James River Soil and Water Hosts Earth Day Event and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Chesterfield, VA: James River Soil and Water hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the inauguration of Chesterfield’s first Little Free Seed Library on Saturday, April 23rd, 2022, to celebrate Earth Day at the Chesterfield Central Library.
Speakers at the event included James River Soil & Water Elected Director’s Laura Thompson, and Carey Allen, James River Soil & Water Associate Director Zane Bernard, Master Gardener Jere Mollen, Master Gardener Gail Coltes, and Dale District Supervisor Jim Holland. Also in attendance were Rebecca Longnaker, Treasurer of Chesterfield County, Isaac Sarver, former Chief Deputy Director at the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Senator Warner’s Staff.
Director Laura Lee Thompson, Laura’s brother Joey Kleiner who is a Senior Water Resources Engineer at the Department of Environmental Quality, and Associate Director Zane Bernard built the Little Free Seed Library. Laura thanked her interns for helping with the event. Laura said, “The Little Free Library is for our community to freely leave and take seeds. We wanted to make sure that the entire community can have access to free seeds because food accessibility is important to us.”
Director Carey Lynn Allen said, “Here at James River Soil and Water, we have two programs that distribute funding to help the environment in your backyard. The Virginia Conservation Assistance Program and Agriculture Cost-Share. Both help landowners implement better management practices.”
Director Zane Bernard said, “Myself and a few interns are working on what we’re calling the Farmer Resource Project. The idea is to aggregate all the information on all of the entities providing conservation resources in Central Virginia into one place, along with some instructions on how to best access said resources.”
Master Gardener Jere Mollen talked about First Saturday Events that are going on with Cooperative Extension. Master Gardener Gail Coltes is the lead for Cooperative Extension’s Plant A Row for the Hungry Program, where gardeners grow and donate produce to those in need.
Dale District Supervisor, Jim Holland, gave a speech that stressed the important role of the Seed Library in the local community. Holland drew attention to the recent crisis of food insecurity in Chesterfield county: “You saw the long lines at the Chesterfield food bank. Over 20,000 people faced food insecurity in Chesterfield county.” He also said, “Your work is needed more than ever before. You are starting a collaboration to empower others.”
