Michael Scott’s experience as a guide at the Ivy Creek Natural Area in Albemarle County, Virginia, showed him a model for how a nonprofit, in partnership with local government, volunteers, and other partners, can make a lasting impact on the community it serves. The Ivy Creek Foundation administers the natural area on behalf of Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville. For over four decades, the Ivy Creek Foundation has coordinated volunteer groups to create and maintain trails, lead educational activities for the public, and ensure preservation and good stewardship of the environment. In addition, they have raised funds to maintain the natural area and its historic buildings, built a beautiful education building onsite, and created accessible paths and facilities to ensure all members of the public can experience the natural area. With that model in mind, Michael’s concept for the Nature for Wellness Foundation began to take shape. The main challenge he saw, however, was where to begin. That all changed in the spring of 2023 when he read an article in the local news that his very own county was in the process of acquiring a significant land parcel which could bring the restorative natural area concept to life.

In June 2023, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors in Virginia held a public hearing to discuss the future of a proposed 462-acre land purchase in the area surrounding Rivanna Station, a Department of Defense hub just north of Charlottesville, Virginia. While the hearing was intended to solicit public comment on whether to open the property to defense contractors and other public uses that would enhance the federal government presence on Rivanna Station and generate revenue for the County, Michael signed up to speak on behalf of creating a new kind of natural area that could help heal those who served us all. In his two-minute comment time, he asked the Board to consider preserving a portion of the land as a natural area “rejuvenation zone” for military personnel, veterans, and first responders.  

“As the military struggles with the lasting impact of decades of combat operations, deployments, and overall high operational tempo, opportunities to heal the human mind and spirit seem elusive. We have the chance to change that.” 

The overwhelmingly positive response from both the Board of Supervisors and that of the County staff was incredible. Boosted by the positive response, Michael assembled a team who shared the vision and brought their own talents to the table. And with that, the Nature for Wellness Foundation took root. 

The idea of creating and maintaining safe, quiet, restorative natural areas to promote nature-based healing grew out of recognition that we need to do more to help reduce the stress and trauma endured by our service members, veterans, and first responders and we can do it in a way which also benefits our natural environment.

how it started

Albemarle County and the Central Virginia area has a sizable National Security sector and is home to thousands of veterans, service members, and first responders.

the need is real, and so is the desire to help

While there are monuments and annual ceremonies to honor those who have served and sacrificed, there is an underlying desire to do more. During the annual Veterans Day Proclamation by the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors in November 2024, Supervisor Mike Pruitt, himself a veteran, spoke of the challenge:

“During this generation of warfare that we’ve been embroiled in, we’ve had an entirely volunteer force which I think speaks to the bravery and the role of members of our Armed Forces played in our community. But I think it also highlights a difficulty we have as a country engaging with what the cost of this warfare looks like. We have become a country with a “warrior class,” a group of people who bear all of the emotional burdens of our ongoing conflicts abroad and the rest of the country gets to be insulated from that. And once a year, we recite our love of veterans on Veterans Day. And in the meantime, we have seen a slow clawing back of what VA services look like for those who serve during war. An increasing and growing mental health crisis amongst veterans and amongst our service members. . . There is still so much more work to be done, because we are a community where it is easy for us to forget the weight that people are carrying. . . There is so much more our country, our community, can do to make sure we shoulder the burden that our veteran community carries. I hope that we can continue to lean into that promise that we make here, once a year, on Veterans Day.”   

We at the Nature for Wellness Foundation agree with this sentiment and we believe that together, we can do more. 

Nature for Wellness Foundation is working with Albemarle County staff in an effort to move the vision from concept to reality.

the first big step

Once the restorative natural area is officially designated, then Nature for Wellness Foundation seeks to enter into an agreement whereby we will maintain and administer the restorative natural area on behalf of, and in partnership with, the County in a manner that preserves the ecosystems and the quiet, restorative qualities of the land for benefit of military personnel, veterans, and first responders. This will include establishing and maintaining trail networks, ensuring a safe and accessible space, and making appropriate improvements to the land. We will partner with other organizations and individuals to bring in their expertise in areas such as therapeutic horticulture, mindfulness, mental health counseling, fly fishing, beekeeping, and other therapeutic activities. We will coordinate and schedule activities and uses of the restorative natural area and will facilitate educational opportunities. This would include expanding awareness, operating and maintaining websites, coordinating with external organizations, calendars, social media, and other administrative activities to further the mission. Nature for Wellness Foundation will conduct fundraising activities and apply for grants to help improve the restorative natural area and improve the quality of services offered to the military personnel, veterans and first responders. Together, we can do more. 

Once the restorative natural area is officially designated, then Nature for Wellness Foundation seeks to enter into an agreement whereby we will maintain and administer the restorative natural area on behalf of, and in partnership with, the County in a manner that preserves the ecosystems and the quiet, restorative qualities of the land for benefit of military personnel, veterans, and first responders. This will include establishing and maintaining trail networks, ensuring a safe and accessible space, and making appropriate improvements to the land. We will partner with other organizations and individuals to bring in their expertise in areas such as therapeutic horticulture, mindfulness, mental health counseling, fly fishing, beekeeping, and other therapeutic activities. We will coordinate and schedule activities and uses of the restorative natural area and will facilitate educational opportunities. This would include expanding awareness, operating and maintaining websites, coordinating with external organizations, calendars, social media, and other administrative activities to further the mission. Nature for Wellness Foundation will conduct fundraising activities and apply for grants to help improve the restorative natural area and improve the quality of services offered to the military personnel, veterans and first responders. Together, we can do more.