StreamSweepers and the American Climate Partners, its parent group, and its Board of Directors thanks the Charlottesville Area Community Foundations Dave Mathews Band BAMA Works Fund for selecting StreamSweepers to receive financial assistance for 2016 Central Virginia river cleaning, assessment, and maintenance work. “Rivers are our life blood –thanks for supporting the continuous cleansing of […]
The Virginia Community Wood Energy Program was featured on Virginia Public Radio in a two-part story about how using wood and grass fuels for heating can both drive economic development and improve our environment:
October 21, 2015 was the third annual National Bioenergy Day. The Virginia Community Wood Energy Program led staff from federal, state and local governments on a tour of three Southside institutions that are using wood and grass fuels to provide cost effective heat energy while keeping their energy dollars in the local economy and improving the […]
In 2015 StreamSweepers finished the promise begun 3 years ago to train and employ dozens of local young adults to sweep up garbage from the historic Rapidan River – all the way from Shenandoah National Park to Fredericksburg. This unprecedented achievement is the first time a corps of local high school and college students has […]
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What It Takes
This summer was another wonderful opportunity to witness a group of dedicated and amazing young adults working to complete the efforts started by another amazing group three years ago. By the end of the 2015 summer season the entire Rapidan River had been assessed to determine bank characteristics, buffer quality, erosion, tree canopy and more. […]
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Hometown Heroes
Help From Our Friends Results in Removal of a Tire Weighing 2100 Pounds In mid-July as the StreamSweepers crew was moving down the Rapidan River in the area near Raccoon Ford they discovered a tire like they had never seen before. On first glance it looked much like the large tractor tires they routinely find, but […]
On October 21st, in recognition of the Third Annual National Bioenergy Day, the Virginia Community Wood Energy Program is hosting a study tour of three Southside institutions that are saving money and supporting their local economy by using wood fuels for space heating and hot water generation. In 2013 the Virginia United Methodist Assembly Center […]
Wood energy is not just for the big guys. For the Blackstone Conference and Retreat Center (BCRC), wood energy quite literally may have saved the institution. The BCRC, formerly the Virginia Methodist Assembly Center, was originally founded in 1894 and operated until 1915 as the Blackstone College for Girls. The original wooden structure twice burned […]
Today, the 2015 StreamSweepers completed the first comprehensive assessment and cleaning of entire major river valley in Virginia. This vision, conceived by a small group of residents from Orange, VA to assess and clean the entire Rapidan River from Shenandoah National Park to Fredericksburg, was made possible only through the generous support of Rapidan and […]
No matter the effort, it’s always the last 10% that is the back breaker. This year has been the toughest we’ve ever had. Perhaps its because we’re so spread out this season, from the boldery headwaters to the wide rock gardens of the confluence, we are dealing with more logistical and weather difficulties than ever […]