Tom Benzing, CCR board member
WAYNESBORO-The focus should be on natural resources. That’s how members of the Center for Coldwaters Restoration feel the city of Waynesboro will be able to grow and develop. Between the South River and other local springs, they see an area full of resources and hope to improve conservation efforts, while promoting outdoor-related activities to draw people in.
“The CCR rests on four pillars,” board member Tom Benzing said. “That was the original vision of this center. One was the interpretive piece, which is kind of captured by what;s happening now with the Virginia Museum of Natural History, to have a place where visitors can come and learn about the natural history of the area. Another piece is to have a fish hatchery. That would support restoring native trout and anglers. We’ve even talked about aquaculture, where you raise fish for commercial purposes.”
The third pillar is research and education. Benzing said this is not a new concept because people have researched the South River for years. Much research has been published on the river’s mercury contamination and cleanup. The fourth and final pillar involves the group’s attempt to recruit different agencies to this area. They see the planned Natural History Museum as a good starting point for that purpose.
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The group was started in 2008, when several people who were invested in local conservation efforts got together. They felt the city could be a place with both a focus on natural resources and a tourism stop, for outdoor experiences. That idea grew into CCR, which has a demonstration site at 508 W. Main Street in Waynesboro, across from city hall. The board of directors that run the operation are all volunteers and work to partner with local civic, state and federal groups to help revitalize the area
“Primarily, [our goal] is probably economic development,” CCR board member Gary Peltier explained. “What is it that Waynesboro has as a resource? The South River is obvious, but all of the springs out there are not obvious. Nobody else in the state has that sort of resource. You can grow fisheries, which is what we’re trying to demonstrate we can do here. If we can grow them for a year, we could feed them into a river and they would hopefully reproduce on their own.”
CCR members want to restore the native fish population in the river. They also research economic development, studying what attracts people to the river as a resource.
Moving forward
Since the Natural History Museum is not yet here, the men said future plans would develop as interest grows. While Peltier said the city supports the organization, they still need additional funding. Until the museum opens, he plans to play it by ear and work to reach out to the public.
“I think the biggest project we have is to educate the community: the schools, the teachers, or whoever. I think that’s what we really have to do,” Peltier explained. “We meet monthly in order to figure out where we need to go next to make ourselves visible.”
“In my mind, I think we teach them conservation as much as anything else. You kind of hope that you get kids interested in pursuing that kind of career too,” he added. “I love to come back to Waynesboro because of the mountains and diversity. It’s too bad we don’t have the industry anymore, but it still doesn’t mean that the city can’t provide something. This would be a start. I’d like to make it a place where people want to come back to Waynesboro.”
Benzing agreed. He said children need to understand what they learn about in school is available in their back yard.