Lucy Ellett, Al and Nancy Hammond receive awards Sunday
The Blue Ridge Land Conservancy honored three of the Roanoke region’s finest on Sunday before a crowd of 200 at the organization’s annual Conservation Celebration at Braeloch in Roanoke County.
Lucy Ellett of Roanoke received the organization’s prestigious A. Victor Thomas Environmental Stewardship Award, named for the late Roanoke delegate in the General Assembly. The award is given annually to recognize those people and organizations that have made significant contributions to the preservation of the natural heritage of western Virginia. Past recipients include former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and the City of Roanoke.
As a member of Valley Beautiful, Ellett was instrumental in the creation of the Roanoke Valley’s greenway system and the formation of the Western Virginia Land Trust (now the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy) in the mid-1990s. Ellett is also active in the Mill Mountain Garden Club and has been honored by the Garden Club of Virginia and the Garden Club of America. While presenting Ellett with the award—a large oil-on-canvas painting by local artist Nan Mahone Wellborn—Blue Ridge Land Conservancy President Sandy Light said, “Lucy is the unsung hero of Roanoke Valley conservation and beyond.”
Al and Nancy Hammond of Roanoke County received the conservancy’s Land Saver Award. Al Hammond is a third-generation printer who began buying land around his family’s homeplace near the Roanoke River and Blue Ridge Parkway just outside of Vinton more than 50 years ago. Today all of the Hammonds’ 326 acres is protected by conservation agreements with the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy and the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, safeguarding scenic Parkway views and a fast-flowing stretch of the Roanoke River near Explore Park.
Recently, Al Hammond has become interested in agritourism, or the use of farm and rural land for activities such as “pick-your-own” fruit and vegetable operations, bed and breakfasts or venues for weddings and events. The Hammonds own and operate two venues on their farm, Boxtree Lodge and Braeloch, and are building a third, a music pavilion dubbed “The Glen at Glenburn Farm.”
While the land conservancy was honoring local champions of conservation on Sunday, it was also in the running for an award of its own. The Blue Ridge Land Conservancy was selected as one of just 51 finalists nationwide in the Tom’s of Maine “50 States for Good” competition.
Tom’s of Maine selected one charity from each state plus the District of Columbia to compete for $150,000 in prize money. The winners will be chosen by an online vote on Facebook, and the top 15 vote getters will receive $10,000 each to benefit their organizations. The public is welcome to vote once per day through October 15 at facebook.com/tomsofmaine.
Should the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy finish among the top 15, its winnings would go toward its youth environmental programs such as its School Garden Club.
