Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

Specific Need

Your support is needed to protect wildlife habitat in Loudoun County. Loudoun continues to rapidly lose wildlife habitat due to development. You can help ensure that Loudoun preserves vital greenspaces where people and wildlife can thrive together. Your investment in Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy is an investment in the future of a healthy tomorrow where current and future generations can enjoy the awe and wonder of nature.

The success of our programs is made possible by the contributions of time, energy, and support of our volunteers and members. Throughout our history, our organization has been grounded in the support and generosity of our members, and we know that we can count on you as we continue to grow and evolve. Last year, across all of our programs, we hosted 367 programs, events, chat sessions, volunteer opportunities, etc. reaching over 12,000 participants. Over 550 volunteers contributed over 13,000 hours of their time to make our programs possible. Thank you for investing in our future!

Inspire

Your contribution makes education programs and field trips throughout Loudoun County possible. Every year our spring ephemeral walks dazzle attendees by the resilience and beauty of early spring forest flowers, and our various programs on wildflowers remain some of our most popular. All of our nature walks highlight the importance of functional habitat in making our experiences with wildlife more impactful. Our Eagle Cam program not only brings the awe and wonder of nature into homes and classrooms, it educates people about the importance of wetlands and the habitat necessary for wildlife such as bald eagles to thrive. These programs inspire life-long passions to protect and appreciate wildlife and their habitats.

Motivate

Your donation provides resources for our Audubon-at-Home (AAH) program. Our AAH program educates and motivates homeowners to create wildlife friendly habitat in their backyards. Our ambassadors conduct site visits, provide recommendations, and certify people’s properties as wildlife sanctuaries thanks to support from donors like you. To date, we have certified over 350 properties totaling over 4,600 acres as wildlife sanctuaries.

Engage

Your gift helps create and restore wildlife habitat and create experiential programs to directly engage people with nature. Each year, we host 2 Native Plant Sales with over 1,400 participants, getting native plants into the hands of eager residents. And, last year we sold 700 plugs of milkweed to residents at our annual Milkweed Sale at Northwest Federal Credit Union’s Leesburg branch. Additionally, we have been working with volunteers to establish a pollinator meadow along the W&OD Trail in Leesburg at Harrison St. We also host monthly volunteer opportunities to enhance the habitat at our very own JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary which included a variety of forest restoration projects last year to protect native vegetation from excessive deer browsing pressure. Our goal is to help rejuvenate the understory of our mature forest to benefit our local amphibian populations and other wildlife.

You can be a champion for wildlife!

You can inspire your family, friends, and neighbors connect with nature. You can motivate others to get involved to protect, preserve, and restore wildlife habitat. You can engage the next generation of leaders.

Thank you for investing in our future!

Mission

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy inspires, motivates, and engages people to protect, preserve, and restore wildlife habitat in Loudoun County.

Profile

Our programs teach the value and appreciation of wildlife and healthy habitat conservation while encouraging active citizen involvement in conserving nature. Just as nature is exquisitely interconnected in all of her parts - so is our model of Education, Citizen Science, Habitat Conservation, and Advocacy programs.

Educating and exploring our great places: Every year, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy offers over 100 educational programs, nature walks, and field trips. We connect thousands of people to the great places and wonderful wildlife of Loudoun County. Our vast array of programs have something for everyone. We invite local experts to teach the community about topics ranging from bats to bees to woodcocks, celebrating the diversity of wildlife. In addition to monthly birding walks at Banshee Reeks, Bles Park, and Sweet Run State Park, we lead nature walks covering wildlife and wildlife habitats in parks across the county. We connect adults and children to special places through our various field trips. Our Eagle Cam program, in partnership with the Dulles Greenway, brings the awe and wonder of nature into homes and classrooms with our volunteers educating the public via chat sessions.

Our Youth & Family programs provide a safe space for children to interact with one another and nature to solve problems and build developmental skills. Connecting with the natural world will instill a life-long appreciation and respect for the outdoors. Our Youth & Family programs also offer experiential and nature-based lessons for classrooms, scouts, and other youth groups.

Collecting citizen science data: Our efforts collect useful scientific data that contributes to greater knowledge of the health of species and habitats. We monitor the health of our streams and amphibians. Annual butterfly and bird counts inform the North American Butterfly Association and National Audubon Society about our local butterfly and bird populations. Our Bluebird Nest Box program provides vital homes for our native cavity nesting birds. We watch thousands of birds successfully fledge from their nests each year. Our stream monitoring program conducts benthic macroinvertebrate testing at 25 sites, monthly chemical monitoring at 6 sites and year-round Salt Watch testing at over 50 sites.

Restoring wildlife habitat: Our Audubon at Home program certifies homeowner's properties as wildlife sanctuaries. Our habitat restoration projects on public and private lands restore and create wildlife habitat. We have several ongoing projects at Ball's Bluff Battlefield Regional Park and the Harrison Street meadow to enhance habitat for wildlife and pollinators. We work with local native plant nurseries to make native plants available to the public, and help spread the word through Plant NOVA Natives. And, our efforts support Monarch populations and other native pollinators.

Advocating for wildlife: We build partnerships with local organizations and leaders to develop policy that supports conservation. We educate the community about the importance of responsible conservation design and green infrastructure for wildlife and habitat conservation. And, we encourage the community to participate in shaping development policy. Together, we raise our voices to make a greater impact in our fight for wildlife habitat.

JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary: JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary is an 89-acre natural area of forests and meadows dotted with vernal pools located near the Village of Lucketts. Purchased by Loudoun Wildlife in 2020, the sanctuary provides a unique setting for education and citizen science.

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s vision for the JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary is to forever preserve and enhance its globally rare wetlands by protecting the sensitive vernal pools, unique geological setting, and its rich amphibian and wildlife populations. Additionally, to serve as a model and catalyst to conserve adjacent lands and to create an ecologically significant sanctuary for the conservation and study of native wildlife and flora there and to educate others in their value.