KLewis_WWC

Welcome Letter from Kenneth W. Lewis, Ph.D.

President, Willcox Watershed Conservancy

Greetings to all who read this message. My name is Kenneth W. Lewis, and I am the new president (since January of 2020) of the Willcox Watershed Conservancy (WWC). I am a native of the City of Petersburg, a product of Petersburg City Public Schools, a life-long city resident and taxpayer, President and former musician in the Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and a former School Board Member of the Petersburg City Public School System. I am honored and humbled to serve as the President of the WWC for the time that I have.

The WWC may be many things to many people, and totally unknown to some, but to me, the WWC and my leadership purpose are very simple: We, the WWC, are stewards whose purpose is to PRESERVE, PROTECT, PROMOTE and PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS for all of the natural wonder of Willcox Lake and the Petersburg Legends Historical Park and Nature Sanctuary.

Through the WWC, and in partnership with the City of Petersburg and other stakeholders, we seek to provide these four great opportunities for the residents of the City of Petersburg, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the entire United States. We exist to:

Promote

and brand the City of Petersburg as a great tourist site complete with hiking trails and recreational opportunities in our park;

Preserve

The natural and historic wonders of the park and lake—including the preservation of the wealth of Virginia’s wildflowers, our ageless Herbarium Collection, present since the dawning of civilization; our natural Bird Sanctuary and the 1939 Works Progress Administration (WPA) historic sites where local women of all shades helped create hiking trails, clear brush, plant and protect blue-eyed grass, wild ginger, wild columbine, bloodroot, mountain laurel and a profusion of other wildflowers and shrubs, as well as secure whalebone vertebrae and other sea- life fossils from when we were underwater some 60 million years ago.

Protect

the 330+ acres of natural land from encroachment of commercial development, pollution, unlawful dumping of trash, debris and construction waste, as well as eliminating or preventing invasive trees and plants from taking over our park area

Provide Educational Programs

in the areas of earth and natural sciences, social science, public policy, local diversity and race issues associated with our park.

It is incumbent upon all greenspace stakeholders, especially our city’s residents, to work together to accomplish the goals of the WWC. We solicit support from the local government, the local school system, local businesses, the entire Petersburg community and Friends of Petersburg. We continue to look for volunteer partnerships; federal, state, local, foundational and residential financial benefactors; and sincere stewards who want to help sustain the very best conditions for our city-wide park system and our City of Petersburg. We look forward to creating viable and productive partnerships with all interested persons, agencies and organizations that will help sustain and grow the benefits of our parks and recreation areas in Petersburg, but especially, our newly named Petersburg Legends Historical Park and Nature Sanctuary.

We, the WWC Board of Directors, thank you for your previous interest and support in our park, and we ask for your continued moral, volunteer and financial support in helping to PROMOTE, PRESERVE, PROTECT and PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS for the Petersburg Legends Historic Park and Nature Sanctuary.

I hope you will consider helping to sustain our city park and making our park and nature sanctuary a priority by supporting WWC efforts with a gift that will help us strengthen our mission. Please send your tax-deductible financial donations (via check or money order) to the WWC via our regular mailing address:

We will NOT be holding our annual WWC Donors Reception and Public Meeting in October, due to the continuing situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will keep you informed of what our future activities will look like, via our webpage, Facebook and other forms of communications.

On behalf of the Petersburg Willcox Watershed Conservancy (WWC), I sincerely thank you and look forward to your support of one the great Jewels in the Crown of our City of Petersburg, VA.

When this COVID-19 pandemic is over, please join the WWC and me on a walk through the nature trails of the newly named, Petersburg Legends Historic Park and Nature Sanctuary. Take Care.

For related information and references, see below:

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