News & Press Releases

Nature Nuts Receives Donation from Dominion Power

 The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority is proud to announce that it has been awarded a $20,000 donation from the Dominion Foundation in support of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Foundation’s Nature Nuts program. These proceeds come from the success of Dominion Trail Mix, an annual event that celebrates the W&OD Trail and encourages healthy outdoor experiences with three distinct events, Hail the Trail, The Great Skedaddle, and Trailfest. The second annual Dominion Trail Mix will be held on the W&OD Trail and at Farmwell Station Middle School in Loudoun on Saturday, October 20^th 2012.

“It is in keeping with Dominion’s goals to support environmental education and awareness.  That is why we are so pleased that proceeds from the Dominion Trail Mix will support the Nature Nuts program and hope that through active participation from across the region, Nature Nuts will continue to grow and have great success,” said Carolyn Moss, Dominion Managing Director Mid-Atlantic Region for State and Local Affairs.

Nature Nutsis a regional program that seeks to provide a meaningful outdoor experience to half a million children over the next five years throughout Northern Virginia. The mission of Nature Nuts is to expand and improve programs and facilities that help children recreate in a natural environment.

By engaging this many children in nature this program will have a positive affect through education, health benefits and interaction and education of the environment. The Foundation has set up the Nature Nuts fund, a fund that will support activities that further the goals of the program, including:

·   Grants to help elementary schools defray the costs of field trips to Hemlock Overlook;

·   Grants to help send kids to camps like the Junior Naturalist Camp at Potomac Overlook or

Camp Grow at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens;

·   Expansion of NVRPA’s Roving Naturalist Program;

·   Facility improvements at youth camping sites;

·   Expansion of rental kayak and canoe operations;

·   Promotional materials and efforts to get children involved in Nature Nuts.

“The Park Authority Board has tremendous passion for educating our youth in Northern Virginia about conservation and the environment, and we thank the Park Foundation and Dominion in particular, for their efforts to make a program like Nature Nuts a reality,” said Brian Knapp, NVRPA Chair.

Building off a national initiative to get children active and involved in nature, Nature Nuts will offer great programs and opportunities to reconnect children with the outdoors.

For more information on the Nature Nuts program, please contact Jenny Friedman at jfriedman@nvrpa.orgor by calling 703-352-5900. For more information on Dominion Trail Mix and to become involved in the second annual event, please visit www.dominiontrailmix.com.