New River Conservancy

New River Conservancy is excited to participate in the 13th Annual #GIVELOCALNRV

We are hoping to raise $5,000 to help support the riparian buffer restoration work on Tract Fork at the Calfee Community and Cultural Center in Pulaski, Virginia. Tract Fork, meandering almost 9 miles through Pulaski, is a tributary of Peak Creek, which flows into the New River at Claytor Lake. Tract Fork is severely eroded and will continue to be without our help.  Through partnership with the Calfee Center, Friends of Peak Creek and community members, we will restore the ecosystem and the riparian area surrounding the Calfee Center. 

The institution that came to be known as the Calfee Training School first opened its doors in southwest Virginia as a school for African American children in 1894. Despite being severely underfunded and hindered by segregationist policies, the Calfee Training School left a legacy that has now spanned multiple generations. Today, the school has been repurposed as a community and cultural center. After sitting empty for 10 years, the school began its transition to the Calfee Community and Cultural Center.  

Alongside Tract Fork, the Calfee Center continues its long tradition of serving Pulaski County’s children and families.  Following the restoration of the Tract Fork streambank, the Center plans to construct the Sankofa Trail, a publicly accessible nature walk featuring a StoryWalk, native plantings, and safe access to the creek for neighborhood residents. The Calfee Center sits just across Tract Fork from the T.G. Howard Community Center, and together these two historic institutions have provided educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities for African American families for generations. Restoring Tract Fork will reconnect these spaces and create new opportunities for hands-on youth learning in conservation, environmental stewardship, biology, and outdoor recreation, strengthening both community health and environmental awareness.

A riparian buffer is an area adjacent to a stream, lake, or wetland that contains a combination of trees, shrubs, and/or other perennial plants whose roots help stabilize streambanks, prevent erosion and provide habitat to wildlife in a watershed. In addition, a riparian buffer cools the water, providing a better ecosystem for aquatic life.  Restoring the streambanks helps everything. Addressing eroded river and creek banks and ridding the New River of threats to water quality is meaningful, hands-on work — this kind of work makes a tremendous difference for the river we all love.

We are all committed to protecting the waters, woodlands and wildlife of the New River watershed.  Part of this protection includes work that ensures the protection of our creeks and streams.  A riparian buffer is the last line of protective defense of these waters. A restored creekbank on Tract Fork is one more step to protecting the waters we love.  

Over 50 years ago a small group of dedicated people set out to fight the big fight against damming the New River in North Carolina & Virginia. And they won.  Since then we have worked to protect the New River Watershed from all challenges.  

Thank you for your donation, which is critical to continuing this work to protect the waters, woodlands, and wildlife of the New River Watershed.  

Make Your Gift Today!