Public Works and Environmental Services Alert:
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:
Nominee Categories:
Maryam Dadkhah, 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:
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
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:
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
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).
Urban Forest Alliance, winner in the Non-Profit organization/agency category
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:
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”) effort that could be replicated for linear projects in neighborhoods throughout Fairfax County.
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 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.
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.