History
The Quarry Gardens at Schuyler were built around two large soapstone quarries that were actively mined between the 1950s and 1970s, and subsequently used as a community dumpsite.
In 2014, after 23 years of casual site clean-up, Quarry Gardens founders, Bernice and Armand Thieblot, embarked on a three-year plan to create a public garden. That year, an initial attempt was made by Land Planning and Design Associates in Charlottesville. However, it soon became evident that this landscape needed a design that took the unique aspects of its geology, ecology, and land-use history into consideration. That same year, the Thieblots were introduced to Piedmont Discovery Center (PDC, formerly Center for Urban Habitats) and its place-based approach to assessment and design, focusing on natural ecological systems and restoration. It quickly became clear that a new and revised master plan was in order. PDC began with an extensive biological assessment of the 40-acre landscape around the quarries. Trail locations were refined, conservation areas identified, and a master plan for interaction and engagement was created.
In 2015, the Thieblots placed a 400-acre buffer around the gardens into a Virginia Outdoors conservation easement, and the Gardens were designated a Virginia Treasure in 2016 by Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Quarry Gardens opened in the spring of 2017 with two miles of walking trail, more than 40 galleries of diverse native plant communities, and a Visitor Center that includes exhibits on native plants, local ecosystems, and the history of the soapstone industry in Schuyler. Quarry Gardens also boasts a classroom, research laboratory, and picnic pavilion.
Mission
Piedmont Discovery Center’s Quarry Gardens advances environmental and cultural resource education, research, and conservation on heavily impacted landcapes.
Administration
The Quarry Gardens are operated and managed by Piedmont Discovery Center, a nonprofit 501c3 organization.
Staff
Rachel Floyd, Director of Operations
Forrest Mcguire, Facilities and Grounds Manager
Devin Floyd, Executive Director
Matt Smith, GIS, Web, and Data Manager
Drew Chaney, Senior Field Tech, Research
Emily Luebke, Senior Field Tech, Research
Ezra Staengl, Data Analyst, Research
Joanna Currey, Senior Field Tech, Restoration
David Bellangue, Conservation Nursery Manager
Charlie Aller, Seasonal Field Technician, Restoration
Paul Cipriani, Seasonal Field Technician, Restoration
Carter Frazee, Seasonal Field Technician, Restoration
William Mendez, Research Associate
Cinder Stanton, Historian and Researcher
Ryan Lepsch, Prescribed Burn Advisor
Piedmont Discovery Center Board of Directors
Leighton Reid
Jessie Wingo
Tammy Deane
Jamie Reaser
Friends of Quarry Gardens Advisory Committee
Courtney McLaughlin
Rachel Floyd
Sharon Wray
Joseph Kennedy
Fred Oesch
Bernice Thieblot
Bill Sykes
Nicola McGoff
Jim Kovach
Affiliations
Blue Ridge Mycological Society Headquarters
American Public Gardens Association
Central Blue Ridge Master Naturalists*
Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards
Nelson County Master Gardeners*
Piedmont Master Gardeners*
Rivanna Master Naturalists*
Virginia Native Plant Society
The site was opened to these groups and others from the start of construction, and we look forward to a continuing role for the Quarry Gardens in their educational missions.