The Dominion Foundation has awarded local environmental nonprofit The Nature Generation (formerly Newton Marasco Foundation) a $15,000 Environmental Stewardship Grant that will support a Monarch waystation installation on the Chapman DeMary Trail in Purcellville, Va.

Located on ten acres of protected old growth forest with the South Fork Catoctin Creek running through it, the mile-long Chapman DeMary Trail provides an ideal habitat for pollinators, other animals, and plants. The trail is maintained by students and serves as an outdoor classroom where youth can learn about and develop an appreciation for the nature that surrounds them—it also serves as a nature park for the community at large.

"This generous grant from Dominion enables us to continue to enhance the natural habitat of the Chapman DeMary trail. Our pollinator project is an ambitious three-year plan to establish the Monarch waystation and several pollinator gardens and native plant nurseries on the trail," said Amy Marasco Newton, president of The Nature Generation.

Once completed, the waystation will provide the host and nectar plants that this stressed butterfly needs-- especially milkweed, which is the only plant on which monarchs lay their eggs and on which monarch caterpillars feed. Monarch habitats are drastically declining due to development and the widespread use of herbicides in croplands, pastures and roadsides. The waystation will provide refuge for monarchs on their migration routes from Mexico up through the United States to Canada and back again, and will help these creatures produce new generations.

Dominion Power and its Foundation are dedicated to improving the physical, social, and economic well-being of the communities served by Dominion companies. The Dominion Foundation awards more than $20 million to causes that protect the environment, promote education and help meet basic human needs.

"Providing grants for environmental projects is one of the mainstays of our corporate giving program," said Paul Koonce, chief executive officer of Dominion Virginia Power. "We know supplying electric power affects our world, so we focus on obeying environmental laws and regulations, operating our units efficiently and giving back to our communities."