Dear Friends,

Thanks to your support, our grassroots organization continues to seriously make sustainability fun! It's been a year of exciting program growth. In 2024, we: 

• Taught environmental science to more than 750 public school students

• Talked to more than 7,400 people about conservation and environmental science through numerous workshops and presentations around Virginia and at the Library of Congress’s National Book Festival 

• Educated more than 40 million online viewers about sustainable living through our social media channels 

• Rewilded Winchester with a one acre native meadow at Jim Barnett Park and Made Trash Bloom with a new native meadow at the Rappahannock Landfill 

As we look ahead to 2025, we are excited about more opportunities to achieve our conservation mission:

• Introducing a new generation of girls to environmental science through our third year of the EcologiGALs program

• Growing Making Trash Bloom through citizen science events and a meadow installation with our newest partner, York County in Tidewater Virginia

• Seeding our first native meadow through Making History Bloom on the W&OD Trail in Vienna 

• Launching a six-month social media campaign to teach people about reducing plastic use and food waste

• Continuing to partner with multiple Shenandoah County towns on recycling education & collection activities

Your generous support makes our mission work possible. Please remember us in your year-end giving with a one-time gift to Sustainability Matters. And if you haven't joined us yet, please become a monthly member.

Together we'll build community through conservation in 2025!

With hope and gratitude,

Andrea McGimsey

Executive Director

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