Coastal Resilience & Trees Fund
Announcement for 2025
The Virginia Outdoors Foundation and Wetlands Watch are suspending the Coastal Resilience and Trees Fund for fiscal year 2025, with no grant rounds planned during this period.
Launched in 2023, the Fund aims to support small-scale resilience projects and capacity-building initiatives within Virginia’s Coastal Zone. It is financed through a recordation fee on real estate transactions in localities where VOF holds open-space easements. Unfortunately, current revenue levels are insufficient to sustain the Fund at this time. The program will remain on hold until revenues improve or an alternative funding source is identified. We are proud to have funded 36 projects, amounting to $321,000 to date. All previously committed grants will of course be honored.
We will announce any updates pertaining to the 2026 grant cycle just as soon as we can.
Supporting Local Conservation Efforts
The Coastal Resilience & Trees Fund provides grants to localities, organizations, and landowners for green infrastructure, wetlands restoration, conservation, tree planting, and capacity building projects in Virginia’s Coastal Zone. Administered in partnership with the Virginia Outdoor Fund, this program is designed to enhance coastal resilience and increase the tree canopy by providing funds to local initiatives. The primary goal of the Fund is to support implementation of resilient practices and enhance the ability of organizations and government agencies to plan for future implementation of resilience projects.
The goals of the Fund are to:
Achieve increased resilience to flooding, sea level rise, and extreme weather events in Virginia’s coastal communities
Increase tree canopy in the Coastal Zone and raise awareness of the value of trees as a best management practice and component of resiliency
Raise public awareness about the role of nature-based solutions in improving community resilience
Enhance the ability of organizations and government agencies to plan and implement resiliency projects within the Coastal Zone
What Kinds of Projects Get Funded?
The Fund has supported a truly diverse array of projects aimed at enhancing community resilience across Virginia’s coastal zone. Recent grant awards have been distributed to projects that address key areas such as shoreline protection, green infrastructure, tree planting, and stewardship. For instance, the Savage Neck Dunes Erosion Education and Reduction project received funding to install erosion control measures and interpretive materials to protect rare habitats and educate the public. Similarly, the Greening Greater Fulton project in Richmond focused on creating a vibrant green street with stormwater management features to mitigate urban heat island effects and improve water quality.
These projects demonstrate the Fund's commitment to implementing nature-based solutions that increase resilience to flooding, sea level rise, and climate change impacts.
In addition to larger-scale infrastructure projects, the Fund has also supported community-driven stewardship initiatives and capacity-building efforts. The Lynnhaven River NOW Stewardship Project received funding to maintain a network of green infrastructure across Virginia Beach, including rain gardens and living shorelines, which collectively help reduce stormwater runoff and enhance habitat. The Cape Charles Native Habitat Restoration and the Eastern Shore Native Plant Public Pollinator Area, aims to remove invasive species, restore native habitats, and educate the public about the importance of biodiversity and sustainable land management practices.
In short, we welcome proposals that not only address the immediate restoration and protection of natural resources, but also foster a long-term commitment to environmental stewardship in Virginia's coastal communities. By supporting a wide range of initiatives, the Fund aims to create a more resilient future for Virginia’s coastal region.
Summer 2023 Grant Awards
Wetlands Watch and Virginia Outdoors Foundation are happy to announce that $68,073 has been awarded from the second round of the Coastal Resilience and Tree Fund! Eleven projects in five categories were awarded funding: Capacity Building (1 project); Green Infrastructure (3 projects); Shoreline Protection (1 project); Stewardship (5 projects); and Tree Planting (1 project).
The primary goal of the Fund is to support implementation of resilient practices and enhance the ability of organizations and government agencies to plan for future implementation of resiliency projects within the coastal zone.
The goals of the Fund are to
Achieve increased resilience to flooding, sea level rise, and extreme weather events in Virginia’s coastal communities
Increase tree canopy in the Coastal Zone and raise awareness of the value of trees as a best management practice and component of resiliency
Raise public awareness about the role of nature-based solutions in improving community resilience
Enhance the ability of organizations and government agencies to plan and implement resiliency projects within the Coastal Zone
Project titles, descriptions, and award amounts are detailed below.
Capacity Building Projects
Aberdeen Gardens Museum Drainage / Water Project - $2,500
Design of a demonstration site to showcase the benefits of a rain garden. To improve the drainage and water removal from Historical Museum property. Focuses on establishing and maintaining planting and maintaining proper drainage. This will help stabilize grounds, mitigate erosion, and provide natural buffers against storms and flooding.
Shoreline Protection Projects
Savage Neck Dunes Erosion Education and Reduction - $7,943
Savage Neck Dunes Natural Area Preserve is a very popular publicly open area owned by VDCR. Unfortunately, due to both anthropogenic and natural causes, the shoreline is experiencing erosion. This project will install low-impact, cost-effective fencing, ropes, plantings, and signage in the back dunes and shoreline areas to reduce erosion and protect rare habitat and species. Visitors will learn from the interpretive material and incorporate into their actions and decisions in coastal areas.
Green Infrastructure Projects
Greening Greater Fulton - $10,000
The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (the Alliance) and partners will construct an accessible, vibrant green street in the Fulton Hill Business District in Richmond, VA. The project will improve water quality in this highly impervious urban area by implementing green stormwater infrastructure practices to treat and capture stormwater runoff and reduce urban heat island impacts while improving Fulton?s climate resiliency.
Weyanoke Shoreline Restoration - $10,000
Completion of restoration of a residential tidal shoreline on Lambert's Creek along the Elizabeth River Trail, adjacent to the Weyanoke Bird & Wildlife Sanctuary. The homeowners have worked for several years to eradicate phragmites. The goal is to continue to remove the invasives and replant with native wetland species to suppress their return, to provide shoreline stabilization, to improve site resiliency, and to provide for beautification along the ERT.
Courthouse Community UMC Green Infrastructure - $10,000
Courthouse Community United Methodist Church is located in the middle of Virginia Beach adjacent to the rapidly developing Courthouse area. This 6.5 acre property has extensive impervious parking and rooftop and only a few trees in parking lot islands. The property has three retaining ponds to handle storm-water, but they frequently overflow into the parking area and storm-water sometimes reaches the building. The retention ponds were designed to overflow into a City maintained drainage ditch, but the ditch does not have the capacity to drain the church property and all the new development in the area. To make matters worse, nine acres of adjacent forested property on the other side of the drainage ditch is going to have the trees cut down to be developed into additional housing. This project will restore native trees, shrubs, and perennial garden plants on the church property that is currently turf grass, provide additional ground cover plants on eroding parking lot islands, and include two rain barrels to trap some storm-water for use to water plants between rain storms. Adding large native trees and layers of native vegetation will help absorb some of the excess stormwater, prevent erosion, filter run-off, and restore habitat around the church.
Stewardship Projects
Invasive Plant Removal on Chapel Island, Richmond, VA - $5,000
Since 2014 the James River Association (JRA) has worked with James River Park System (JRPS) Invasive Task Force to coordinate invasive plant removal and habitat restoration at Chapel Island in Richmond. It is now critical to make progress on removing invasive species threatening this local park and riparian corridor through the heart of Richmond. JRA will use a qualified contractor to treat 2 acres of invasives encroaching on existing native species, including native trees planted in 2021.
Eastern Shore Native Plant Public Pollinator Area - $5,000
Two acres of native plant pollinator area will improve soil quality, reduce runoff, and improve infiltration. The pollinators supported will improve overall ecosystem health and resiliency, while also supporting nearby agriculture operations success. Located on public property, clear and engaging interpretive content will inspire the use of native plant species in residential and business landscaping, spreading the impact of the project well beyond the planted two-acre pollinator area.
Stewardship in the ERT Managed Meadow - $5,000
The ERT Foundation will continue to invest in its Managed Meadow to purchase supplies and materials to remove invasive species that have become overgrown in the area. Supplementing the surrounding area with additional seeding of native plants and obtain a seasonal monitoring contract, as well as the addition of two interpretive signs that discuss the habitat conservation, storm water resilience and bioretention in the meadow, illustrating the trail as a storyteller to sea level rise.
Cape Charles Native Habitat Restoration - $5,000
Cape Charles NAP will be restored by removing invasive plants & replacing them with natives. Native plants will reduce runoff, improve infiltration and soil quality, and support pollinators which improve ecosystem health & resiliency. Located on public property, clear & engaging interpretive content will inspire the use of native plant species in residential & business landscaping & encourage erosion-protective trail use, spreading the impact of the project well beyond the project area.
Lynnhaven River NOW Stewardship Project - $5,000
Lynnhaven River NOW has been installing resiliency projects at residential, school, business, faith organization, and public properties throughout Virginia Beach for many years. We average 42 green infrastructure projects a year that require thousands of native trees, shrubs, and perennial plants. The projects include rain gardens, buffers, conservation landscapes, living shorelines, and tree plantings that help reduce erosion, storm-water runoff, and flooding, and also improve habitat in Virginia Beach. Installing and maintaining these projects requires a reliable source of affordable native plants. We have established relationships with local schools that grow plants for us and other native plant installers who donate overstocks to us for use in our projects. We also have farm land that has been made available to us to raise and maintain these donated native plants. This grant will allow us to transport, maintain, transplant, and distribute these plants to be used in new resiliency projects and to maintain existing projects that need replacement plants.
Tree Planting Projects
Enhancing Coastal Forestry in the Tidal Rappahannock Watershed - $2630
Tree planting project on the banks of the tidal Rappahannock River will connect existing forest with recently planted former agricultural fields. Landowners have worked with conservation partners to plant over 15,000 trees in the last 5 years. This project is the linchpin that connects the plantings together.
Spring 2023 Grant Awards
Wetlands Watch and Virginia Outdoors Foundation are happy to announce that $91,195 has been awarded from the first round of the Coastal Resilience and Tree Fund! Fourteen projects in five categories were awarded funding: Capacity Building (1 project); Green Infrastructure (2 projects); Shoreline Protection (5 projects); Stewardship (3 projects); and Tree Planting (3 projects).
Capacity Building Projects
Bamboo Harvest, Eradication and Replacement with Keystone Native Plants - $2,500
Project Summary: This project aims to develop and document a three-fold plan to clear a mature bamboo patch, to use cut bamboo to weave a privacy screen as an alternative to the screening between neighbors the bamboo now provides, and to plant in its place a mix of keystone native shrubs, trees, and perennials that benefit native insects and birds. Small, low bamboo fences across the drainage to slow run-off on the sloping site are also a potential use of this time-honored raw material.
Shoreline Protection Projects
Elizabeth River Project Resilience Lab Living Shoreline - $10,000
Project Summary: The project, known as the Ryan Resilience Lab, will consist of the redevelopment of the property at 4610 Colley Avenue, an innovative facility on Norfolk's Knitting Mill Creek, which will demonstrate sustainable and flood-resilient building and landscaping practices. The Lab’s Learning Park will include a living shoreline, demonstrating how to hold off erosion while restoring oyster and wetland habitats.
Knitting Mill Creek Mayflower Road Riparian Buffer Phase 1 - $10,000
Project Summary: This proposal hopes to raise awareness for Knitting Mill Creek and address stormwater and tidal flooding on the West side by adding plant diversity and stormwater filtration with native grasses and flowering plants. By adding rich habitat for wildlife, it will also serve as an interpretive planting to showcase native plants. The goal is to display the beauty of native vegetation and help motivate residents and business owners to enhance habitat and improve community resilience.
Living Shoreline Williamsburg - $10,000
Project Summary: To build a living shoreline to protect the shore and minimize sediment running into the Chickahominy/James Rivers.
Reichenbacker Shoreline Protection - $10,000
Project Summary: 3,600 SF of upland wetland riparian buffer to be installed upland 100' of natural shoreline at Buchanan Creek, a tributary of the Lynnhaven River feeding into the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia Beach. The planting will replace turf and bare soil where erosion is actively occurring, decreasing stormwater runoff with the deeply-rooted plants, native to our area's coastal plant communities. These 23 species may host at least 445 species of butterflies and moths in our area.
Replacing a Decaying Bulkhead with a Living Shoreline - $10,000
Project Summary: The project will replace rotting bulkhead with a Living Shoreline, both dynamic and resilient, unlike a hardened solution. The project will use an oyster reef sill to create viable habitat. Behind the reefs, sand with marsh grass plants, protected by an Envirolok growth bag system, will create erosion control in the upper tidal and storm surge zone. The combination will prevent marine waters from contacting soluble clays at the shoreline and provide a path for living organism migration as conditions change.
Green Infrastructure Projects
LRNOW Green Infrastructure - $5,000
Project Summary: The Lynnhaven River NOW office is located just South of the Windsor Woods neighborhood in an area that is well known for stormwater flooding. The location has a back lot that floods during heavy rains. This project will install a rain garden to catch and infiltrate stormwater, reducing runoff and flooding. The project will be designed and installed by a new environmentally friendly landscape firm with a CBLP Level I member under the supervision of a CBLP Level II LRNOW staff member. It will also serve as a demonstration rain garden for Virginia Beach residents that are interested in this type of best management practice.
McKendree Green Infrastructure - $6,700
Project Summary: The McKendree property is on a low lying peninsula surrounded by wetlands in the Back Bay watershed. The property has a low bulkhead that is frequently topped by windblown tides and a vegetated berm behind that to protect the homesite. Increased storm intensity has resulted in a combination of wind driven tides and heavy rainfall threatening the home with stormwater and windblown flooding. This project will install a 125 gallon rain barrel to capture roof runoff in a low lying area at the back of the house, a 4x20 foot rain garden to capture runoff from the roof and patio, and enhance the buffers along the shoreline.
Stewardship Projects
Invasive Plant Management & Natural Area Restoration Along Appomattox River Blueway-Greenway Corridor - $3,900
Project Summary: Friends of the Lower Appomattox River will continue the development and implementation of a strategic, sustainable, and comprehensive invasive species management program, that will improve forest health and resilience, including plant diversity and habitat and natural areas and educate and empower community members to become actively involved in volunteer stewardship. This program will also increase the accessibility of parks, trails, and natural areas for the community.
Restoration Area in the James River Park System - $5,000
Project Summary: The approximately two-acre wooded Rapids Restoration Area in the Pony Pasture unit of the James River Park System has been a focus of invasive management for eight years, primarily removal of dense wintercreeper ground cover and Amur honeysuckle shrubs. Though there has been a healthy rebound of many native plant species, the understory continues to suffer from a paucity of native species diversity and requires restoration support.
Stewardship of the Bellemeade Green Street Project - $5,000
Project Summary: The James River Association and Groundwork RVA are working together to maintain the Bellemeade Green Street on the southside of the City of Richmond. Project stewardship activities include adding soil and mulch to stormwater best management practices installed along Minefee Street in 2021 and replacing trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants that have died since they were planted.
Tree Planting Projects
Nichols Park Tree Planting - $5,000
Project Summary: The Nichols Park neighborhood is a densely populated area of town homes with a small landscaped filter strip between the sidewalk and the street. Large trees (mostly red maples) were originally planted in the filter strip and they have grown too large, causing damage to the sidewalks and poor health of the trees. A total of 33 native redbud and 33 native fringe trees will be planted in the filter strips and ten additional large native trees will be planted in the wet turf grass area to reforest the area. The project will improve stormwater management through filtration and transportation, decrease surface temperatures with shading, and sequester carbon through carbon uptake.
Tree Funding Proposal from the Friends of Dyke Marsh - $3,250
Project Summary: Dyke Marsh is a freshwater tidal marsh on the Potomac River in Fairfax County. Dredging from 1940 to 1972 destabilized the marsh, impairing its natural protection from tidal and storm surges. The emerald ash borer is destroying 1,000 to 1,200 dead pumpkin ash trees, the primary tree species in the intertidal zone. It is unlikely that dead tree roots can stabilize the marsh sediments. We propose to plant appropriate trees in stages to preserve the tidal marsh and its ecological functions.
Tree Planting in Oceana West Neighborhood of Virginia Beach - $4,845
Project Summary: The City of Virginia Beach has a goal of achieving a 45% tree canopy by 2045. As of 2018, the city was at 40.3% canopy, showing a net loss of 1.34% from 2012. Current funding accounts for replacing trees removed, but not enough to overcome the tree loss on private property. This grant money will be used to plant trees in Oceana Gardens West, which is an environmental justice area and in proximity to the Hilltop Area of the city, which is a heat island.
Leadership
Stacie McGraw is Wetlands Watch’s Green Industry & Infrastructure Project Director. She has previously served as the Education Program Coordinator, and then Executive Director, of the Virginia Horticultural Foundation. She volunteers with several environmental and horticultural- based nonprofits.