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TextFairfax County Seeks Volunteers to Plant Trees for Earth Day
Fairfax County Office of Public
Affairs
12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 551
Fairfax, VA 22035-0065
703-324-3187, TTY 703-324-2935, FAX 703-324-2010
April 19, 2005
Fairfax County Seeks Volunteers to Plant Trees for Earth Day
Residents, businesses and organizations are invited to plant 450 container plants and 100 herbaceous plants in celebration of Earth Day, Saturday, April 23, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Lake Fairfax Park, 1400 Lake Fairfax Drive, Reston.
As part of Fairfax County’s riparian buffer restoration initiative, volunteers will work alongside the leading experts in riparian restoration to plant native shrubs and plants on approximately 42,000 square feet of the park and install live stakes to stabilize eroding stream banks. Volunteers will also have the chance to visit various educational booths hosted by local environmental organizations such as Earth Sangha and the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District.
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More than 80 volunteers plant native trees at Carney Park, a Fairfax County riparian buffer restoration planting site, on Sunday, April 3, 2005. Volunteers participated in the planting as part of the county’s riparian buffer restoration project initiated in March 2005, to improve water quality, protect streams and stream banks and improve wildlife habitat. (Photo/Chris Bright of Earth Sangha) |
Fairfax County initiated the riparian buffer restoration project in March 2005, to restore natural function to the land next to streams and rivers by planting native vegetation in these areas. This project is part of the county’s ongoing watershed planning and implementation program to restore and protect our watersheds.
“Earth Day affords us an opportunity to celebrate and secure the Environmental Excellence 20-Year Vision Plan adopted by the Board of Supervisors,” said Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross. “Conservation of our limited natural resources must be interwoven into all our decisions, both governmental and personal, not just for us, but for future generations of county residents.”
The countywide project is being conducted to mitigate stormwater runoff into local streams and to support the Board of Supervisors’ adopted Environmental Agenda. Volunteers and partners for the project include Earth Sangha, Fairfax County Park Authority, Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, Virginia Department of Forestry and Fairfax ReLeaf.
As part of the riparian buffer restoration project this spring, seven sites have been designated by the county. The county anticipates restoring 40 sites by the summer of 2006 through a combination of volunteer and contracted plantings.
Riparian buffers provide many benefits to the community by protecting land and streams. Some of these benefits are flood control, storm damage prevention, wildlife habitat and vital protection for aquatic life in streams.
Water quality, stream bank stability, habitat and the overall quality of our streams all depend on high quality riparian buffers. Restoring riparian buffers is an integral component for maintaining the high quality of life in Fairfax County.
Volunteers can learn more about the project and sign up to volunteer by
contacting the Stormwater Planning Division, 703-324-5500, TTY 711,
e-mail swpdmail@fairfaxounty.gov or
visit the county Web site at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/stormwater/riparianbuffer.
For additional information, contact Fred A. Rose, P.E., chief, Watershed
Planning and Assessment Branch or Dipmani Kumar, P.E., project manager,
at 703-324-5500, TTY 711.
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