Sierra Club Great Falls Group Update - Honoring Norbert Pink
After seven years as Chair of the Great Falls Group (GFG), Norbert Pink has stepped down from the Chair role. Susan Bonney has volunteered to serve as GFG Chair through 2021.
Norbert's work with other Sierra Club members has made GFG the largest and most active Group of the Virginia Chapter. He met and recruited many new leaders and involved volunteers in educational activities and advocacy programs.
We honor Norbert for his service and will continue to work with him.
WHEN: Saturday, June 5, 2-4 pm 2-4 pm sábado, 5 de junio
In case of rain: Sunday, June 6 En caso de lluvia: domingo, 6 de junio
WHERE: 3312 Peace Valley Lane, Falls Church, VA 22044
DESCRIPTION: Fairfax County wants to turn two acres of Justice Park into satellite parking for Justice High School. Come to Justice Park and send a message to the School Board and the Park Authority to preserve our park! Kids need great schools and great parks!!
¡Vamos a Justice Park y enviemos un mensaje a la junta escolar y a las autoridades del parque...Nuestros niños necesitan excelentes escuelas y parques!
CECAP Working Group Endorses Strong Climate Goals for Fairfax County
On May 10, a working group for the Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) proposed several bold new goals:
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions 75 percent by 2040 from the 2005 baseline
Retrofitting at least 100,000 housing units with energy efficiency measures by 2030
Raising transit and non-motorized commuting (including telework) to 30 percent by 2030
Expanding plug-in and battery electric vehicles to at least 9 percent of all light-duty vehicle registrations by 2030
The working group, which includes several GFG members, also expressed alarm about the county’s plan to buy 36 diesel buses in 2022 for its Connector bus fleet, stating: “All agencies must endorse the CECAP goals, and any agency action, budgetary or operational, must not increase GHG emissions currently or in the future.”
Even though the park has been saved, members of the SaveBlakeLane group have not been idle. The group plans to meet with Fairfax County employees, park board members, and politicians to discuss a master plan for the park. In the meantime, the park authority's invasive management area program continues to clear the park of invasive plants and to plant trees and native plants. Recently a group of Cub Scouts came and helped to plant trees and clear a path through the pollinator garden.
DESCRIPTION: Rain gardens are landscaping elements where native plants capture and filter rainwater. They can help fix poor drainage, recharge groundwater, protect against pollution, and create a beautiful habitat for birds, bees and butterflies.
Maria Harwood from the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District will give some basic background and answer questions that are submitted ahead of time.
SPONSOR: Plant NOVA Natives
NOTE: Click here for information about Plant NOVA Natives' upcoming native tree campaign!
The Plant NOVA Natives campaign is in the process of developing a native tree campaign, Plant NOVA Trees, that will kick off this fall with a Celebration of Trees, with events across Northern Virginia. Everyone in the region is invited to use their creativity to organize tree-related events. Examples might include tree plantings, invasive plant removal, tree tours, planting commemorative trees, webinars, poetry readings, and book displays.
Numerous organizations are pooling their resources to put on the tree campaign, and a great deal of volunteer help is needed to organize it. A list of opportunities can be found on the new Plant NOVA Trees website, www.plantnovatrees.org.
Quiet Clean NOVA was formed in February 2021 with the aim of reducing or banning the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in Virginia due to the excessive air and noise pollution that these tools generate. QC NOVA has been reaching out to state and local officials, including in Fairfax County, Arlington and D.C. as well as state Delegate Kaye Kory. They also participate in community activities at local parks, with several events coming up this summer.
QC NOVA has been seeking yard care companies that use electric equipment. One of those companies that stands out is Little Foot Eco-friendly Lawn Care, operated by David Jimenez. The company uses only battery-operated mowers, blowers, and trimmers. https://www.littlefootlawncare.com/
Read more about QC NOVA's activities and what you can do to help out.
Bill McKibben, Wenonah Hauter Headlined Strong Speaker Lineup at 5th Annual Virtual Mother's Day Climate Rally
On May 8, people from all over Northern Virginia rallied for the planet. Mother's Day was originally a day of political activism, so the 20+ groups sponsoring the rally returned to those activist roots. Calls to action came from Wenonah Hauter, founder and executive director of Food & Water Watch; Bill McKibben, celebrated author and founder of 350.org; Harriet Shugarman, founder of ClimateMama; and youth activists Jerome Foster II, founder of OneMillionOfUs, and Finn Fisk, political director of Sunrise Virginia.
See the link below for more, including information on fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Volunteer Action for the Environment Focuses on Stream Protection, Cleaner Cars and Zero Waste in May
The GFG Volunteer Action for the Environment held another well-attended virtual meeting May 17:
Friends of Accotink Creek asked volunteers to support opposition to paving a trail in the Long Branch south stream valley.
Cheri Conca, the Conservation Program Coordinator for Sierra Club Virginia Chapter described work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.
And the Sierra Club Great Falls Group announced it is launching its Zero Waste Initiative, describing the movement and discussing why Fairfax County should join it.
Please mark June 14, 2021, 5-6:15 pm as the tentative date for the next Volunteer Action call.
DESCRIPTION: The meeting will focus on the project’s right-of-way process and potential impacts on the community. While there are no major updates, the session will provide a high-level overview of the process, the rights of those potentially impacted, and general expectations and timeline.
The public is invited to ask questions and provide feedback during the presentation. Use the link below to find several ways to submit questions or comments.
DESCRIPTION: Prince William County is holding an online meeting on the trails component of the Mobility Chapter of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. This is an opportunity to express support for building a connected network of bike/pedestrian trails, and prioritizing alternatives to the car-centric planning mentality - which holds that "more roads are the solution, even though traffic congestion keeps getting worse" that has dominated since 1950.
SPONSORS: The Prince William County Planning Office, Department of Transportation, and Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism in collaboration with the Virginia Railway Express and OmniRide
Greater Prince William Trails Coalition Quarterly Meeting
Virtual Meeting WHEN: Thursday, June 17, 10-11:00 am
DESCRIPTION: We will examine in detail the Aspirational Trails Network, drafted over the last three months, before it's submitted for inclusion in the Mobility Chapter of Prince William County's 2040 Comprehensive Plan.
SPONSOR: Greater Prince William Trails Coalition
"Greening Up" Prince William County
There are two opportunities right now to make a long-term impact on the movement to "green up" Prince William County. Two key long-range plans are being completed in 2021. With two e-mail messages, you can steer the county towards a more sustainable future.
