Greetings, RLEP Friends!

2022 was a terrific growth year for RLEP, and we look forward to more improvements in 2023 and beyond.

Spotlight on RLEP Programs and Activities:

• An RLEP Scholarship, newly established in 2022 and administered by the Headwaters Foundation, will be awarded to one or more Rappahannock County high school graduates who show an interest in pursuing a career or advanced study in environmental protection.
• The Nature of Rappahannock ~ a stroll for the soul is a wildly popular program that provides fascinating and educational tours of local ecological treasures.
• RLEP provides financial support to the Rappahannock Nature Camp, a summertime day camp. Nature Camp, in Vesuvius, VA, receives scholarship funding from RLEP for two Rappahannock students to attend two fun-filled weeks of nature study.
• Homegrown National Park ® is a national program that challenges landowners to help restore ecosystems by removing invasives and planting natives. RLEP’s efforts to support the program include partnering with the town of Sperryville to organize volunteer workdays to remove invasives and plant natives along the Sperryville trail network.
• Under the auspices of the VDOT Adopt-a-Highway program, RLEP has adopted a section along Route 211 from Amissville to the Fauquier County line for semi-annual litter pickups.
• The Saving Dark Skies program is pursuing discussions with StoneHaven’s developers on dark-sky compliant lighting options.RLEP continues to support the county’s Dark Sky Park events and replace outdoor pole lights, free of charge.
• Public Forums are in the planning stage on important natural resource issues, including local impacts of climate change.

Please remember RLEP in your annual giving and consider volunteering to help grow our programs. YOU can help conserve the nature of Rappahannock.

All the best,
-Rick Kohler
RLEP President