Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship

The Blue Ridge Center is a nonprofit educational organization that stewards a 893-acre historic landscape. Our land and programs bring to life a 500-year relationship between land and people in the Virginia's Northern Blue Ridge.

The Blue Ridge Center develops, demonstrates and supports innovative approaches to stewardship. We invite people and partners to study, restore, interpret and experience our land's environment and history.

The Blue Ridge Center was founded as a project of the Robert and Dee Leggett Foundation and became an independent nonprofit organization in 2004. The Leggett Foundation purchased Mountain View farm in 1999 as a home for the Blue Ridge Center and to preserve the land's history, allow people to experience its natural beauty, and protect the Appalachian Trail viewshed.

We want to show ways keep conservation land active for economic uses like farming, as well as public uses like recreation and education. We are exploring ways in which economics and conservation go hand in hand.

Schools, youth groups and education organizations are encouraged to schedule trail and farm outings in advance by calling 540-668-7640. Everyone is welcome to hike our trails, visit our farm, and attend our educational events. Visit our online calendar for event details and volunteer projects.

Here farming, environmental stewardship, and community are woven together. More than 200 acres of land is actively farmed and pastured by resident and partner farmers--providing fresh local food and, in the process, stewarding the land.

Exhibits at the Demory-Wortman Cultural Center depict how food cultivation and community have changed through the years with new attitudes and technologies. Now, with contemporary sustainable farming practices, local farms are once again feeding local people.

The Blue Ridge Center's 10 miles of walking paths to wander. Few public spaces so close to the big city offer such deep woods to enjoy the sounds of birdsong and to spend a few precious hours away from the bustle of everyday life.