Sharing Our Work with General Assembly Members
NVRC's Program Manager for our Military Installation Resilience Review 2.0 project, Mr. Vonzell Mattocks, and NVRC volunteer, Dr. Will Rowe, briefed the members of the General Assembly's Military Veterans caucus on the work the Commission is undertaking in support of the military, veterans and military spouses in Northern Virginia. You can read more about our work by clicking on the button below.
Supporting Plant NoVA Natives
NVRC was pleased to host the partners meeting of the Plant NoVA Natives program. Established by NVRC, the organization is now a volunteer led effort working with citizens, plant nurseries and others to promote the use of native plants in the region. More about this program and Plant NoVA Trees can be found by clicking the button below.
NVRC Initiates Gap Analysis Study for the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail in Loudoun County
Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC), as the lead agency and manager of the study, is pleased to partner with the National Park Service (NPS) and Loudoun County to identify the most feasible route options for completing a network gap in the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (PHNST) in Loudoun County, Virginia. The project will identify, assess, and present the feasibility of potential routes in the PHNST corridor, including considerations for trail construction, maintenance, accessibility, park connections, scenic views, and other key elements for trail development.
Trail Volunteers Needed
NVRC is seeking volunteers to collect important data on the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (PHNST).
Volunteers will learn how to use a mobile phone application to identify existing trail amenities, wayfinding, interpretive signage, and other characteristics along the PHNST in spring 2024. This data will help inform where the PHNST requires increased and improved signage and amenities for greater trail accessibility. No prior data collection experience is necessary.
To learn more about the project, visit the PHNST Dashboard's wayfinding and and amenities study page.
Rain Garden Workshop a Success
Thank you to our colleagues at the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District and to Arlington County for hosting a Rain Garden workshop. 80 persons were in attendance either in person or virtually for this event. NVRC is pleased to coordinate on behalf of the region the Clean Water Partners program which helps our local government partners and others meet the public education requirement of their storm water permits.
Supporting Solar in the Region
NVRC was pleased to host a webinar with the U.S. Department of Energy, the Virginia Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and colleagues from Culpeper County on the SolarApp+ and the new SolSmart Platinum Designation. The SolarApp+ is a free software available to localities to expedite permitting for rooftop solar. Permits can be issued as the result of this program within one day. The video of the webinar and accompanying presentations can be found on our web site.
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Sharing Our Foreign Direct Investment Report
Ms. Jill Kaneff, NVRC's Senior Regional Demographer, and Dr. Dale Medearis, Senior Environmental Planner, shared the findings of NVRC's precedent setting report on Foreign Direct Investment in the region with the German American Chambers of Commerce. The report can be downloaded on our regional data dashboard. NVRC has been invited to share the presentation with the French-American Chamber of Commerce later in the year.
Upcoming Webinar: Local-Level Climate Resiliency Plans and Nature-based Solutions: Creative Innovations From Germany
Thursday, April 18, 2024 || 12:00pm to 1:15pm (EST)
Local governments across the northern Virginia region are applying with greater regularity nature-based solutions to mitigate the effects of urban heat islands and local-level flooding. But the persistent threats from sustained greenhouse gas emissions have raised questions among policymakers about the adequacy of scale of nature-based and related programs.
In Germany, metropolitan regions such as Stuttgart and Berlin have established themselves as global pioneers in the design, planning and implementation of regional-level green infrastructure programs. The nature-based programs of these cities are built around large-scale and interconnected systems of parks, forests and gardens and contributed to cooling urban centers, absorbing stormwater, boosting biodiversity and creating functional open spaces for the public.
Please join the NVRC for a webinar on Thursday, April 18, 2024, 12:00pm – 1:15pm (EST). Jamie Chan, Director of Europe Urban Greening at the Nature Conservancy, will share the ways that her work in Germany is leading a climate resiliency transformation through programs rounded in nature-based solutions and the potential lessons for equivalent work in Northern Virginia.
Rising Salinity in the Occoquan Reservoir
NVRC's Director of Environmental and Resiliency Planning authored a blog post on the rising salinity in the Occoquan Reservoir and regional efforts being undertaken to address this important matter. The Occoquan Reservoir is a major source of drinking water for Northern Virginia.
Closing the Region's Skill Gap
The Commission at its February meeting received a briefing from the Vice President of Strategy, Research and Workforce Innovation and the Director of Business Engagement and Career Services from the Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC). The representatives provided a detailed presentation on the ongoing efforts at NVCC to close the skill gap and their ongoing outreach efforts with the private sector to help local businesses fill job vacancies with skilled workers.
Thank You to Peggy Tadej
The staff of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission gathered for a farewell lunch for NVRC's Director of Community and Military Partnerships who is retiring. Peggy has been at the Commission for more than 12 years and was instrumental in helping build the Commission's very successful program. We were joined at the luncheon by Commissioners Victor Angry and Rodney Lusk (co-Chairs of the Partnership) and former Commissioner Penny Gross who chaired and co-chaired the Partnership for many years.) We wish Peggy and her family much good health and happiness.
About the Northern Virginia Regional Commission
NVRC is a consortium of thirteen local governments representing more than 2.5 million residents. While only 3% of Virginia's land mass, Northern Virginia has a GDP of $276 Billion which is 41.6% of the GDP of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Northern Virginia’s GDP is larger than 24 states and the District of Columbia and if a country would be the 48th largest economy in the world.