WOODSTOCK — What began for Tim Funk as a tree removal project at his home soon led to the establishment of a fund to support Seven Bends State Park in Shenandoah County.

“Because I couldn’t replace the tree, I wanted to do something else,” explained Funk, who purchased a gift certificate from Woodstock Nursery with the intention of seeing two trees planted at the park. “The following year, I had to take down another tree and decided I would do the same.”

Funk, a longtime park visitor and passionate advocate for Virginia’s public lands, recently donated an initial $20,500 through the Shenandoah Community Foundation to establish a new fund called Planting Roots for the Future at Seven Bends State Park.

“My real hope is that 150 years from now there’s a park ranger going, ‘Where are we goi

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