A Virginia farmer protected his land from development and persuaded his neighbours to follow; 25 years later, nearly 2,500 acres of private farms now form a wildlife corridor

• The need for such work is growing as development, roads, invasive species, pollution and climate change alter Virginia’s landscapes.
• On a humid summer morning in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, the work of protecting nature looks surprisingly ordinary.
• There are fields to tend, invasive plants to control and young trees to check.