From the president
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Our Mission: To enhance the well-being of our community, by connecting people with nature through education and the preservation of greenspaces. |
EDUCATION
connecting kids with nature
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We continued our Youth Farm Program (YFP) in 2025 with students coming from Stafford Junction, a nonprofit for underprivileged children in Stafford County. YFP is a garden educational program that is based on the premise of farm to table. The children plant seeds, grow the fruits and vegetables and prepare meals to eat and try what they have grown. They take part in the weeding and plant maintenance and the harvesting of the garden. In the YFP education garden we had 24 different types of fruits and vegetables growing. Due to the ground hog and rabbits, the measurable amount of the year's harvest was drastically low due to the critters.
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Held in partnership with Fredericksburg City Schools, our signature educational Garden Sprouts program served preschoolers in the Head Start and Virginia Initiative Programs for its eighth year in 2025. This comprehensive program teaches children how to identify vegetables, taste them, plant seeds, care for them and harvest them. This is done through classroom lessons and at their garden at the Walker Grant School by our two educational team members. At the beginning of each year, students are evaluated to see what vegetables they can recognize, which ones they will taste, and which ones they might try. This effort is followed up at the end of the year to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program and has shown great results. A growing aspect of our children’s education program was offering field trips to our Upper Education Garden. Field trips include an education garden tour, a Take What You Need Garden tour, viewing the compost system, a garden activity, a short lesson and a garden craft to take home with them. In 2025, we had five field trips with three different community groups educating a total of 63 children accompanied by 25 adults for a total of 88 people. We plan to expand on this effort in 2026.
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connecting adults with nature
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Throughout the year we provided a wide variety of adult education classes, both on site and through our partnership with the Central Rappahannock Regional Library. Our best attended class in 2025 was Vegetable Gardening 101 with 30 people, which demonstrated the need and interest for nature based classes. Other classes included Foraging, Composting 101, Garden Design, Gardening for Wildlife, Basket Weaving for Beginners, Fall and Winter Gardening, Culinary Herbs, and Pests in the Garden. We would like to thank all of our talented local instructors and organizations that helped make these classes possible. |
connecting with the community
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Our expanded educational efforts in 2025 also included a focus on attending more community table and speaking events to help connect people with nature. Board members and staff attended various events during the year including the Master Gardner’s Seed Swap, COAR’s UMW Volunteer Event, Student Climate Action Summit, the Wild and Scenic Festival, UMW’s Earth Day, Fredericksburg Parks and Recreation’s Earth Day, Rappahannock Regional Library’s Fun Fest, Fabulous Friday Pollinator Event, Tree Fred’s Native Plant Festival, UMW Tree Festival, Gratitude Market, and Spotsy Towne Center’s Giving Tuesday event. Staff also did several speaking events during the year.
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Preservation
connecting people with nature
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A major preservation project occurred in the Upper Garden in 2025 with the introduction of a new permeable walkway, improving accessibility while supporting sustainable water management practices. The new walkway replaced the existing mostly dirt and gravel walkway that was in need of major renovation. The walkway was made possible by a grant through the Friends of the Rappahannock and the Tri County Soil and Water Conservation District.
In addition, educational signage was added to the Lower Garden, helping visitors better understand the plants, ecosystems, and the importance of our preservation work. The signs were made possible by a grant from Keep Virginia Beautiful. |
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Our Vision: One day, we will live in a world where the community feels a deep connection with each other, nature, and the food they eat. |
volunteers
connecting with the Mission
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With almost 60 acres of greenspace located in three different properties, we depend on volunteers to help us maintain and improve them. In 2025, we had a total of 272 volunteers perform a total of 786 hours of work. We would like to thank Clark Construction, Fredericksburg Academy, University of Mary Washington COAR groups, James Monroe High School Ceili Lahey Senior Day of Service, Girl Scout Troop 263, Tree Stewards and Virginia Master Naturalists. |
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Events
connecting with the past
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Several events were held in 2025 including a May Day donor appreciation party in the Lower Garden, a dedication for Gratitude Rock in September honoring those donors who gave ten thousand dollars and up towards buying the Belman Road property, and our annual fundraiser, the Down Home Ball, which was held at University of Mary Washington Jepson Center in October.
SAVE THE DATE!
Down Home Ball 2026 will be Saturday, November 7th at the Brock's Riverside Grille |
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Our Values: ● Sustainability- We are intentional in the use of all resources and mindful of how our actions impact the community and the world. ● Inclusion - We honor diversity by respecting the innate worth of all persons, cultures, and abilities. We are stronger because of the varied contributions of all. ● Stewardship – We accept responsibility to care for the land and to educate and encourage the community to become active contributors to a healthy environment. ● Optimism – We believe in our community, and the ability to bring change for the better through our actions, words, and intentions. ● Service – We dedicate ourselves to creating opportunities for the advancement of the community. |
financials
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REVENUE
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EXPENDITURES
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Our partners
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The Land Trust of Virginia, Virginia Land Conservancy, Friends of the Rappahannock, Fredericksburg City Public Schools, Stafford County Public Schools, University of Mary Washington CORE, Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Central Rappahannock Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists, Rappahannock Valley Garden Club, Rappahannock Beekeeping Association, Stafford Junction, Kulean Mushrooms, Tree Fred, George Washington Regional Commission.
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Our sponsors
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The Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region, Mary Washington Healthcare, Keep Virginia Beautiful, Pure Strategies, WFLS, Print Jazz, Wren & Sparrow, Cary Street Partners, Davenport & Company LLC, First Citizens Bank, Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, Nest Reality Fredericksburg, Action Window Tinting, Rebecca Rubin, Stafford Printing, Fredericksburg Technology, Rosemary and Larry Pitts, B&L Consulting, LibertyTown Arts Workshop, Marie William Capital, Linda Caporali, Front Porch Magazine, Margaret & Rich Martin, Latitudes Fair Trade, Rim & Kathy Vining, Planty of Happiness, Christie Hoerneman, Topside Federal Credit Union, Apex Masonry, Jim & Rita Schepmoes, Roof Maxx of Fredericksburg, Tree Fredericksburg.
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