Tag: environment
Homeowner sees green in Holmes Run Acres
By Liz Kirchner The idea came with the rain—shooting off the broad, low-slung roof of Margaret Garigan’s Annandale house, blasting across the tattered fescue, alopecic moss, and exposed roots of her backyard, gouging gullies through the barren clay, then burrowing under a soggy corner of the neighbor’s fence. Driving to work on those rainy days, … Continued
Spring cleaning: a community affair
Residents of the Sleepy Hollow community (pictured here) joined more than 5,000 volunteers throughout the region for the 24th Annual Potomac Watershed Cleanup last Saturday. The Sleepy Hollow volunteers spent the morning picking up trash along Tripps Run, while other groups in the Annandale area concentrated on portions of Holmes Run and Accotink Creek. The … Continued
Community leaders seek solutions to litter problem
Neighborhood leaders and local residents urged lawmakers to crack down on litter at a recent environmental forum sponsored by the Mason District Council of Community Associations. They also networked among themselves and shared ideas for combating the unsightly mess along roadways and parks that is hurting Annandale’s image and bringing down property values. One member of … Continued
Mason District community forum will address growing litter problem
Concerned about all the litter covering road ways and parks in the Mason District? Come to a community forum sponsored by the Mason District Council and learn what can be done to address this problem. The meeting takes place March 22, 7:30 p.m., at Peace Lutheran Church, 6362 Lincolnia Road. Speakers include Del. Kaye Kory, … Continued
Efforts underway to coordinate trash cleanups along FXCO streambeds
Trash along the Accotink watershed [photo from Let’s Do It! Virginia] By Liz Kirchner Federal clean water regulations now require counties to show that their water protection strategies are working to reduce trash like plastic bags, bottles, cigarette butts, and food containers in streams and rivers. To do that, Fairfax County is harnessing community concerns … Continued
Film captures contributions of pioneer conservationist
By Elizabeth Kirchner The public is invited to a free screening of “Green Fire,” a documentary about Aldo Leopold, the biologist and writer who raised the nation’s consciousness about environmental conservation. Aldo Leopold The film offers plenty of scenes of windy prairies, handsome forests, and purple mountains, but alos piles of elk carcasses, as it … Continued
Illegal dumping is a huge problem in Annandale parks
Trash found in the woods near Medford Drive, Annandale By Elizabeth Kirchner A drippy stack of soiled mattresses, spackle buckets brimming with larvae, dented metal drums seeping something you can smell. A mound of rotting baby clothes. This is what you’ll find in the maple and oak forests along Accotink Creek. This stream valley is … Continued
Kory’s Report from Richmond: This session will be a long one
By Kaye Kory The Virginia General Assembly convened the 2012 legislative session on Jan. 11. This year’s 60-day session is scheduled to conclude on March 10. I have three committee assignments, up from two in my first term. I will continue serving on the Science and Technology Committee and this year I have also been … Continued
Public input sought on environment
By Elizabeth Kirchner On Tuesday, Jan. 17, the Fairfax County Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) will hold a public hearing seeking a citizen’s-eye view of the “state of the environment in Fairfax County.” It starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Board Auditorium at the Fairfax County Government Building. The hearing gives citizens an opportunity to … Continued
Kory’s Report from Richmond: Major environmental issues on the agenda
By Del. Kaye Kory Next week the 2012 legislative assembly convenes in Richmond, and the governor will deliver his State of the Commonwealth Address. His themes will include the laudable economic performance of the commonwealth as compared to other states, as well as the responsible fiscal policy and pragmatic management accomplishments of his administration. Beauty … Continued
At NOVA’s Annandale campus: A lesson in daring design
By Elizabeth Kirchner The new student services building on the Annandale campus of Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) is more than good architecture. It blends beauty and utility in an energy-smart, dual-flush, stormwater-absorbing reflection of the progressive ideals of the school’s faculty and staff. In 2006, the building was already in its design phase when … Continued
Kory’s Report from Richmond: Water supply concerns continued
By Del. Kaye Kory My serious concerns about the governor’s proposal to withdraw Virginia from the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) have been reinforced upon reading the letter Secretary of Natural Resources Doug Domenech wrote to me in order to calm my fears. Mr. Domenech states that withdrawal from the ICPRB will … Continued
‘Tree gifting program’ aimed at restoring tree canopy
The Fairfax County Restoration Project, a public-private partnership aimed at improving the environment, has launched Reforest Fairfax, a “gifting program” designed to help restore the tree canopy. Each gift of a tree purchases five seedlings to be planted in Fairfax County this fall or next spring to enhance the natural environment. Tree gifts are appropriate … Continued
Kory’s Report from Richmond: Keep Virginia involved in watershed efforts
An open letter to Gov. McDonnell: Don’t endanger our water supply Dear Governor: I urge you to cancel your short-sighted plans to withdraw Virginia from the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB). Virginia has benefitted greatly from its 70-year membership in this commission. I seriously doubt that our Commonwealth would have accomplished on … Continued
Sewage spill pollutes Holmes Run
The City of Alexandria is advising residents to avoid direct contact with waters in Holmes Run downstream of Ripley Street near the intersection with Holmes Run Parkway due a sewage spill. According to the city, two sanitary sewer lines are damaged, one owned by the City of Alexandria and one owned by Fairfax County. Crews … Continued