2012–2013 Issue - Outreach & International Affairs - Virginia Tech

Illustration by Michael St. Germain/Conservation Management InstituteAt the core of the effort:the Catawba SustainabilityCenter, 377 Virginia Techownedacres situated in theUpper James River Basinin the headwaters of theChesapeake Bay watershed.The center was instrumentalin two ways. First,warm-season grasses havebeen grown on the propertysince 2008. Second,Christy Gabbard, the center’sformer director, helpedunite Catawba landowners(through the communitygroup Catawba Landcare)with Virginia Tech’s AndrewRosenberger, a privatelands biologist for SouthwestVirginia working withthe Virginia Department ofGame and Inland Fisheriesand the USDA NaturalResources ConservationService.After the centerheld a quailhabitat-restorationworkshop,Rosenberger andthe landownershatched aplan. They wouldencourage thecommunity to createa quail-habitatquilt throughoutthe Catawba Valley. Thequilt would consist of asmany plots of warm-seasongrasses as possible. Quaillove the grasses becausethey provide cover fornesting and hiding frompredators.“I see this as a way ofmaximizing our tax dollars,”Gabbard says. “Theuniversity showcases landmanagementpractices,and landowners act as themessengers, which resultsin changes on the ground.”John McCormickBig year for Preston’sWine aficionados have anew way to learn aboutwine through Preston’s,the restaurant at The Innat Virginia Tech. The newWine Society entitlesmembers to free educationand-tastingevents as wellas glassware and a giftcertificate toward a meal.Discounts on wine from a“secret list” are also available.But the wine societyisn’t all that’s new. Preston’s,one of Blacksburg’s favoriteContinued on page 28$45.5 million54Senegalese scholars and investorswho visited Virginia Tech through aUSAID program aimed at improvingagriculture in Senegal.gross sales at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center generated bythe Center for Organizational and Technological Advancement from2004 to 2012.11organizations that partnered with theVirginia Tech Roanoke Center to presentthe region’s 2012 Technology Expo.5,000agriculture textbooks that Virginia Tech faculty, staff, andstudents have sent to help stock South Sudan universitylibraries.Outreach NOW 27