The community celebrates Earth Day at Annandale’s Garnett Park

Dozens of representatives of public agencies and nonprofits shared information about their programs and services at the Earth Day celebration on April 27 at the Eileen Garnett Civic Space in Annandale.

Volunteers with Hands On Harvests planted vegetables at the demonstration garden in the park, located at 7200 Columbia Pike, between the ACCA Child Development Center and the Annandale Volunteer Fire Department.

Early crops are already coming up inthe garden, including shallots, kale, arugula, chickpeas, garlic, chives, peas, strawberries, and blueberries. In mid-May, herbs, tomatoes, squash, beans, and corn will be planted. The produce will go to the volunteers and to the ACCA Food Pantry.

CAFE (Community Art for Everyone) hosted a craft project in which attendees made ornaments out of recycled cable to hang on a tree sculpture.

The Park Authority’s new Wonder Wagon displayed information about the natural world and microscopes for viewing tiny bugs and flowers.

The Fairfax County Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination educated the public about recycling, and Wastewater Management demonstrated why it’s a bad idea to deposit flushable wipes in the toilet.

The Wastewater Collection division in the Public Works and Environmental Services Department demonstrated the robots used for inspecting sewer lines. The robots are used to determine why a sewer line is backed up and to inspect new sewer pipes installed for construction projects.

Other booths at the Earth Day event represented Fairfax County’s Community Revitalization Section, the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, the Annandale Greenway, the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, Dominion Energy, the office of Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez, the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, and the ACCA Child Development Center.

The Earth Day Celebration was the first of nine family-friendly events scheduled for the Garnett Park throughout 2024. The next event, on May 25, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., will be a celebration of Asian-American and Pacific Island Heritage Month.

On Sept. 21, the Taste of Annandale will be held at the park.

Before the Earth Day Celebration, volunteers with the Annandale Greenway Alliance cleaned up an area along the greenway next to the trail at Manassas Gap Park.