In celebration of Earth Day, more than 100 people came out on a damp Saturday to plant trees at Lake Fairfax Park.
Piggybacking on a county watershed protection and restoration project, volunteers spent the day planting native shrubs and plants in areas of the park vulnerable to erosion.
“I think it’s good work for the community,” said Chuck Stipancic, who took his two sons to participate in the event before their Reston Little League games.
In March Fairfax County initiated the project, a stream bank stabilization effort, as part of the Environmental Excellence 20-Year Plan passed by the Board of Supervisors. Called the riparian buffer restoration project, the initiative helps mitigate storm-water runoff into local streams and protect the area’s watersheds. The project generates several environmental benefits, including flood control, storm damage prevention, wildlife habitat protection and preservation of aquatic life in streams. Partners for the project include Earth Sangha, Fairfax County Park Authority, Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, Virginia Department of Forestry and Fairfax ReLeaf.
“I see there are a lot of young people here today,” said Kambiz Agazi, Fairfax County’s environmental coordinator. “I think these young people are the lifeblood of environmental events like these.”
“This exercise crosses several of the initiatives of the Board of Supervisors, including air quality, water quality and environmental stewardship,” said Agazi.
Volunteers also took time to visit various educational booths set up by local environmental groups, including Earth Sangha and the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District.
Jimmie Jenkins, director of Fairfax Public Works and Environmental Services, and Agazi also wielded shovels, working with the volunteers to help plant hundreds of native shrubs and plants during the four-hour event.
The county designated seven sites to be restored this spring and hopes to restore 40 sites by the summer of 2006.
“This is going to be an ongoing effort. This is just one initiative in a much larger effort,” said Agazi.