Tag: parks
Park Authority inequities harm vulnerable communities
By Lydia Lawrence Lower-income and minority residents of Fairfax County are being shortchanged by the Park Authority, mostly due to the lack of funding. In the wake of the controversy over Justice Park, the Fairfax NAACP has done a significant amount of research and investigation into the lack of equity in the park system. Here … Continued
Celebrate Earth Day on the Greenway
The community is invited to celebrate Earth Day on April 23 at an event hosted by the Annandale Greenway Alliance. The family-friendly celebration will be held at the future Annandale Civic Space, 7200 Columbia Pike, 12-4 p.m. There will be an opportunity to explore the Annandale Greenway, a four-mile pathway that connects neighborhoods and parks … Continued
More details emerge on the resident curator applicant for the White Gardens
Resident curator applicant Meg Stout revealed more details about her plans for the White Gardens at a March 29 meeting with the evaluation team. If selected as the resident curator, Stout and her husband Bryan would live in and restore the house built by Margaret and John C. (JC) White in 1939. The White Gardens … Continued
Explore a Park: Green Spring Gardens
This article is part of our series on parks in the Annandale/Mason District area. The last piece explored Eakin Park in Annandale. See other stories in the series on the Parks page. Green Spring Gardens is wonderful all year but is especially nice in spring when the flowers and trees come alive with colorful blossoms. … Continued
Construction to start soon on Hogge Park
Construction could start as early as this month on improvements at the Boyd A & Charlotte M Hogge Park in Bailey’s Crossroads, the Fairfax County Park Authority reports. The $2 million project includes an open play area, community gardens, multi-sport courts, a picnic shelter, play area, trail, and parking. The contractor, Bright Construction Group, will … Continued
Americana Park to get new baseball backstop
Updated March 5: The Fairfax County Park Authority Board‘s Park Operations Committee approved a $17,189 Mastenbrook Volunteer Matching Fund Grant to the Annandale-North Springfield Little League (ANSLL) for a new backstop at the baseball field at Americana Park in Annandale. The proposal goes to the full board on March 9. The existing backstop needs to … Continued
Public invited to learn about the resident curator applicant for White gardens
The public is invited to a virtual session March 2 to learn about the application submitted by a potential “resident curator” for the Margaret White Gardens property. Under the resident curator program, the Fairfax County Park Authority selects a resident to live in the house rent free while they carry out and pay for renovations … Continued
‘Tree rescuers’ sought for Roundtree Park
Friends of Holmes Run encourages local residents to become “tree rescuers” by removing non-native vines that are damaging the health of mature trees. FOHR invites the community to a “free the trees” event at Roundtree Park on Tuesday, March 1. The organization has teamed up with Plant NOVA Natives and the Fairfax County Park Authority … Continued
Two sites identified for dredging operation at Lake Accotink
Fairfax County public works staff recommend two sites for processing the sediment to be dredged out of Lake Accotink. Those sites, announced at a community meeting Feb. 10, are at Southern Drive and the maintenance area in Wakefield Park. The dredged material would be transported to whichever dewatering site is chosen via a pipeline. After … Continued
Nature center to close temporarily
The Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Annandale will be closed Feb. 14-June 10, but outdoor programming will continue, the Fairfax County Park Authority reports. The nature center, at 7701 Royce St., is undergoing a $1.6 million renovation and expansion. The project, funded with a 2016 park bond, includes an additional classroom, kitchen area, and interpretive … Continued
The Annandale Greenway gets a green light
By James Albright Much has happened since my last post on the proposed Annandale Greenway, the four-mile “braided” trail that winds its way through Northern Virginia’s most intriguing community. As I described it last year, the trail crosses Annandale just to the north of Little River Turnpike, providing an alternative east-west passage that accesses six … Continued
Use QR codes to access new fitness trail
The Fairfax County Park Authority has opened two QR code fitness trails at Mason District Park in Annandale and Ellanor C. Lawrence Park in Chantilly. The Trail Mix program allows visitors to use a phone to scan the QR code on a sign and select a low-impact, medium, or advanced exercise option There are eight … Continued
Park Authority calls for more pickleball courts
Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw gets a pickleball lesson at Wakefield Park. Fairfax County’s Pickleball Study calls for creating more courts to meet the demand for the increasingly popular sport, including a future complex with at least six courts. The study, endorsed by the Park Authority Board Dec. 8, will guide the planning, design, and operation … Continued
Viewpoint: A second attempt to create parking at Justice Park
The basketball court in Justice Park with the school in the background. By Nazir Bhagat Dec. 10 was the last day to respond to a survey about whether to build 67 parking spaces at Justice Park. School Board Member Ricardy Anderson (Mason) issued the survey, even though the proposal to build the parking lot had … Continued
Survey seeks input on parking lot in Justice Park – even though that proposal is dead
Justice Park with Justice High School in the background. A survey from Mason school board member Ricardy Anderson revisits the controversy over whether a parking lot should be created in Justice Park to accommodate a forthcoming addition for Justice High School – even though Fairfax County Public Schools and the Park Authority both rejected the parking lot … Continued