Bringing new life an old dump

Sustainability Matters, an Edinburg-based nonprofit whose mission is to make sustainability efforts more inclusive, is planning to begin that work in a pilot program at the Rappahannock County landfill in Amissville in October during an invite-only event (because of space restrictions at the site, the event can only accommodate a small crowd. Those who wish to attend must register in advance with the organization).

The nonprofit began rehabilitating the Shenandoah County landfill, but has since expanded to work on the landfills in Fairfax and Rappahannock counties where invasive species are aggressively taking over the habitat, according to Executive Director Sari Carp. 

“We love to see them all become eco-friendly public parts of spaces where wildlife and pollinators can thrive undisturbed,” the nonprofit said in a newsletter. Its long-term goal via the initiative, entitled “Making Trash Bloom Rapp,” is to plant native meadows throughout the landfills.

“Meadow establishment is tricky under the best of circumstances, exponentially more so on steeply sloped sites with barely two feet of soil above a thick plastic liner and acres of trash!” the organization said.

The plots to be planted this fall in Rappahannock will test seed mixes, site preparation and planting techniques, as well as invasive management strategies. Refining those variables is key to building a scalable model of successful habitat at landfills, according to the nonprofit.

Sustainability Matters has been working with Rappahannock County Administrator Garrey Curry for about a year to get off the ground the pilot program that is being funded by the Warrenton-based PATH Foundation and the Northern Piedmont Community Foundation.

“There’s no reason why those species couldn’t be changed to native species that better support the pollinator community,” Curry, who is in charge of maintaining the grounds, said. He noted it could help the county save money since the landfill, which is no longer open, must be mowed two times each year. If that vegetation is reduced, the lot will no longer need mowing.

“Perhaps reducing costs for the county and the vegetation maintenance and improving the pollinator opportunities seems to be a win-win,” he said.

Sustainability Matters is also working in conjunction with students and an instructor at the Warrenton-based Mountain Vista Governor’s School, which includes some Rappahannock students, to bring the pilot project to life. Students in biology, ecology and research classes have already been out in the field collecting data on soil, plants and wildlife, said Hannah Bement, who teaches biological sciences at the school.

“It’s just really inspiring to get to see the students get so excited about the fact that this is real world stuff,” Bement said. “It’s not some theoretical class topic. It’s something happening that has real potential to make a difference and they’re involved and that’s empowering.”

She said students in her classes who participate in the project may have the opportunity to be published in academic papers as they continue to collect data, hopefully, for years to come.

“So often, teaching ecology or environmental science, it can be a lot of doom and gloom. And I genuinely worry about depressing my students or making them feel hopeless about the state of the world,” Bement said. “So this sort of project where I can say, ‘look, this is literally a superpower you have. You can choose to plant a native plant instead of an invasive butterfly bush.’”

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