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“Environmental degradation is
the biggest problem we face at this time,” says Lisa
Bright, founding member of Earth Sangha, an environmental
organization that adheres to the principles of Buddhism—nonviolence,
tolerance, self-awareness, and compassion for other living
things. Although not all of the Earth Sangha members
are Buddhists, they all have in common a commitment to
practical environmental action. To this end, Earth Sangha,
with its 100 members, has adopted a Fairfax County park
to manage its natural resources.
The adopted park is Wilburdale, located
off of Backlick Road, just north of Braddock Road in Annandale.
The 14-acre park includes the most upstream reach of Backlick
Run, which becomes Cameron Run at the confluence with
Holmes Run in the City of Alexandria.
About 30 community groups have agreements
with the Fairfax County Park Authority under its Adopt-A-Park
program. Groups select from a list of activities such
as cleaning up litter, maintaining a trail, or building
a bat box.
The Earth Sangha agreement is the
first of its type to go beyond routine maintenance. The
group will take an inventory of the exotic and native
species at Wilburdale. Then it will tackle the park section
by section, removing the undesirable species and replacing
them with the native seedlings they have grown. The group
gathers seeds from around the County and nurtures them
in a garden plot at Franconia Park. Earth Sangha will
also work to stabilize the eroded banks of Backlick Run
where it passes through the park.
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 Earth
Sangha leases several adjacent plots at a community garden
in Franconia Park. Almost every Sunday, 8-12 members assemble
to build enclosures to protect the plants from animals and
excessive sun. The group buys all of the wood, wire, and
burlap and pays an annual fee of $840 to the Fairfax County
Park Authority for use of the plots. Pictured are Heather
Clagett and Matthew Bright. |
 The
seedlings in the enclosures are the products of seeds Earth
Sangha gathered last fall from native plants around Fairfax
County. The burlap “roofs” shade the plants from
too much sun. “We’re replicating their native
environment because these plants grow under the shade of
the forest canopy,” said Earth Sangha member Brian
Marano. |
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“We want to make and keep this
small piece of land ecologically sound,” said Bright.
“Hopefully, our replanting efforts will make it a
better place for animals, fish, and people.
Wilburdale does have one playing field
and a picnic area, but the park is mostly forested.
Wilburdale Park is part of the group’s
Potomac Native Forest Project. Lisa Bright’s husband
Chris, who spearheaded the project, is an analyst with
Worldwatch Institute, an environmental think tank in Washington,
DC. He is the author of Life Out of Bounds, a book
about how globalization has moved exotic plants and animals
into virtually all of the Earth’s ecosystems.
Click
here to learn more about Earth Sangha.
To find out how your group can adopt
a County park, visit the Park Authority's Adopt-A-Park
web page.
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