From the Bay to the Mountains: Wetlands Watch Expands Living Infrastructure Training to Western Virginia
Photo credit: Deya Ramadan, VDOF
In response to the growing need for comprehensive watershed management across Virginia, Wetlands Watch is proud to announce significant strides in expanding the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP) program “Beyond the Bay” to the western part of Virginia.
Virginia is home to three major watersheds, each with its own unique characteristics and challenges. The Chesapeake Bay Watershed, spanning approximately 64,000 square miles across eastern and central Virginia, is the largest of the three. In the southeast, the Albemarle-Pamlico Watershed covers around 29,000 square miles. In the southwest, the Mississippi River Watershed spans about 5,000 square miles.
All three watersheds play crucial roles in Virginia’s environmental richness and economic vitality, and wrestle with a wide variety of challenges. All contend with urban development, pollution from agricultural runoff, and more frequent and higher-intensity rainfall. The Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle-Pamlico watersheds contend with impacts associated with climate-induced sea level rise. In the mountains to the west, the Mississippi River Watershed grapples with issues like upland erosion and climate-driven flash flooding.
Photo courtesy of Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Wetlands Watch's Living Infrastructure Initiative has been tackling environmental challenges within Virginia's Chesapeake Bay Watershed since 2012. Through our specialized training programs, we've equipped professionals in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed with the necessary skills to effectively plan, implement, and maintain nature-based projects that bolster watershed health. These programs encompass a wide variety of living infrastructure practices, including conservation landscaping, rain gardens, and stormwater management techniques.
We are thrilled to announce the expansion of our efforts "Beyond the Bay," which involves extending living infrastructure training opportunities to professionals in the western region of the state. This expansion aligns seamlessly with the ongoing progression of the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professionals (CBLP) program, which has steadily extended westward in recent years. Notably, Virginia Tech hosted a successful CBLP Level 1 training session last year, marking a pivotal milestone in our partnership. We eagerly anticipate further collaboration and plan to return to Blacksburg in the fall.
In collaboration with the James River Association and the Virginia Department of Forestry, we have developed specialized living infrastructure programs such as CBLP-Buffers which address the challenges that are prevalent in upland environments. We are also collaborating with CBLP lead instructor David Hirschman of Hirschman Water and Environment to develop training materials that focus on unique challenges associated with developing living infrastructure in mountainous terrain. These resources will help provide professionals with the necessary information and skills to effectively implement living infrastructure projects in mountainous terrains.
To help fuel this westward expansion, we are also providing scholarships to eligible professionals–contractors, NGO representatives, local government staff, landscape professionals, and others–who are committed to designing, implementing, and maintaining living infrastructure practices in Western Virginia.
Living Infrastructure Training. For those who are interested in our baseline training in the design, installation, and maintenance of sustainable landscapes, with an emphasis on properly maintaining stormwater best management practices, we are offering two CBLP Level 1 Certification sessions in late July, August, and September. Please click here for more information.
For those who are interested in training in the design, installation, and maintenance of living shoreline projects that meet Virginia’s General Permit 1 or 2 requirements, we are offering a CBLP Shorelines session in July. Please click here for more information.
To inquire about any of our training opportunities, scholarships, or programs, please contact Stacie McGraw at stacie.mcgraw@wetlandswatch.org.