Greening the Greenway: Native plant pilot combats the heat island effect
By James Albright
A new initiative to incorporate native plantings in downtown Annandale kicks off this fall with a pilot patch along Columbia Pike.
The “Greening the Greenway” pilot is named for the still-developing Annandale Greenway community trail.
The central part of the Greenway travels through the urban core of Annandale along Columbia Pike. The pilot project will establish small native plant gardens alongside or adjacent to the Greenway.
The first site will be a 350-square-foot semi-circle area along the sidewalk in front of the ACCA Child Development Center (CDC) at 7200 Columbia Pike.
The plants will most likely include goldenrod, asters, boneset, foxglove, sunflowers, and meadow grasses. As natives, these plants are ideal for the soil and climate conditions in Annandale. With watering and minimal care, they can prosper and provide a great habitat for pollinators and birds as the plants mature.
Impetus for the pilot project grew out of the work done by the Greener Mason District advisory committee convened by Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez. The committee identified the Greenway as a great way to beautify and connect the community.
Related story: VA Tech students propose improvements for the Annandale Greenway
A small group of volunteers associated with the committee, the Greenway project, and the Fairfax County Trails, Sidewalks, and Bikeways Committee is leading the Greening the Greenway project.
A recent report from the Northern Virginia Regional Commission identified Annandale as one of the region’s worst “heat islands.” The community’s vast parking lots contribute to excessive warming. One way to mitigate the effects of heat islands is to increase the number of trees and plants.
The Greening the Greenway group hopes to inspire additional projects within Annandale, showcasing the ease of planting native shrubs and trees. The Greenway could itself serve as a spine of green through the heart of the community with the completion of additional projects.
Greening the Greenway will complete the first pilot planting in late November.
This effort marks a continuation of the strong partnerships that reflect the Annandale community. The CDC and Earth Sangha, the pre-eminent wild plant nursery in Northern Virginia, are informal partners of the project. The Greening group will purchase native plants from Earth Sangha.
The nearby Eileen Garnett Civic Space – owned by the Fairfax County Park Authority and managed by the county’s Community Revitalization Section – already includes a significant native garden adjacent to the demonstration garden developed by Hands On Harvests. These and similar partnerships can only grow over time.
The Greening the Greenway group will pursue additional sites along Columbia Pike that could be used for native plantings.
Commercial properties, curb strips (between a sidewalk and street), and the edges of developed sites are examples of areas that offer possibilities for additional plantings.
This is a great development for Annandale. Any chance the abandoned/burned building across the street from ACCA (in the Giant lot) can be torn down and turned into green space?
I love this plan. It will certainly add value to a particularly sad portion of the Greenway. I’d love to hear about plans to install trees along the Greenway, since that’s what’s needed most to make these more urban/commercial sections walkable during the summer.
I can certainly see why Annandale is a heat island. With all the aspalt and cement it’s like a giant parking lot. I applaude any effort to green up the area. Just don’t make the same mistake as they did in Arlington by putting in trees and then not taking care of them. That’s just a waste of time, energy, and tax payer money.
Good point. However, this effort is entirely volunteer sponsored and doesn’t involve public funding.
So happy to hear that this project is underway! The Annandale Greenway is an inspired endeavor. I’ve walked the whole distance twice, and parts of it on other days, and it’s so nice to get out of the car and feel like you are walking back in time, only to look up and realize that you’ve gotten from Point A to point B quicker than you would have in typical Annandale traffic. Thank you to the volunteers for bringing life and shade to parts of it!