Conservation

Home » Conservation

The Virginia Living Museum is a certified Virginia Green attraction committed to minimizing its environmental impacts by preventing pollution wherever feasible in its operations. In addition to its operating practices, the Museum promotes conservation to its visitors through the Goodson Living Green House, solar displays, Conservation Garden and use of native plants throughout its exhibits and grounds.

Clean the Bay Day – Chesapeake Bay Foundation

VLM volunteers and staff participate in the CBF’s annual “Clean the Bay Day” to remove trash and debris from creeks.

Coastal Cleanup – Ocean Conservancy

VLM volunteers and staff participate in Ocean Conservancy’s annual “International Coastal Cleanup” to remove trash and debris from local coast lines. Dozens of volunteers pick up a wide variety of trash and objects along the shoreline and also by boat. Read more about the Ocean Conservancy event.

Dark Sky

Have you ever been outside at night on a ship? Or maybe in the mountains? Or even in a rural area, far away from a major city? Looking up at such a sky makes you feel like you can reach up and touch the stars. “Why doesn’t the sky look like this where I live?” you might wonder.

FrogWatch USA

FrogWatch USA is AZA’s flagship citizen science program that invites individuals and families to learn about the wetlands in their communities and help conserve amphibians by reporting the calls of local frogs and toads.

Green Teens

The Virginia Living Museum is currently accepting applications for the Green Teens Program.

Green Teens New Trash and Recycling Bins

Monarch Butterflies

Museum staff and volunteers have reared the migrating generation of Monarch butterflies since 1988 and have tagged and released over 1400 migrating adults since 1996.

Project FeederWatch

Project FeederWatch engages volunteer community scientists in observing and collecting data from bird feeders at Virginia Living Museum to help scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology track broad-scale movement of bird populations over the winter.

Salamander Survey

The VLM Salamander Survey started in fall of 2022 as a biomonitoring survey to determine which species of terrestrial salamanders are present at 4 small sample sites on VLM property. The goal of the project is to monitor forest floor salamander biodiversity, determining which species are present and in what density, and to include citizen scientists (VLM guests and volunteers) in the process of learning about the scientific process and the importance of these small creatures in their forest floor ecosystem.

Seafood Watch

Help keep the oceans healthy by choosing seafood that’s plentiful and caught or farmed in ways that protect the oceans. Learn about the Seafood Watch program created by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and download the latest Seafood Watch Guide.

Turtle Census

The Virginia Living Museum Education and Herpetology staff began a multi-year research project to monitor the population changes of freshwater turtles in a local watershed over time.

Virginia Green

The Virginia Living Museum is a Certified Virginia Green travel partner committed to implementing environmentally-friendly operations and educating about sustainable practices.