accepting applications for a unique Riparian Buffer Planting project through March 15, 2018.

Private residential, industrial, commercial, and Home Owner Association (HOA) landowners in Loudoun are all eligible to apply for funds to plant buffers along perennial (year-round) streams and water bodies. An effective technique for improving water quality, this program reimburses landowners up to $7,000 per acre for planting materials and labor costs.

For more information:  see our project fact sheet, application form, and plant list or contact Urban/Ag Conservationist, Chris Van Vlack at (571) 918-4530, ext. 107 or chris.vanvlack@lswcd.org.

The Virginia Association of Conservation Districts Education Foundation is offering  four $1,000 scholarships to be given statewide this May to outstanding high school seniors applying for a freshman curriculum and/or current college freshmen.  If you know of someone who would be interested in applying for this scholarship, please complete the 2018 scholarship application form and return to Loudoun SWCD by Thursday, March 1, 2018.    The District Board will review the applications and select one applicant to be forwarded to the VASWCD Education Foundation for consideration.  For more information, please contact Charlotte DeMolay at charlotte.demolay@lswcd.org or by phone at: (571)918-4530,  ext. 109.

The newest edition of the Conservation Education Newsletter is now available.  This edition includes information about worms, Dominion Envirothon, and Soil and Water Stewardship Week.  For more information, please contact Charlotte DeMolay, Education Specialist with the District at charlotte.demolay@lswcd.org or by phone at 571-918-4530, ext. 109.

Governor McAuliffe has proclaimed September 18-22 to be SepticSmart Week throughout Virginia. https://governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/proclamations/proclamation/2017-septicsmart-week/. Proper septic system use and routine care are vital to protecting public health, preserving our groundwater, lakes, streams and waterways, and avoiding costly repairs that can result from neglect.

The Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District thought this would be an appropriate time to announce our pilot “Septic Tank Pump-Out Rebate Program”. The program will provide a $50 rebate to Loudoun landowners towards the pump-out of their septic system. A limited number of rebates are available. The landowner must have an approved application form from the District, and the pump-out must be reported to Loudoun County Health Department by an approved hauler, before the rebate can be issued.  Septic pump-outs prior to September 21, 2017 are not eligible.

The funds used to start this pilot project come from the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program, or “VCAP”. VCAP is a program of the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts which allows non-agricultural landowners the chance to receive cost share funds to install conservation practices.

For decades, Loudoun farmers have been able to take advantage of the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost Share Program to help protect soil and water resources, and now with VCAP, suburban, urban, and other residential and business property owners are able to install practices such as rainwater harvesting, conservation landscaping, and a host of other initiatives.
Through fiscal year 2017, ten VCAP practices have been signed up which have included meadow plantings, tree plantings, rainwater harvesting systems, and a vegetated stormwater swale. The project sites have included homeowners’ lawns, as well as HOA open space parcels, and a school property.

Districts that participate in VCAP, earn $500 in technical assistance money per VCAP practice completed. The funds can be used at the District’s discretion. The Loudoun SWCD Board felt strongly about using these funds to put more money for conservation into the community. At a recent District Board meeting, the Board voted to use these funds to assist in the launch of a local septic tank pump-out project. Loudoun SWCD is appreciative of being able to make those VCAP dollars go even further for conservation on the ground in Loudoun County.

If you are looking to build a barn, enter into open space or agricultural land use taxation, or just want to get some ideas managing your farm, LSWCD has a new revised Conservation Farm Plan which is now more tailored to specific different types of farming operations in Loudoun.  Farm plans are required by Loudoun County for the building of barns, entering the Land-Use Tax Program,  as well as for grazing livestock on parcels under five acres.  Small acreage grazing plans are developed by the District and Loudoun Cooperative Extension to help landowners manage livestock on small properties.  Contact LSWCD at (571) 918-4530 to schedule an appointment to create a farm plan for your operation.