Mission

Piedmont Discovery Center advances biodiversity education and conservation in the Piedmont Ecoregion.

Vision

We envision a society where people value learning and share with one another their understanding of local and regional ecosystems.

  • we provide action-oriented opportunities for people to learn about the multitude of wonders in their yards, parks, forests, fields, and streams.
  • we advance knowledge through place-based action, exploration-based education, scientific inquiry, and high quality publication.
  • we ensure the spread of ecological principles through partnerships with plant nurseries, education institutions, county and state natural heritage groups, private landowners, and many other public and private entities.
  • we strive to inspire people to think deeply and critically by helping them see the patterns that frequently hide right before there eyes.
  • we believe that a rigorous process involving cycles of Inquiry and Discovery is perhaps the most important facet of advancing education and conservation. “Questioning” is the key, which is why we chose the question mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis) as our logo.

We envision creating a world-class facility under that new name with three operational components nestled within a rich botanic garden: Biological Field Station, Design and Restoration Department, and a Species and Systems Propagation and Research Department. These 3 departments accomplish education programming, environmental services, research, and natural history interpretation. Building on a successful 7 years of growth and impact (as PDC) the organization will continue to accomplish its mission in an increased capacity with a vibrant and engaging place of operations open to public visitation and participation. In doing so PDC will inspire thousands, if not millions, to become stewards of the natural world in our nation’s most lived-in ecoregion: The Piedmont.

The Center’s facilities will be gracefully nestled in a biological landscape and serve as a dynamic and active hub for citizen science, research, education, and interpretation. Visitors will discover trails that run through an exquisitely designed botanic garden and extensive natural habitat restoration areas. They’ll get an intimate look at the full glory of the wildly diverse nature of the Piedmont, and a glimpse of how it could look in the future. The Center will also be a launching point for expeditions and scientific investigations in the region and a repository for the resulting knowledge. All facilities of the Center will be provide interactive, engaging, and dynamic education and interpretive elements. The Center will be an interactive, living, outdoor exhibit bustling with the plants and animals of the Piedmont Ecoregion.

PDC has a new home!

Piedmont Discovery Center has moved its headquarters to the location of its crown jewel project – the renowned Quarry Gardens at Schuyler – Virginia’s first and only public all-native botanical garden.Governor Terry McAuliffe designated Quarry Gardens a “Virginia Treasure” in 2016, recognizing the unique landscape focused around abandoned soapstone quarries, and hosting a stunning botanical garden designed, installed, and managed by Piedmont Discovery Center founders and staff. PDC assured that the gardens would showcase hundreds of native plants and the ecosystems they are part of, while providing vital educational resources for ecological restoration and conservation.

PDC is now proud to own and operate Quarry Gardens, including all land and facilities. The old QG Visitors center is now the”Center”, and we are so excited to share with you all the new updates, changes, and expanded education and research opportunities!

After a decade of operating without a public facility for folks to visit, we are excited to be able to maximize our effectiveness toward accomplishing our mission while retaining the services that have made PDC so successful to date. Building on 10 years of powerful natural resource research, education, and conservation, the Center will expand to not only reach all parts of the Piedmont region, but also receive the public at a world class grounds and facility that interprets the natural history of the region. The Center has become one of the top education-based environmental services businesses in Virginia and public feedback makes it clear that the capacity for expanding far beyond our current audience is in the Center’s near future. Major priorities for the future include developing a plan for trails, a conservation nursery, and academic village, creating new and exciting natural history exhibits, doubling our audience and visitor size, increasing education programming, and securing large-scale private funding to support those efforts. The Center currently reaches around 50,000 people annually and will further increase its ability to inspire and educate the public through education programs, environmental services, research, and publishing at our new facilities at Quarry Gardens.