17% of Albemarle County land now protected.

According to the Piedmont Environmental Council 2,253 acres of Albemarle County land went under conservation easement in 2010.

Tthe Charlottesville Daily Progress relates that this brings the total amount of protected land in Albemarle up to 83,600 acres which is about 17.5% or the total county acreage. 

Conservation easements are an excellent vehicle for protecting the countryside from urban sprawl.  The Piedmont Environmental Council works hard to educate landowners about the advantages of conserving their land.  Whether your focus is on protecting working farms, wildlife habitats, rivers, historic sites, or the scenic beauty of the Virginia countryside a conservation easement can be the perfect vehicle.

For more information on conservation easements and whether one could be a good fit for your property visit the Piedmont Environtmental Council website.

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Charlottesville gets smart with Dominion Virginia Power's new project named SmartGrid Charlottesville.  Under this project the power company will install over 46,000 high technology electric meters on homes and businesses in Charlottesville and the close-in areas of Albemarle County.  The new meters should result in incresed energy efficiency and lower energy bills as Charlottesville  residents and Dominion Power are able to monitor energy usage more closely than under the previous system.  Through this new technology residents will have the opportunity to monitor their energy usage on the internet.

According to an article in the Charlottesville Daily Progress "Dominion expects that energy usage will be reduced by 4 percent annually for residential customers because of more efficient energy delivery, and that carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 12,000 tons per year. The reductions, to an extent, rely on whether consumers decide to closely monitor their usage."

Charlottesville has been chosen as the test site for this new technology because of local residents interest in managing energy consumption.  This project is one more way that Charlottesville Goes Green.

Contact

, e-PRO, SRES, NHD, REALTOR®, Real Estate III, Charlottesville, Virginia at 434 960-0161 to buy a property in the following areas in Central Virginia: Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Keswick, Glenmore, Ivy, Crozet, Earlysville, Free Union, Cismont, Scottsville, Fluvanna County, Palmyra, Lake Monticello, Louisa County, Louisa, Mineral, Spring Creek, Orange County, Gordonsville, Orange, Barboursville, Greene County, Ruckersville.

View all of the Charlottesville Virginia homes for sale.

View my website Charlottesville Horse Farms or visit my other blog Charlottesville Real Estate Talk  for more information on

horse farms, homes, events and real estate. 

Copyright © 2009 by Pam Dent, all rights reserved, "Charlottesville Gets Smart".

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Albemarle County and Central Virginia are noted for some of the most beautiful scenery in Virginia.  Many Charlottesville homes boast beautiful gardens and meticulous landscaping.  However, as we become more ecologically conscious we need to learn how we can create a beautiful home environment while saving our natural resources at the same time.

One way to preserve the local ecosystem is to landscape with indiginous Virginia plants.  There are several ecological benefits to using native species of trees, shrubs and flowers in your yard.  Since native species evolved in the local ecosystem they are adapted to the area's climatic conditions and as a result are likely to use fewer resources to stay healthy.  Native plants are developed in the soil of the area so are less likely to need fertilizer and are more likely than alien species to require pesticides as they are probably resistent to the insects that are in the area.  In addition they will be more drought resistent than a plant that is native to a wetter climate. 

For a list of plants that are native to the Piedmont Region of Virginia click here.

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