Program process
  

Find Out More 

Meghan McGinty tells it all at the Old School House at the Great Falls Grange, 9818 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls, on Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. Register by September 3 at Meghan@cultivatenature.com. Visit the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program website at https://vaswcd.org/vcap/ for more information and application.

A Virginia Conservation Assistance Program presented by the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts is offering property owners in Fairfax County an urban cost-share program. It is also offered to independent cities not covered by a Soil and Water Conservation District, such as the City of Fairfax and the City of Alexandria.

The retrograde program offers financial and technical support for eligible best management practices in areas experiencing erosion, poor drainage, excessive rooftop runoff, steep slopes, insufficient vegetation, and more. The goal is to "slow down the water and not carry pollutants," according to Blair Blanchette, Virginia Conservation Assistance Program Coordinator.

Nonpoint source pollution runoff from lawns, paved driveways and concrete walkways from collecting natural and human-made pollutants and depositing them through storm drains into groundwater, streams, lakes, rivers, wetlands, and coastal waters. Storm drains do not filter runoff.

Meghan M. McGinty, Ph.D., of Great Falls, is a botanist and ecologist. She is the creator of @CultivateNature on Instagram and is well-versed in preserving clean water sources from stormwater runoff, nurturing ecosystems, and with the program. McGinty confirmed that property owners can receive financial assistance for up to 80 percent of qualified project costs.

Among the many qualified projects are impervious surface removal and permeable pavements, conservation landscaping, rain gardens, dry wells, bioretention, and planting native flora, thereby fostering wildlife habitats. 

A permeable paving surface can be pea gravel which allows stormwater to flow through it, or partially porous paver blocks spaced so water drains through the areas between the blocks.

Find out more about the program, as McGinty tells it all at the Old School House at the Great Falls Grange, 9818 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls, on Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. Register by September 3 at Meghan@cultivatenature.com. Visit the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program website at https://vaswcd.org/vcap/ for more information and application.