Viewpoint: Green Spring Gardens should focus on conservation
By Kathryn Cooper
As a long-time resident of Mason District and dedicated volunteer at Green Spring Gardens, I urge the Fairfax County Park Authority to hire someone with conservation expertise as the new site manager at GSG.
Mason District has fewer green spaces than almost any other district in the county, so GSG is a rare and important oasis in our urban community.
Many of us come to GSG to experience and commune with nature as an escape from the stressful times and places in which we live. We value the natural resources of GSG, which are centered on the fragile Turkeycock Run stream valley, including its woodlands, wetlands, and the remains of a globally rare magnolia bog.
For the past few years, the focus at GSG has been on creating elaborate landscape architectural designs – to build man-made structures and memorials largely funded by generous individuals and to create formal garden “rooms.”
Related story: Concerns raised on proposed pavilion at Green Spring Gardens
During the construction to create these memorials and garden rooms, valuable trees have been cut down or compromised, and healthy plants have been discarded. Not only is this destruction financially wasteful at a time of severe budget cuts, but it goes against GSG’s mission to educate the community about environmental conservation.
Now that the Park Authority is seeking to hire a new site manager at GSG, it’s an opportunity to shift the focus from formal landscape designs to conservation of natural resources. [The new site manager would succeed Judy Zatsick, who has held the position since July 2021.]
Instead of funding expensive memorials and other man-made structures, taxpaying residents and generous donors could be encouraged to fund conservation projects, such as caring for and planting native trees and plants, creating bioswales and rain gardens to reduce stormwater runoff, and replacing invasive plants with native plants.
Such projects could fulfill GSG’s mission to educate the public – especially our children – about the importance of preserving natural resources.
As a conservationist, I can think of no better memorial than to plant a tree that will become a living tribute and that will be enjoyed by future generations for decades, perhaps centuries.
I agree with the poet and conservationist W.S. Merwin, who said: “On the last day of the world, I would want to plant a tree.”
Given the severity of climate change, conservation of natural resources is more crucial than ever. Hiring a manager at GSG with conservation expertise who understands how essential it is to protect our fragile natural resources will show how committed the Park Authority is to conservation.
Such a leader will be an example to all of us and will lead the way for conservation education at GSG and in our community.
I like your comments. The moon gate looks out of place at Green Spring Gardens. So sad to see it there. I am a lifetime resident. Both my parents grew up closeby and, of course, I did too. (a long, long time ago)
I heartily agree that investments in the ecology are better than one off , likely incompatible physical monuments.
GSG is too valuable for haphazard projects.
I agree with Ms Cooper. We need more emphasis on projects that inspire conservation. Let’s get someone on staff who knows what they are doing in that area. We do not need more concrete.
Please heed Ms. Cooper’s sage statement:
‘Given the severity of climate change, conservation of natural resources is more crucial than ever. Hiring a manager at GSG with conservation expertise who understands how essential it is to protect our fragile natural resources will show how committed the Park Authority is to conservation.’
Here, Here.
Please show us our FCPA is in sync with conservation vs. exploitation.
Thank you!
T. Petrine, Reston
Excellent commentary.
Agreed! I would be interested to know how we can further your comments to the park authority. Anyone on staff who we should contact?
It would be very helpful for you to communicate your views to the following people:
Andres Jimenez, Mason District Supervisor
Rick Healy, Mason Representative to FCPA Board, appointed by Mason Supervisor
Also, here are the names of some FCPA staff who may be involved in hiring of the GSG site manager:
Jai Cole, Executive Director
Sara Baldwin, Deputy Director/COO
Aimee L. Vosper, Deputy Director/CBD
Laura Grape, Director, Resource Management Division
Paola Schiapacassee, Manager, Historic Sites and Horticulture Branch
Andrew Grabel, Public Information Officer
It will be interesting to see if the Mason Supervisor reads this and decides to actually engage with the Fairfax County Park Authority, as he has always avoided telling them what his constituents want or are concerned with. I don’t know what the Park Authority will do as they often seem to be disconnected from the local community. I enjoy the cultivated gardens up around the buildings, particularly the big field for my kids to run around and play/ kick a ball when they were young. It’s nice to have the more “wild” aspects down the hill and around the ponds. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and urge those who agree and want to shape the decision to reach out to the Mason Supervisor and the Park authority. Break a Leg.
Green Spring GARDENS provides great opportunities to learn about gardening and landscaping. Sure, maintaining the natural areas and appropriate buffers along the stream, ridding the site of invasives, and planting native trees is great. I would call it basic, required stewardship that can be used to help educate the public, but I like Greenspring for all the beautiful plants and designed garden areas, and look to them for inspiration. Perhaps a more thorough vetting of proposed designs would be warranted ( I still miss the Bigleaf magnolia that was near the moon gate), but it would be a mistake to stop enhancements of Green Spring GARDENS for the sake of teaching basic public land maintenance and harping on about climate change.
I’ve come to think of the Fairfax County Park Authority as a rogue agency not accountable to anyone, or so it seems. Let’s hope they listen to the community on this one; after all it shut down a very popular pickleball court because of one complaint.
Kaye – this is a very important request for GSG to hire its next manager with conservation experience and I whole heartedly agree! I find the Moonscape, plans for a concrete pavilion in process, and a failure of Park Authority staff to understand how we visitors to GSG want the space to be more green and less paved — truly astonishing! Hiring such professionals years ago in the County park system could have saved Margaret White Garden’s home, staved off the plans to pave inside Justice Park, and now, placing an unwanted sidewalk after community efforts to find out who is behind this appalling waste of $1M when our County faces a $300M deficit! I found the survey markers for this sidewalk while working on IMA (Invasive Management Activities) with other student volunteers & community members— and FCDOT & our County Supervisor have not answered our calls for immediate engagement here!
So appreciate your advocacy and longtime work as a FROG and volunteer gardener in this stunning place!
Fairfax County Park Authority doesn’t seem to listen to visitors to the park. They are ending the hugely popular teas at GSG without any public input.
Now they have an opportunity to hire a new manager. Hopefully they will read the comments in this article and hire a manager with conservation experience and experience integrating native plantings in the gardens.
I love the natural beauty that Green Spring Gardens provides for Mason from the pond and forest paths to the beautiful flowers throughout! Conservation should be in the ethos of Green Spring Gardens and a priority for the new manager.
Leave the horticultural garden alone! It provides a well tended green space for strolling and quietude. Educational gathering spaces are well balanced already. This park is already designed and balanced by Beatrice Farrand, the famous historical gardener, and it is famous as a horticultural center and host to the plant species visitors travel to see.
GS is a local gem because of all of the beautiful plants and trees. It draws birds and pollinators and is an oasis in the middle of a very busy urban area. I remember my delight when I first discovered it many years ago. I wholeheartedly agree with Ms. Cooper that preserving the green spaces should be top priority. Hiring a manger with a conservation focus will benefit all of the parks’ visitors – human and non-human alike.
Many parks and designers around the country show that conservation and community enjoyment don’t have to be at odds. For example, Piet Oudolf has demonstrated how you can use native-inspired plantings to create landscapes that are ecologically rich and beautiful. My hope is that Green Spring can follow a similar path, prioritizing conservation, while also considering small, thoughtfully planned additions that help more people connect with the gardens, appreciate native plants, and build long-term community support. I believe it’s possible to do both.
I agree with Ms. Cooper and other commenters that I would like to see Green Spring Gardens focus on planting and expanding native plants and attracting birds, insects, and other pollinators over planting exotic cultivars and/or installing buildings and objects.
Green Spring Gardens is a spectacular Fairfax County gem!