The Blue Ridge Land Conservancy has received a $50,000 grant from The Conservation Fund to obtain a professionally designed plan and community vision for the Evans Spring property in Roanoke.
Blue Ridge Land Conservancy will work with the Friends of Evans Spring, a local grassroots organization, and Roanoke’s Hill Studio, experts in place-based design for communities, to produce the plan over the next several months.
Evans Spring is one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in the city of Roanoke and contains a natural spring, a pond, several tributaries of the Roanoke River, woodlands and successional forest. Located in a predominantly Black, urban neighborhood in the city’s northwest quadrant, recent government plans have called for big-box development of this natural area. This Catalytic Grant will fund an alternative development plan with input from the community focusing on Evans Spring’s natural amenities as well as exploring affordable housing through a community land trust model.
Local leaders expressed enthusiasm for the project.
“For four years, Friends of Evans Spring has waged a nonviolent campaign not simply to save a piece of land, but to transform a community,” said Friends of Evans Spring founder Stephen Niamke. “We are protecting Evans Spring while centering the voices of those too often marginalized, confronting systems of oppression and injustice, advancing community wellness, and helping residents recognize the power they already possess.
“With this grant – and the partnership of advocates such as the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy and The Conservation Fund – we can turn community vision into community power: creating a future for Evans Spring that belongs to everyone,” Niamke continued. “This is what systemic change looks like: it begins within the community, is led by the community, and transforms the community from the inside out.”
“Evans Spring is a special place for so many reasons,” said Blue Ridge Land Conservancy Executive Director David Perry. “It’s by far the largest stand of trees in Northwest Roanoke, which suffers from a lack of tree canopy and is hotter than anywhere else in the city in the summer. There’s a natural spring and stream that merges with Lick Run and joins the Roanoke River downstream. It provides animal habitat, and the birders say it’s the best spot to bird watch in town. It’s on the route of the future Lick Run Greenway extension. It’s a place where school kids can learn about nature right in their own neighborhood.
“The community will decide the shape of the plan, and the owners of the parcels still have to decide to sell the land,” added Perry. “But it’s just the kind of place that could help power Roanoke’s economy by attracting folks who want an excellent quality of life. They want places to walk, enjoy nature, or to bike on a greenway. It aligns with everything the City of Roanoke has been trying to do for decades in terms of promoting its outdoor amenities to attract businesses and create jobs.”
David Hill of Hill Studio said, “Hill Studio is honored to help translate this vision into a plan that protects Evans Spring’s natural legacy while ensuring the neighbors, who have long called this place home, can help shape the future of this community resource.”
