Keep Southwest Virginia Beautiful
The Upper Tennessee River Roundtable formed a Keep America Beautiful affiliate in 2007, called Keep Southwest Virginia Beautiful. The formation of this affiliate resulted from a unique partnership among nine counties and two cities. These localities joined to serve on a Black Diamond RC&D task force for a year and then became the Roundtable's Tourism and Trash Team. After working on many projects together, the group decided to form a KAB affiliate, which was certified April 21, 2007. The affiliate won state and national awards for its litter prevention work in 2007. Click here for the KSVB page.
Assign-A-Highway Program
Attorney Frank Kilgore successfully launched the Assign-A-Highway Program in Buchanan County as a way to achieve sustainable roadside cleanups. The program utilizes probationers, who are nonviolent offenders, to pick up two-mile sections of roadsides every two weeks. The Roundtable applied for and received a grant from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to promote this program throughout Virginia. DEQ has funded the program for three years. The Virginia Department of Transportation has funded the program for two years. For more information on this innovative and highly successful program, see www.assignahighway.com.
Rain Barrels
The Roundtable recently completed a series of hands-on rain barrel workshops. Participants in each workshop were able to build and take home their very own rain barrels. Further, they were also equipped with the skills and knowledge to make more rain barrels should they choose to do so. Click here to download a brochure with more information about rain barrels.
Stream Monitoring
The Roundtable encourages citizens to become involved in a stream monitoring program that is a cooperative effort with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Virginia Save Our Streams program. The Roundtable and DCR offer training workshops to teach citizens how to catch the tiny bugs that are an indicator of stream health. To find out about the next training session, contact the Roundtable. (Image credit: Carol Doss, UTRR.)
Larger Roundtable
The Upper Tennessee River Roundtable has a membership of over 300 individuals. The membership meets each spring and fall. A board of directors and an executive council meet periodically between between membership meetings. Anyone who attends a spring or fall Roundtable meeting is considered to be a member.
EQT Foundation
The Roundtable is partnering with EQT Foundation, which is providing funds for an education outreach program that is reaching students and adults in Russell, Wise, Dickenson, Buchanan counties and the City of Norton. The Roundtable is utilizing an education program developed by American Electric Power called RiverWorks Discovery that focuses on water quality, river systems, the efficiency of barge travel, and pollution prevention. For more information, contact the Roundtable office.
The Roundtable and ACCWT
The Roundtable partners with Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team (ACCWT) US Office of Surface Mining/Americorps VISTA volunteers and summer associates to jointly accomplish our goals. VISTA volunteers and summer associates are volunteers who donate one year or one summer for national service in many areas including the environment. The ACCWT serves eight Appalachian states (AL, KY, MD, OH, PA, TN, VA and WV). For more information about the ACCWT, click here.
A key concern of the Roundtable and ACCWT is Acid Mine Drainage. The Roundtable created a flier that highlights the harm of AMD and also serves as a field guide for identifying water sources affected by AMD. Click here to download the flier in PDF format.
Upcoming Events
Locality Awards Competition
Deadline is extended this year for the Beautification and Community Improvement Awards Program. Contact us to obtain the one-page entry form. The deadline to enter is Aug. 30. The competition is divided into three categories: counties, small towns and cities, large towns and cities. For more information, send an email or call. Previous winners were the City of Norton, Buchanan County, Town of Pocahontas, and Dickenson County.
Saturday, Oct. 3 - Saturday, Oct 24, 2009: Regional Stream Cleanup
Sponsored by Tennessee Valley Authority. Help clean up our streams and rivers! Supplies and rewards provided. Call the Roundtable to register!
Contact Us
Physical Address:
330 Cummings Street
Abingdon, VA 24210
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 2359
Abingdon, VA 24212
Phone/Fax:
T (276)628-1600
F (276)623-1185
E-mail