By the Numbers in 2019
120 schools engaged in FOR’s environmental education programs
130 teachers participated in environmental professional development
3,500 bushels of donated and recycled oyster shell were installed on reef restoration projects
10,400 trees planted by 400 volunteers creating over a mile of new riparian buffer
10,900 students prepared to become the next generation of river stewards
16,500 pounds of trash removed from the river by over 1,020 volunteers
Upper Rappahannock Report Card: A surprise grade sparks community action
At Friends of the Rappahannock, we love Rappahannock County Park in Little Washington. It has everything we look for in a riverfront park, including trails, a large forest buffer, native plant gardens, and lots of interpretive signage to help visitors understand the...
Building natural defenses against natural disasters
Hurricanes and other coastal storms are a fact of life in the coastal South. Over the past few years, nearby states like North Carolina and New Jersey took direct hits from major storms and incurred millions of dollars in flood damage. Luckily, in 2019, no hurricanes...
Planting Roots of Stewardship
It’s not every day that you find someone who, as a student, directly contributed to the health of their watershed. Now students in Spotsylvania County can declare they participated in a project that positively impacted their watershed and the Rappahannock River....
Finding Joy by the River: Students in Nature
Have you ever sat by the river? More than 6,500 students who visited the FOR’s property this year have listened to the burbling riffles of the river. During each field trip, we challenge students to sit quietly for a few minutes and take in all that the river has to...
Dissecting Oysters, Culture & Impact
“I can see the gills! I wish I had gills!” one student at St. Clare Walker Middle School exclaimed while dissecting an oyster. Experiences such as these bring students one step closer to understanding and appreciating the importance of river stewardship. Thanks to...
