Piedmont Land Conservancy

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Piedmont Land Conservancy Piedmont Land Conservancy (PLC) began as an idea in 1989 when several long-time residents met around Kathy Treanor’s dining room table.

Piedmont Land Conservancy protects the NC Piedmont region’s natural lands, family farms, and waters for the benefit of all living things through land protection, stewardship of conserved spaces, and connecting people with nature. They came together to discuss how to make a difference by conserving the Piedmont’s most precious natural assets forever. A year later, they incorporated Piedmont Land Conservancy as a tax-exempt non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization. Piedmont Land Conservancy preserves natural and scenic lands, farms and open spaces in Piedmont North Carolina – lands that enrich the quality of life for our communities and for future generations. PLC is the only local land protection organization serving nine northern Piedmont counties – Alamance, Caswell, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin. PLC is a member of the Land Trust Alliance and the association of North Carolina Land Trusts – the Land Trust Council. For more information on how we do our work and to see properties protected throughout our region, visit www.piedmontland.org

Join Piedmont Land Conservancy and Deep River Riverkeeper for a guided hike along the Deep River State Trail in Franklin...
09/30/2026

Join Piedmont Land Conservancy and Deep River Riverkeeper for a guided hike along the Deep River State Trail in Franklinville on Wednesday October 7, 10:00am - 12:00pm.

We’ll walk approximately 3 miles round trip on the wide, smooth, crushed gravel trail from Riverside Park to Sandy Creek and back. We'll walk with the Deep River on our side, see past remnants of the area’s industrial history, and enjoy a peaceful forest before reaching Sandy Creek and turning back. As we walk, we’ll learn about the conservation history and natural heritage of the Deep River.

We hope you'll join us! Space is limited so sign up here: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/grouphikeouting/event/drrk26/

This past weekend, PLC hosted two hikes in Bethania, North Carolina, guided by board member and master naturalist Matt ...
09/23/2026

This past weekend, PLC hosted two hikes in Bethania, North Carolina, guided by board member and master naturalist Matt Perry.

Walks in Bethania never get old. It's one of the earliest Moravian settlements in the Wachovia tract, and it's a National Historic Landmark, but what stays with you is the sense of a place that has been lived in carefully for a long time.

Together with the Town of Bethania and the State of North Carolina, PLC has protected 193 acres around the village. That land keeps the town looking like itself, and keeps the fields and bottomlands doing what they have always done.

The golden fields are worth seeing while they last! Walk the Black Walnut Bottoms trail from the visitor center and see for yourself.

Today is the autumn equinox, the moment the sun crosses the equator and the northern hemisphere begins its turn toward r...
09/22/2026

Today is the autumn equinox, the moment the sun crosses the equator and the northern hemisphere begins its turn toward rest.

The equinox is a good day to stop, look around, and take in the quiet miracle of our changing seasons. We're already seeing signs of fall: little warblers passing through on their migration south, fields and ditches glowing with golden flowers, and a few trees here and there turning red at the edges.

We’re feeling grateful for the care keeping our lands beautifully whole. We see it in landowners who choose, against easier offers, to protect their land so it goes on being itself. We see it in neighbors who give what they can, and by volunteers who reroute a trail on a Tuesday morning because it needs doing (happening today at Knight Brown Nature Preserve!).

As the harvest comes in and the leaves prepare to let go, we're grateful for the land, and for all of you who help us protect this beautiful place we love.

📷 Pictured: Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina), Tickseed Sunflower (Bidens aristosa) on PLC protected land, Red Maple (Acer rubrum) starting to turn at Hanging Rock State Park.

This summer’s heat in NC asked a lot of everything living here. But these incredible creatures keep on keeping on in spi...
09/10/2026

This summer’s heat in NC asked a lot of everything living here. But these incredible creatures keep on keeping on in spite of it.

The mink still hunts the river, the yellow-bellied slider still sunbathes on a log, a Fowler's toad (small enough to sit on a thumbnail) still emerges from the water and gives life a shot.

We're grateful for them, and for every acre you help us protect, where they can carry on undisturbed.

Photos captured this summer by PLC’s Communications Director, Brianna.
Also pictured: Snowy Egret, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Green Heron, Gray Squirrel.

We lost two women this month who helped make PLC what it is: Kem Schroeder and Carolyn Allen.Kem Schroeder died August 3...
09/07/2026

We lost two women this month who helped make PLC what it is: Kem Schroeder and Carolyn Allen.

Kem Schroeder died August 31 at the age of 72. In PLC’s earlier years she served as Director of Development, raising the money that made it possible to buy and preserve farmland and natural spaces across the Piedmont. Kem was a major proponent for land conservation before and after her time at PLC. A lawyer by training and a two-term member of the Winston-Salem City-County Planning Board, she strongly believed the region could grow without giving up what made it worth living in. She was uniquely warm and never met a stranger, and she brought all of that to the work of asking people to care about land.

Carolyn Allen died September 1 at the age of 93. She was a founding member of Piedmont Land Conservancy back when it all began. She served as Board President, and was a longtime member of our Land Protection Committee. Her quiet, intelligent, determined leadership guided PLC through its formative years, and she was instrumental in helping us transfer Price Park to the City of Greensboro. Greensboro knew her as its first female mayor and as a lifelong advocate for social justice and the environment. We knew her as someone who showed up, made things happen, and made us all better at our work.

We are so grateful to both women, who gave PLC years of their lives.
The land they helped protect will outlast all of us, which is why they were so passionate about the work in the first place.

Join us at the Friendship Garden!
09/03/2026

Join us at the Friendship Garden!

The earth turns, and hiking season is on it's way back. We are ready to take full advantage of it.Take a walk with us at...
09/03/2026

The earth turns, and hiking season is on it's way back. We are ready to take full advantage of it.

Take a walk with us at Black Walnut Bottoms in Historic Bethania. One of our favorite hike leaders, Matt Perry (PLC board member & master naturalist), is hosting a double feature!

Sign up for a morning hike on either Friday September 18th or Saturday September 19th. Both hikes will be from 9:00-10:30 am. We'll walk approximately 1.5 miles stopping to learn about nature along the way.

The Black Walnut Bottoms Trail recently reopened with new bridges that we can't wait to see. Sign up to join us here: www.piedmontland.org/events-and-outings/

"Short of reintroducing bison, the next best tool is fire."That's what our Preserve Manager told us when we asked how to...
08/21/2026

"Short of reintroducing bison, the next best tool is fire."

That's what our Preserve Manager told us when we asked how to bring back Piedmont prairie, one of the rarest habitats in our region.

So this past spring, we burned 27 acres at Bashavia Creek Preserve and 19 acres at Caraway Creek Preserve.

This summer, we've been able to watch the impact of those burns, some truly glorious results, in real time: Milkweed and native grasses everywhere. Grasshoppers scattering with every step. Seemingly endless butterflies, bluebirds, indigo buntings, and many, many more birds.

Over in the pine stand at Caraway, sunlight reaching the forest floor jumped from 10% to 75%, and young oaks are already coming up, speeding along forest succession.

This is all excellent news. Read more about the how and why of these prescribed fires here: https://www.piedmontland.org/2026/07/01/restorationthroughfire/

Thank you, Lucy!This summer, Lucy Alva joined us as our conservation intern, working alongside preserve manager Mike San...
08/20/2026

Thank you, Lucy!

This summer, Lucy Alva joined us as our conservation intern, working alongside preserve manager Mike Santucci. She monitored Eastern Bluebird nest boxes, marked preserve boundaries, rerouted trails to prevent erosion, and flagged future trails, all while inspiring us with her curiosity about every small detail of the natural world. We are so grateful for her hard work and passion!

In her words:

"One of my favorite parts of the internship was monitoring the bluebird nest boxes. It was incredible getting to watch the entire nesting process, from eggs to hatchlings, and seeing firsthand how conservation efforts can make a real difference for wildlife. I also loved spending time out in the preserves, where I got to see so many amazing plants and animals, including more box turtles than I ever expected! This internship has strengthened my passion for conservation and confirmed that this is the kind of work I want to do in the future."

Lucy heads back to UNC Asheville this fall to continue studying Environmental Science. We're grateful for everything she did for our preserves, and we can't wait to see where she goes next.

Photo: Lucy at the future Bashavia Creek Preserve

Address

324 W Wendover Avenue, Suite 112
Greensboro, NC
27408

Telephone

+13366910088

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