Public Works and Environmental Services

CONTACT INFORMATION: Our administrative offices are open 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Mon - Fri
703-324-1770 TTY 711
12055 Government Center Parkway
Suite 518, Fairfax, Va 22035
Brian Keightley
Division Director, Urban Forest Management

Friends of Trees Awards

Trees from Hidden Oaks

A Friends of Trees award recognizes efforts made for exceptional, outstanding, and innovative conservation-based tree actions in Fairfax County that do one or more of the following criteria:

  1. Protect and preserve existing trees and associated habitats.
  2. Increase Fairfax County’s tree canopy and its related habitats.
  3. Educate and inspire people to plant more trees and properly maintain them, and convey an understanding of both the value and benefits of trees.
  4. Developers who go ‘above and beyond’ Fairfax County requirements to preserve and protect trees and associated habitats.

Nominations each year are typically accepted in June and July

Nominee Categories:

  1. Individual Volunteer: An individual who has provided extraordinary unpaid leadership in conceiving and implementing a tree-related project. Download the nomination form.
  2. Non-profit Group or Business: Examples include Scouts or other youth groups or clubs, “Friends of” groups, faith community properties, HOAs and Citizens Associations, county agencies and/or facilities. Download the nomination form.
  3. For-profit Company: Examples include large corporations or other businesses, HOA management companies, commercial nurseries, landscaping contractors, office park and property managers. Download the nomination form.
  4. Development Community: Must have demonstrated, during planning and implementation, a strong commitment to conservation-based actions to both preserve and plant trees above and beyond Fairfax County requirements. Download the category D nomination form.

Each year, Friends of Trees award winners show exceptional, outstanding, and innovative conservation-based actions meeting one or more important goals: to protect and preserve existing trees and associated habitats; to increase our tree canopy and related habitats; and/or to educate and inspire people to plant more trees and properly maintain them. In all cases, the project must recognize both the value and benefits of trees and use natural landscaping principles based on regionally appropriate native species.

2024 Award Winners

Maryam Dadkhah, winner in the Individual category

Carol Wolter, winner in the Individual category

Since 2021, Maryam Dadkhah has worked as a community leader to educate the public and public agencies about native trees and plants. Highlights from FY2024 include:

  • working as a volunteer Project Manager for Fairfax ReLeaf
  • volunteering with the Town of Vienna's Parks Maintenance Superintendent to improve the appearance and health of area parks through increased native tree and shrub seedling planting and protection
  • serving her third year as a group leader from Navy Federal, instructing employee volunteers on invasive species removal and native tree and shrub planting
  • partnering with Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District and Fairfax Releaf to plant at least 337 native trees and shrubs mostly in Wildwood Park, as well as Glyndon and Southside Parks
  • enhancing her own property, planting nearly 80 native trees and shrubs, and
  • convincing local friends and family members to plant native on their own Fairfax County property, installing 66 trees and shrubs, as well as protective tree tubes.

Maryam also engages in "passive" education with a highly visible book and little seed library on her property. Anyone walking by can peruse or borrow books describing native plants and their benefits. Small drawers hold a collection of free seed packets. She also makes yellow native plant magnets for this unique neighborhood library. From one seed packet to one person, to hundreds of trees planted by family, friends or volunteers, Maryam makes it happen.

Carol Wolter, winner in the Individual category

Individual holding potted tree

Carol Wolter, a long-time FCPA Invasive Management Area (IMA) Volunteer Site Leader and the Chair of McLean Trees Foundation, has dedicated her time and creative energy to protecting and increasing McLean’s urban forest. Prior to FY24, Carol organized IMA volunteers to cut and remove invasive vines from mature trees around McLean Central Park. Then Carol became the IMA Site Leader at Churchill Road Park. She knew that the hard work she and her volunteers alone put in to control invasive vines could not keep new plantings and mature trees alike safe from the aggressive porcelain berry vines. So, she raised grant funds for the Park Foundation so that the IMA Program could to hire contractors to treat the Park’s invasive vines. The natural area at Churchill Park opened up and allowed native wildflowers, grasses and trees to thrive. This also allowed Carol and her volunteers to plant native trees in the newly restored area. They built 15 deer “exclosures”, and in each they planted 5 trees and 10 shrubs, following a modified applied nucleation method. In FY 2024 Carol took what she’d learned to nearby Lewinsville Park:

  • working with scouts and Operation Stream Shield workers to clear away invasive vines
  • partnering with the FCPA Area Manager to plant native trees around the baseball fields
  • raising funds for invasives treatment at the front of Lewinsville Park, and
  • making preparations to reforest the area.

In this effort, Carol has contributed more than 270 volunteer service hours, led 103 volunteer workdays with a total of 1,132 volunteers participating, removed 12 bags and 26 dumpsters full of invasive plants from parks, and planted 47 7-8ft trees and 400 tree and shrub saplings—an astounding individual effort to save a substantial amount of our county’s urban forest.

Tysons Forest Task Force, winner in the non-profit organization/agency category

A 23-person group, known as the Tyson Forest Community Task Force, was established to preserve and enhance an intact 65-acre urban forest that follows Old Courthouse Spring Branch stream valley from the Dulles Toll Road to Gosnell Road in the Hunter Mill portion of Tysons. Supported by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Alcorn and his staff, and chaired by Jack Russell, the Task Force included community residents, building owners, office tenants, Fairfax Park Authority representatives, conservation experts from the Hunter Mill District, and a representative from the neighboring Providence District Supervisor Palchik’s office. Its report was accepted by the Board of Supervisors on April 16, 2024. It recommended 24 actions in seven key areas that would

  1. deliver a promise of coexistence for humans and wildlife that can enhance the experiences of both
  2. replenish the tree canopy and augment wildlife habitat
  3. revive an Old Woodland Trail
  4. expand the forest’s footprint
  5. maintain a safe and clean forest
  6. create green champions to lead us for generations; and
  7. develop a structure for funding and communications.

Nine of the 24 recommendations were completed in FY24, including: a hotel conversion project which made a proffer to expand the forest's footprint; an Eagle Scout project led by Michael Meyers which planted 50 native shrubs and 7 trees (red oaks and sycamore) with a 90% success rate, and its first Earth Day clean up with 35+ volunteers. The Task Force is the embodiment of a community of practice in action at a local level. It provides an innovative approach, exceptional scope/vision, and outstanding implementation methods. The Task Force can serve as a model for the preservation and enhancement of other intact urban forest remnants in the county. (Tysons Forest Community Task Force Report March 24, 2024).

Tysons Forest Group picture
Tysons Forest planting trees

Urban Forest Alliance, winner in the Non-Profit organization/agency category

newly planted trees

Founded in 2021, the Urban Forest Alliance is a grassroots community organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the valuable trees and natural beauty of its neighborhoods, Franklin Park and Franklin Forest in the Dranesville District. Using education, restoration, advocacy, and community engagement efforts, UFA has undertaken:

  • restoring a 12,000 sq. ft. VDOT median strip and other parcels of land/li>
  • removing invasive vines and plants/li>
  • providing community education on its website (www.urbanforestalliance.org), via the neighborhood email list serve, and by knocking on doors, distributing flyers, and holding public events to build neighborhood knowledge and support for tree plantings, native plants and invasives awareness/li>
  • establishing native plant and seed giveaways/li>
  • supporting local tree-planting groups and organizing community workdays/li>
  • restoring neighborhood wooded areas overgrown with invasive plants/li>
  • planting more than 100 canopy trees in the neighborhood in collaboration with the Committee to Reforest the Forest

The most prominent UFA project is the renewal of a large tract of neglected VDOT land along more than 600 feet of Old Dominion Drive. UFA marshaled thousands of volunteer hours to clear the land of invasives and large amounts of trash. To facilitate this work, it raised funds from neighbors and received a matching grant from the Virginia Department of Forestry to install a native plant pollinator garden, including native trees. In the larger, less impacted area, it cleared invasives and planted native trees and a variety of other plants. This is a continuing project that will include future plantings, as well as ongoing watering, pulling invasives, and other maintenance to ensure that the land thrives. About 75% of the VDOT work occurred during FY24 and will be ongoing. The UFA is an outstanding example of a grassroots (or “treeroots”) citizen effort that could be replicated for linear projects in neighborhoods throughout Fairfax County.

2023 Award Winners

Steve Lagerfeld is a recipient of the Friends of Trees Awards in the Individuals Category. Steve is a board member of the McLean Trees Foundation and head of its Tree Champions project. The Tree Champions program recruits local McLean residents to purchase and plant low cost canopy trees in their yards. Steve visits the residents to advise on tree selection and siting, hires a planting crew and administers the logistics of payment, plant delivery and putting the trees in the ground. In 2022-23 he planted 72 trees, assisted by a major grant award. He educates every homeowner about tree species, best practices of planting and maintenance, the value of native plants, and critical invasive vine identification. The idea is simple: make it easy and inexpensive for people to “do the right thing” in order to help rebuild McLean’s diminishing tree canopy. Steve is also a founding member of the Urban Forest Alliance in Franklin Park, where he is focused on clearing a large parcel along Old Dominion Drive of invasives and restoring it with native trees and plants. Steve Lagerfeld is a perfect example of how just one individual’s actions can make a big difference to our urban forest.

Jim McGlone has been awarded the Friend of Trees Awards in the Individual Category for his multiple roles and extensive dedication to the protection of the urban forest. Jim retired in June 2023 from the Virginia Department of Forestry, after serving Fairfax County for almost two decades. Jim was a founder of the Fairfax chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists, where he served as its advisor and trained more than 550 members to identify, protect and manage trees and other natural resources in the county. Jim is a sought-after speaker on threats to our trees and associated habitats. Recent examples include a Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District’s Green Breakfast on climate and pest tree stressors, a Friends of Green Spring Gardens EcoSavvy Symposium on “Restoring Our Urban Forest One Yard at a Time”, and a Virginia Extension presentation on Oak Decline in the county. Among other tree conservation conservation-based actions, he served as VDOF’s appointed member to the Fairfax County Tree Commission (including 10 years as Vice-Chair), helping to write the Tree Action Plan and the popular Tree Basics Booklet. As a Board member of Releaf Fairfax, he helped establish and maintain its successful free tree seedling give-away. In sum, Jim McGlone has made exceptional contributions over a long and productive career to promote the maintenance, preservation and expansion of our urban forest.

Bob Vickers with large silver maple
Bob Vickers with large silver maple

Bob Vickers is a recipient of the Friends of Trees Awards in the Individual Category. Bob served on the Tree Commission for 16 years as the Dranesville District representative and as chair for five years, retiring in June 2023. He was instrumental in crafting the original 2008 Tree Action Plan and its 2019 successor. In 2022, Bob inspired the Great Falls Citizens Association to survey mature trees along Georgetown Pike to increase VDOT’s awareness of developer encroachment on the trees in its right of way. Additionally, Bob has nominated more than 100 trees to Virginia Tech’s Big Tree Registry. This includes more than two dozen state champions, 21 of which are in Fairfax County! Recently he trained Fairfax Tree Stewards on how to measure big trees, helping expand his efforts to all parts of the county. To educate the public about trees, he asked the county Park Authority to help make tree “cookies” out of a park tree downed during a storm. A “cookie” is a slice of a tree trunk which tells its story through the number and dimensions of tree rings. These are displayed at several county buildings, including the nearby Herrity Building. Bob inspired another educational project at Riverbend Park, where staff and residents developed a mile long trail identifying 20 different tree varieties. Bob is an example of how to educate both developers and residents on the priceless value of trees.

The McLean Citizens Association (MCA) and its Environment, Parks and Recreation Committee is the winner of the 2023 Friends of Trees Awards in the Non-profit Citizens Group Category. Fifty years ago, Virginia designated Georgetown Pike as the state’s first Scenic Byway to preserve the beauty of this historic road. McLean residents repeatedly expressed concern over the loss of trees long the Pike, prompting MCA to look at a survey project begun by the Great Falls Citizens Association (GFCA) the previous year. The survey was to alert the Virginia Department of Transportation if any new housing developments might threaten these mature big trees on the Pike., but the survey stopped at the boundary with McLean. MCA’s Environment, Parks, and Recreation Committee, led by then-chair Barbara Ryan, picked up the project. Using the same data base and methodology, the committee worked along 3.5 miles of the Pike from west of Centrillion Road to Clemyjontri Park. The team recorded 145 trees with a circumference of at least 36 inches, all located within the VDOT right of way. In April 2023, the McLean data was merged with the Great Falls data, and the complete Georgetown Pike inventory was shared with VDOT. This shows how a small but committed group of county residents can impact a large state agency by gathering feet-on-the-ground information about trees.

The Inova Health Systems Office of Sustainability is awarded the 2023 Friends of Trees Award in the Non-profit Business Category. The Sustainability team works across the Inova system to establish policies and programs to support environmental and public health. One focus of its mission is building a strong human connection to nature, and it has implemented tree giveaways to Inova staff since 2010. In the past few years, using native seedlings from Fairfax ReLeaf, they have given away 300 to 500 trees a year, depending on available stock. In 2022-23, they doubled their program from one spring Earth Day Event to include a fall “Thank You to Staff” event, greatly increasing the number of trees they were able to give away. The Inova Center for Personalized Health (ICPH) and the Inova Schar Cancer Institute are situated on a large campus next to 100 acres of forested land, with a one-mile trail open to staff and visitors. To continue connecting public health and wellbeing with nature, the Office of Sustainability is identifying native species of trees and shrubs along the trail in order to install labels to educate visitors. Director Chip Goyette notes that “connecting ourselves to our natural environment has countless benefits, and we want to place identifying plaques along the trail so we can all more intimately connect with the nature around us as we walk the path.” Pairing human well-being with planting and preserving trees is not only a great public health goal, but also a winning combination for this award!

Fairhill Elementary School at 3001 Chichester Lane in Fairfax finished a four-phase planting of 32 trees. Principal Ted Cooper and the Fairhill PTA organizes a Community Garden Day each spring and fall to maintain the school grounds and plant the trees. This gives students hands-on experience with planting and caring for trees. The trees in the school's plan contribute to shade for the parking lot and playground, provide benefits for wildlife and pollinators, and mitigate stormwater runoff. Post-planting maintenance plans include irrigation, pruning, mulching, and protection from deer.

Students at Liberty Middle School tree planting
Students at Liberty Middle School tree planting

Liberty Middle School at 6801 Union Mill Road has implemented three phases of six, consisting of 50 total trees planted by 2023. Principal Adam Ebrecht and teachers, Michele Nofal, Donna Stebner, and Julie White have worked to coordinate student participation. In one of the planting phases, Liberty Middle School also hosted Fairfax County’s Arbor Day celebration, featuring inspirational words from county leaders, School Board members, and Tree Commissioners. Students contributed songs and poems and planted eight trees in that day alone. At both schools, the planting events are incorporated into the school's initiatives and curriculum to maximize learning opportunities for students. Special thanks to the adults at each school for modeling this commitment to the importance of tree stewardship. If we teach young people how to be Friends of Trees now, they will be tree friends forever.

The Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States is awarded a 2023 Friends of Trees Award in the Development Category for its new Springfield facility. Notable members of the development team include engineer Michael Benton, landscape architect Nick Letteri, and project arborist Nelson Kirchner, all from Vika Virginia LLC; general contractors Hensel Phelps and Colleen O’Sullivan; and landscape contractor Jeremy Hall from Chapel Valley. The Kaiser Springfield site wins for its extensive use of natural landscaping and for exceeding the 10-year tree canopy requirement by 9,275 square feet. The site plan is richly landscaped with trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials that are almost entirely native to Northern Virginia. One goal of the project was to help the region meet its stormwater goals in order to protect the local streams and the Chesapeake Bay, and the planting beds decrease the amount of runoff from impervious surfaces. Design considerations included using a variety of native plant species to provide four-season interest, using low-maintenance plants that will not require long-term watering, and choosing species that will grow to the appropriate size for their locations so that important sight lines remain open and safe. This is a prime example of choosing the right trees and understory plants, putting them in the right place, establishing a low-maintenance and safe design, and focusing on the ecological and stormwater benefits of native trees and plants. This project went above and beyond county landscaping requirements, and can and should serve as a model for other redevelopment efforts in the county.

2022 Award Winners

Fort Hunt Elementary School in Alexandria has been awarded the Friends of Trees Award for its ambitious tree planting initiative. Led by Principal Tim Slayter and Assistant Principal Katie Pluntke, the school set a goal of planting 32 regionally native trees on school grounds with the help of students. The multi-phased planting plan includes deer protection, pruning, mulching and irrigation to minimize potential stress.

The planting events are incorporated into the school's curriculum and initiatives to maximize learning opportunities for students. This gives students hands-on experience with planting and caring for trees, as well as the opportunity to learn about stewardship and how trees help improve stormwater management and reduce the urban heat island effect.

Greenbriar West Elementary School in Fairfax has been awarded the Friends of Trees Award for implementing a multi-phased tree planting goal. Led by Principal Andrew Blount, the school will plant a total of 38 regionally native trees on the school grounds with the help of students. Additionally, the school's plan incorporates details for tree care throughout the calendar year, including irrigation, pruning, mulching, and deer protection.

The planting events are incorporated into the school's initiatives and curriculum to maximize learning opportunities for students. This gives students hands-on experience with planting and caring for trees, as well as the opportunity to learn about stewardship and how trees help improve stormwater management and reduce the urban heat island effect.

Loft Ridge Homeowners Association’s (HOA) in Alexandria has been awarded the Friends of Trees Award for its commitment to improving tree canopy and maintaining ecologically sustainable common property. The HOA started its initiative by planting 25 trees in 2017.

HOA Board of Directors have demonstrated their dedication to their goal by replacing non-survivors and planting more trees throughout the HOA common property. In 2022 volunteers from the neighborhood planted an additional 54 native trees and shrubs. The HOA also has the ambitious goal of planting 24 street trees in the neighborhood.

The HOA's Board of Directors understand the ecological benefit to preserving a healthy tree canopy and have demonstrated its steadfast commitment to protect, preserve, and expand this community asset through recognizing the importance of sustainable land management and preservation of native species. The HOA hires professionals to improve its landscaping practices, develop and pursue a multi-year tree assessment and maintenance plan, and actively mitigate invasive plant species that threaten native habitat.

The Great Falls Citizens Association (GFCA) has been awarded the Friends of Trees Award for its work to protect and preserve the large trees along Georgetown Pike in Great Falls.

In recent years, the population of Great Falls has more than tripled, and new housing developments have threatened to clear-cut these trees. In response to this threat, the GFCA launched a tree inventory project in early 2022 to collect data of tree species, size and health. Led by the President of GFCA, Bill Canis, and the heads of the Environment and Parks and the Land Use and Zoning Committees, over a dozen volunteers surveyed the mature trees within 20 feet of the pavement.

The inventory is already being used to protect the canopy along Georgetown Pike threatened by two new residential developments. A copy of the inventory is also being provided to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) for its use in monitoring tree health for safety issues.

Margaret Fisher and Heidi Allen are a recipients of the Friends of Trees Award for their commitment and ingenuity in creating the Tree Rescuers volunteer opportunity. This initiative allows residents to save trees on private and public lands by cutting non-native invasive vines and freeing trees and supporting healthy wildlife habitat.

Fisher and Allen worked with Fairfax County Park Authority Invasive Management Area (IMA) Program staff to create a sub-category volunteer opportunity called Tree Rescuers. They created information sheets, helped manage volunteer sign-ups and in the field trainings and therefore took a huge load of work from staff in this process.

Fisher and Allen also compiled a Tree Rescuers webpage with key information and helpful tools, such as training videos to identify native and invasive vines. The Tree Rescuers webpage has been a valuable resource for volunteers and homeowners alike.

Cathy Ledec is a recipient of the Friends of Trees Award for her instrumental role in saving natural resources and local ecosystems through tree advocacy, including community education, civic testimony, and county-wide planting projects.

For more than 20 years, Ledec has participated in and led numerous conservation projects including, but not limited to:

  • Two Huntley Meadow’s park preservation projects protecting natural areas from transmission lines and paved trails;
  • Conservation landscaping at the Pavilions at Huntington Metro Community Association;
  • Served as Invasive Management Area Volunteer Site Leader at Mount Eagle Park where she helped save a number of trees from invasive vines and planted 75 trees;
  • Organized native landscaping at Mt. Vernon Government; and
  • Provided 1,000 hours of volunteer service hours as a Fairfax Master Naturalist.

Cathy also served the community in multiple roles including on the Mt. Vernon Environmental Council, advising the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors; the community advisory group for Fairfax County’s Community-wide Climate Action Plan; six years on the Fairfax County Tree Commission; and served as a mentor to others.

Ledec approaches every project with enthusiasm and tireless effort: she does not hesitate to speak out and speak often; she seeks organizational partnerships to help expand her volunteer efforts; she researches and understands county policy and does not hesitate to speak to elected officials or agency directors and staff on the subject of trees and natural resources and she never stops learning and sharing that learning with others.

Girl Scout Troop 5532, led by Kelly Wevley, has been awarded the Friends of Trees Award for the ambitious goal of planting 25 regionally native trees on the school grounds at Washington Irving Middle School in Springfield.

The troop's multi-phased planting project, which began in the spring of 2021 and was completed in the fall of 2022, included deer protection, pruning, mulching, and irrigation to minimize potential stress for the trees.

This initiative gave the Girl Scouts hands-on experience with planting and caring for trees, as well as the opportunity to learn about stewardship and how trees help improve stormwater management and reduce the urban heat island effect.

Justice High School in Falls Church has been awarded the Friends of Trees Award for implementing a multi-phased tree planting goal.

Led by Sharon Ponton and the school’s Eco Club, the school is planting 23 regionally native trees on the school grounds with the help of students. Additionally, the school’s plans incorporate details for tree care throughout the calendar year including irrigation, pruning, mulching, and deer protection.

The planting events are incorporated into the school's initiatives and curriculum to maximize learning opportunities for students. This gives students hands-on experience with planting and caring for trees, as well as the opportunity to learn about stewardship and how trees help improve stormwater management and reduce the urban heat island effect.

Stantec Consulting, in particular designers Megan McCollough and Daniel Malone, have been awarded the Friends of Trees Award for their commitment to protecting trees while meeting Fairfax County’s requirement to improve stream water quality.

The design team, led by McCollough and Malone, went above and beyond to contribute design solutions at each of the design milestones, refining the tree preservation measures as the stream design advanced and resident priorities became better defined.

Their work on a recent project for Fairfax County illustrates innovative practices and the value of combining multiple best practices in an integrated manner. Practices included a combination of tree protection fencing, tree wrapping and root barriers, as well as a design that protected existing tree canopy and installed trees to replace those that were lost. In collaboration with County staff and the Hollin Hills Civic Association (landowner), the design team implemented several innovative measures to protect the existing tree canopy and enhance the restored landscape.

Walt Whitman Middle School in Alexandria is the recipient of the Friends of Trees Award for the ambitious goal of planting 33 regionally native trees on school grounds. The school, led by Latasha Watson, STEAM Resource Teacher; Jessica Fish, Biology Teacher; and Chris Tippins, After School Specialist, implemented a multi-phased planting plan with the help of students.

Additionally, the school’s plans incorporate details for tree care throughout the calendar year including irrigation, pruning, mulching, and deer protection.

The planting events are incorporated into the school's initiatives and curriculum to maximize learning opportunities for students. This gives students hands-on experience with planting and caring for trees, as well as the opportunity to learn about stewardship and how trees help improve stormwater management and reduce the urban heat island effect.

2022 Award Winners

Past Tree Preservation and Planting Award Winners

The Tree Preservation and Planting awards have been combined with the Friends of Trees Awards. Historical information about past Tree Preservation and Planting winners can be found at the link below.


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