Sunnyside Collaborations
Sunnyside benefits immensely from research, educational and strategic collaborations with a number of organizations and entities.
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI)
NZCBI assists in global efforts to save species from extinction and train the next generation of conservationists. NZCBI spearheads research programs from its conservation headquarters in Front Royal, Virginia. We partner with NZCBI across a range of initiatives, including the Northern Virginia Piedmont Kestrel Project and Virginia Working Landscapes (through which we participate in research on grassland birds and native meadow restoration and management).
The Clifton Institute
The Clifton Institute provides environmental education, conducts ecological research and restores habitat for native plants and animals. It operates a 900-acre field station on a conserved property just outside Warrenton, Virginia that also serves as its headquarters. Sunnyside currently partners with Clifton on its kestrel research and box turtle research.
Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF)
VOF is a public/private organization created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966. Its core mission is to promote the conservation of open-space lands. Sunnyside worked with VOF to place the property in conservation easement back in 2006. VOF holds that easement and is responsible for ensuring compliance with its terms, which limit development so as to preserve the property’s open space characteristics.
Culpeper Soil & Water Conservation District (Culpeper SWCD)
Culpeper SWCD provides agricultural cost share through the Best Management Practices Program and technical assistance for landowners regarding conservation and natural resources management. It also reviews site plans for erosion and sediment control and stormwater management. Culpeper SWCD has assisted Sunnyside with stream corridor protection and presented us with its 2017 Clean Water Award in recognition of our conservation and water quality practices.
Old Rag Master Naturalists
Virginia Master Naturalists are online educators, citizen scientists and stewards helping Virginia conserve and manage natural resources and public lands. The Old Rag chapter supports Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock Counties. They organize an annual butterfly survey and count that covers several local properties, including Sunnyside.
Blue Ridge Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (Blue Ridge PRISM)
Blue Ridge PRISM aims to reduce the impact of invasive plants on the northern Blue Ridge Mountains and surrounding areas through regional and statewide advocacy, landowner support, implementing control measures and public education. Sunnyside participates in their landowner education programs.
Virginia Forestry and Wildlife Group (VAFWG)
VAFWG is a firm offering forestland and natural resource management services to landowners in Virginia. Sunnyside engages VAFWG to assist in our invasive species control efforts and to in conservation planning.
Rappahannock County
Rappahannock is the rural Virginia county in which we are situated. Its focus on conservation and agriculture and on limited development creates an enabling environment that allows Sunnyside to thrive. Its schools, volunteer fire and rescue squads and other services help sustain those who live and work here.
Rappahannock Farmers Market (RFM)
The RFM hosts a weekly farmers market in Sperryville, Virginia that is the primary retail outlet for produce grown at Sunnyside Farm and Conservancy. The market runs from April-November every Saturday morning from 9-12 and features an array of local products including beef, bread, flowers, herbs and mushrooms.
Virginia Tech Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (VADWR)
Virginia Tech with the support of VADWR is running the Virginia Gray Fox Project to assess current distribution of the species across the state and to identify variables associated with the fox's absence or presence. Sunnyside is a participating field site through which we are part of a statewide camera trapping effort.