Catawba Landcare is very proud to have worked closely with many other organizations, agencies, and institutions in the region.  Learn about some  of our partners here.

Organizations | Businesses | Institutions | Public Agencies

Organizations

• Catawba Civic League – An association of residents committed to advocating for transparency, effectiveness, and openness in local government.
• Catawba Community Club – What began as the Homemakers’ Club of the valley has continued to exist and thrive as a women’s group that is very active in community events.

The New River Valley chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists program has offered several workshops and walking tours of natural areas in the valley.

Both the New River Valley and Roanoke Valley chapters of the Virginia Master Gardeners programs have worked with Catawba Landcare in providing speakers for the Landcare Learning Series and in assisting with the Kids Gardening Contest.

Catawba Valley Ruritans Club have provided tremendous support to Catawba Landcare through the co-sponsorship of the Kids Gardening Contest, the Landcare Learning Series, and Celebrate Catawba.

Both the New River Valley and Roanoke Valley chapters of Trout Unlimited have worked with Catawba Landcare to support our streamcare initiative though providing education at workshops and organizing volunteer labor to help plant trees along the streambanks in the valley.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has been working with members of Catawba Landcare to establish a blue-blaze trail off of the Appalachian Trail down through the property of the Catawba Sustainability Center, as a way to provide hikers an alternative to walking down 311 to reach town.

The New River Land Trust has worked with Catawba Landcare since the beginning, helping to send out mailings, providing speakers at workshops, and working with members to achieve special exceptions for land in the Catawba Valley to receive special consideration regarding minimum parcel sizes for conservation easements.

The Western Virginia Land Trust has provided support to Catawba Landcare in the form of assistance with mailings, speakers at workshops, and working with members to achieve special exceptions for land in the Catawba Valley to receive special consideration regarding minimum parcel sizes for conservation easements.

Local volunteers from Virginia Save Our Streams have worked with members of Catawba Landcare to collect water quality data and to plant trees and vegetation along local streambanks.

The Roanoke League of Artists has supported Catawba Landcare by hosting art events in the valley, allowing artists to capture the beauty of the valley on canvas and through a variety of mediums.

Businesses

The Catawba Valley General Store has been very supportive of Catawba Landcare, providing space for the weekly Farmer’s Market and advertising events to customers.  The store recently changed ownership and we are excited to work with the new proprietors to continue this great partnership.

Maison Beliveau is a local bed & breakfast which has provided meeting space and graciously hosting a selection of events and guests in the valley.

Local Roots is a restaurant in Roanoke committed to providing the freshest and most local foods to their diners.  The chef of Local Roots has spoken at Catawba Landcare functions to provide farmers and growers with information about how they can reach buyers like themselves.

Institutions

The three Catawba Methodist Churches in the valley –  Shiloh, McDonald’s Mill, and Catawba United Methodist –  are incredibly supportive of the work of Catawba Landcare by providing space to meet and to host volunteer meals,  keeping their parishioners informed about what is going on with the group, frequently feeding volunteers, and even hosting fundraisers for the Catawba Sustainability Center.

The Catawba Hospital has worked closely with Catawba Landcare and the Catawba Sustainability Center to provide assistance with events, in helping to clean up and restore some of the facilities at the CSC, and in working with researchers at the CSC to explore the option of using switchgrass grown in the valley to fire their boilers.

Several departments, offices, and programs at Virginia Tech worked with Catawba Landcare over the years, providing support and resources for the group, as well as working with landowners to explore innovative strategies for managing land and keeping it profitable.  These partners have ranged from across the university and have included:

• Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
• Office of Outreach and International Affairs – Roanoke Center
• Myers-Lawson School of Construction
• Conservation Management Institute

The Catawba Sustainability Center is a 377-acre experiential showcase for researching, experimenting, and demonstrating sustainable living innovations.  In partnership with VT EarthWorks, land at the CSC is also available for lease to growers interested in starting their own growing businesses.  For more information, contact Christy Gabbard.

Virginia Tech EarthWorks is a land-based business acceleration program based at the Catawba Sustainability Center, which provides landowners and aspiring entrepreneurs with the training, resource access, and support to launch sustainable land-based business in th

Public Agencies

• Skyline Soil and Water Conservation District has regularly provided speakers, resources, and project support for Catawba Landcare events and activities.
• Upper Roanoke River Roundtable is a group representing several agencies and programs concerned with the water quality of the Roanoke River.  This group helped get Catawba Landcare started.

The US Department of Agriculture were among the first agencies to support landcare in the US.  They provided funding that helped Catawba Landcare get its start.

The National Agroforestry Center, with an office in Blacksburg, has worked extensivley with members of Catawba Landcare and with the Catawba Sustainability Center to explore ways to improve the value of forest buffers by including merchantable non-timber products.

The Virginia Water Resources Research Center, located at Virginia Tech, has worked with Catawba Landcare in providing water quality monitoring expertise, and in supporting a stream erosion mapping project which resulted in the maps and brochures available in the Our Valley – Water section.

The Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries has been very supportive of the work of Catawba Landcare, working with landowners to restore steambanks, providing speakers at workshops, and guiding field trips to explore habitat options for landowners.

The Virginia Department of Forestry has worked with Catawba Landcare to provide speakers and resources for meetings and projects.

The Western Virginia Water Authority treats waters from both the North Fork of the Roanoke River and Catawba Creek to supply water for the cities of Roanoke and Salem and  Roanoke County.  Water from the Roanoke River is pumped into WVWA’s Spring Hollow Reservoir; water from Catawba Creek is diverted into Carvin’s Cove.  WVWA has a big stake in how streams are cared for in the valley. They have worked with Catawba Landcare to support our Streamcare initiatives.

The Virginia Outdoors Foundation, as the state agency which holds and maintains conservation easements, worked with members of Catawba Landcare to increase conservation options for the valley.

The local offices of the Virginia Cooperative Extension have been very supportive of the work of Catawba Landcare, providing speakers at workshops, co-sponsoring the Catawba Kids Gardening Contest, and working extensively with the Catawba Sustainability Center and EarthWorks program.

The Virginia Tourism Corporation has presented at several Catawba Landcare functions on the opportunities and benefits of providing tourism options in the region.

Roanoke County has worked with Catawba Landcare, providing facilities and services to support events and workshops held by the group. The county also worked as part of the team to explore making special exceptions for conservation easements in the valley.