Just checked the weather, and it promises a beautiful weekend, just right for spending an hour or two gluing labels on storm drains!
On Saturday, pick up supplies at the Bethesda Library from 1:00 to 3:00.
On Sunday, we will be at the Bethesda Pool Parking Lot from 11:00 to 5:00.
Details are in the previous blog, but I just wanted to take a little space to recognize our sponsors, without whom we could not be giving away t-shirts (I just picked up the t-shirts and they are so beautiful!) and our raffle donors who have given us dozens of prizes to reward our volunteers.
So thank you to sponsors:
Giant Food, macUpgrade, American Plant, DAI, Press, Potter and Dozier,LLC, Advanced Energy Dynamics and Planet Cotton.
Our raffle donors are: Strosniders, macUpgrades, Mamma Lucias, Austin Grill, Ledo Pizza, Lord and Taylor, Tickled Pink, Aveda, Wild Bird Center, Safeway, All Fired Up, Cosi Restaurant, Lilit Cafe, Wow Cow, Green Paper Studio and Bethesda Magazine.
Thank you also to Honest Beverages for donating Honest Tea and juice drinks. It's supposed to be hot this weekend so the beverages will be appreciated.
And of course, we have great partners - Chesapeake Bay Trust gave us a grant for the door hangers, Montgomery and DC governments provided the storm drain labels and glue and Bethesda Green and Friends of the Bethesda Library are also worthy partners.
I hope to see everyone there. Contact me at stormwater@LFWA.org if you have any questions.
Sarah Morse
Watershed is Clean. Time to Label it!
Saturday was a fantastic day for the Little Falls Watershed. Crews of volunteers in seven locations spent the morning cleaning trash from the creeks and pulling garlic mustard. At my station alone (Bethesda Pool), we pulled 14 bags of trash out of a section of the creek in Kenwood Forest that has never been cleaned as far as I can tell. I'll post more (and photos) as the reports come in.
So, moving right along, plans are finalizing for Label the Watershed April 25-26. We've cleaned it, now we will label the storm drains to remind people that everything in the gutters, sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, etc, flows right into the creek. Much of the trash we pulled out came in via the storm drains.
April 25 - from 1:00 to 3:00 we'll be at the Bethesda Library with maps and supplies.
Apirl 26 - from 11:00 to 5:00, we'll be at the Bethesda Pool Parking lot on Little Falls Parkway and Hillandale Road.
Stop by at anytime and pick up supplies. We'll send you out with a map to label 10 drains. Along with the affixing labels, we have door hangers to pass out to neighbors with information about the problem stormwater run-off causes and what people can do to help. It should take a team of four people about an hour.
Rain Plan:
We cannot glue the labels on if it is wet out, even a little drizzle.
So, the rain plan is:
For April 25: you can still come to the library and pick up supplies. Hopefully, it won't rain on April 26, so you can label the drains and return the supplies to the Bethesda pool and get your raffle tickets.
For April 26: If it's raining on Sunday, we will postpone to May 3. Check the this blog for up-to-date information.
Free Raffle Tickets and T-shirts:
When you return your supplies and marked map,we'll give you a raffle ticket for every storm drain you label. The raffle drawing will be at 4:00 on April 26, but you don't have to be present to win. We have great prizes including a nano shuffle donated by macUpgrades.
And we have free t-shirts for all the volunteers.
Partners, Sponsors and Donors
The best thing about this event is that we have been able to engage the whole community to support us. We are grateful to have many sponsors and partners:
Thank you to Chesapeake Bay Trust for partial funding, partners Bethesda Green, Friends of the Bethesda Library and the DC and Montgomery County governments.
Our sponsors include American Plant, macUpgrades, DAI, Giant Food, Planet Cotton, Advanced Energy Dynamics, and Press, Potter & Dozier, LLC. Raffle donors include Strosniders, macUpgrades, Mamma Lucias, Austin Grill, Ledo Pizza, Lord and Taylor, Tickled Pink, Aveda, Wild Bird Center, Safeway, All Fired Up, Cosi Restaurant, Lilit Cafe, Wow Cow, Green Paper Studio and Bethesda Magazine. Thank you to Honest Tea for in-kind donations.
LFWA Gets CBT Grant
Label the Watershed
is officially funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust! Our grant will cover costs of educational materials and other expenses associated with putting on the event. A big thank you to them for supporting local watershed groups. Hopefully, we'll see everyone out on
April 25 or 26
. See previous blog posting for all the details. btw, if it rains, we will have to postpone the April 26 date to May 3. You can't affix the labels if it is wet out. However, we will still be at the library on April 25. That's an indoor location and we'll just pass out labels for people to apply when the weather gets drier.
CLEAN IT, LABEL IT, OWN IT!
It's our watershed. On the April 18th, we're cleaning it up. And then on April 25/26 we'll label it so everyone knows that we live in the Little Falls Watershed!
Please join us at one or both of these events.
Saturday, April 18: Creek Clean-ups and Garlic Mustard Challenge!
9:00 am to noon, rain or shine!
We will be cleaning the Little Falls Branch creek and Stream Valley Park all the way from the Dalecarlia Reservoir to the Bethesda Public Pool. The effort has also been expanded to remove the invasive weed 'garlic mustard' in the parkland, so experienced weed warriors and new volunteers welcome!
Sign-in stations include:
Little Falls Park in Westmoreland - 3 stream side stations (Little Falls Parkway and Massachusetts; Elliott Road Park trail entrance; Albemarle Street entrance)
Glen Cove/Green Acres - 2 stream side stations (gravel turnout on Little Falls Parkway between River and Mass Ave; and Little Falls Drive at Wakefield Road by footbridge to Westbrook Elementary School playground.)
Town of Somerset - station at the Somerset Pool, Falstone Avenue and Warwick Place.
Bethesda Public Pool - station at the Bethesda Pool located at Little Falls Parkway and Hillandale Avenue.
Volunteers stationed at all trail entrances to the park will hand out work gloves and trash bags. Bring boots and long pants and sleeves recommended.
Children under 15 must be supervised by an adult. Middle and High School students who check in will earn SSL credits from the Montgomery County Parks Department.
This cleanup is supported through volunteers and funding by the Westmoreland Hills Garden Club, the Westbrook Elementary AquaEagles and EcoDefenders, the Town of Somerset, the Westmoreland Citizens Association, the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commisssion, the Alice Ferguson Foundation, Bethesda Green, and the Little Falls Watershed Alliance.
Contact cleanup@lfwa.org for more information.
April 25/25: Label the Watershed!
April 25 - Bethesda Library, 1:00 - 3:00
April 26 - Bethesda Pool Parking Lot, 11:00 - 5:00
For the first time ever in Watershed history we will attempt to label all the storm drains using only volunteer labor! We have raffle tickets and t-shirts and great prizes. We have labels and instructions. All we need are volunteers to make this happen! Volunteers will be sent out in teams of three to five people and will label 5 to 10 storm drains. We hope to have people preregister, but if you just show up at either location, we will have lots for you to do! Contact Sarah at stormwater@lfwa.org to register your team or volunteer to help with running the event.
We are lucky to have many sponsors and partners in this event -
Thank you to Cheaseapeake Bay Trust for partial funding, partners Bethesda Green, Friends of the Bethesda Library and the DC and Montgomery County governments.
Our sponsors include American Plant, macUpgrades, DAI, Giant Food, Planet Cotton, Advanced Energy Dynamics, and Press, Potter & Dozier, LLC. Raffle donors include Strosniders, macUpgrades, Mamma Lucias, Austin Grill, Ledo Pizza, Lord and Taylor, Tickled Pink, Aveda, Wild Bird Center, Safeway, All Fired Up, Cosi Restaurant, Lilit Cafe, Wow Cow, and Bethesda Magazine. Thank you to Honest Tea for in-kind donations.
Events for April
April is a busy month for the Little Falls Watershed Alliance;
Saturday, April 4: Stop Trash in Its Tracks!
9:00 am to noon,
Meet at the Lord and Taylor parking lot at Jenifer and Western Ave, NW DC.
We will spread out over the Friendship Heights and Tenleytown areas. Gloves and bags provided. Questions - contact Richard trash@lfwa.org for more information or to volunteer to help organize!
Saturday, April 18: Creek Clean-ups and Garlic Mustard Challenge!
9:00 am to noon, rain or shine!
We will be cleaning the Little Falls Branch creek and Stream Valley Park all the way from the Dalecarlia Reservoir to the Bethesda Public Pool. The effort has also been expanded to remove the invasive weed 'garlic mustard' in the parkland, so experienced weed warriors and new volunteers welcome!
Sign-in stations include:
Little Falls Park in Westmoreland - 3 stream side stations (Little Falls Parkway and Massachusetts; Elliott Road Park trail entrance; Albemarle Street entrance)
Glen Cove/Green Acres - 2 stream side stations (gravel turnout on Little Falls Parkway between River and Mass Ave; and Little Falls Drive at Wakefield Road by footbridge to Westbrook Elementary School playground.)
Town of Somerset - station at the Somerset Pool, Falstone Avenue and Warwick Place.
Bethesda Public Pool - station at the Bethesda Pool located at Little Falls Parkway and Hillandale Avenue.
Volunteers stationed at all trail entrances to the park will hand out work gloves and trash bags. Bring boots and long pants and sleeves recommended.
Children under 15 must be supervised by an adult. Middle and High School students who check in will earn SSL credits from the Montgomery County Parks Department.
This cleanup is supported through volunteers and funding by the Westmoreland Hills Garden Club, the Westbrook Elementary AquaEagles and EcoDefenders, the Town of Somerset, the Westmoreland Citizens Association, the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commisssion, the Alice Ferguson Foundation, Bethesda Green, and the Little Falls Watershed Alliance.
Contact cleanup@lfwa.org for more information.
April 25/25: Label the Watershed!
April 25 - Bethesda Library, 1:00 - 3:00
April 26 - Bethesda Pool Parking Lot, 11:00 - 5:00
For the first time ever in Watershed history we will attempt to label all the storm drains using only volunteer labor! We have raffle tickets and t-shirts and great prizes. We have labels and instructions. All we need are volunteers to make this happen! Volunteers will be sent out in teams of three to five people and will label 5 to 10 storm drains. We hope to have people preregister, but if you just show up at either location, we will have lots for you to do! Contact Sarah at stormwater@lfwa.org to register your team or volunteer to help with running the event.
Why We Need Watershed Groups
Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of meeting with community leaders from the Bethesda Chevy Chase area at a green forum sponsored by two wonderful organizations, Bethesda Green and the BCC Regional Services Center. It was an energizing event with different civic and community leaders sharing what their organizations were doing to "green" the county. We had the Cabin John/Glen Echo Scrape metal challenge, the Bethesda Green recycling bin project, the Town of Chevy Chase "Walk for your Community" event, an Energy Audit Coop initiative and even a Solar Energy Coop - a lot of great ideas and programs that are going on right in our neighborhoods.
But what was noticeably missing (in my mind) were groups really excited about the watershed and solving the problems of stormwater run-off and invasive weeds. Only one civic leader mentioned stormwater management and that was my own town, Somerset (where I have some influence!) And there was a couple who were concerned about stormwater run-off, but only in that run-off from the house next door to theirs was causing flooding. I approached them about the problems of stormwater run-off in general, but they were mostly interested in getting the water off their property and into the street where it won't flood their basement. Which is important, water in your basement is not fun, but sending the water to the street only transfers the problem to someone else.
While I was walking my dogs this morning, it occurred to me that the "someone else" is us. Groups like ours are so necessary as our sole purpose is to advocate for the watershed. Sometimes I think that people take the watershed for granted. The Little Falls Branch looks so lovely tumbling over rocks. Ducks live there and the water is mostly trash-free and clean. They see streams and trees and think that everything is OK as long as it looks pretty. In the years that I have been leading groups to monitor Little Falls Branch, watching the macro-invertebrates die off, talking about the problems of stormwater run-off, I can't tell you how many people have given me a little pat and said "don't worry Sarah, the creek will take care of itself". As we know, the creek can't take care of itself in the face of all the new development and urbanization. So, I'm proud to be a member of this stewardship group.
On April 25/26 (Earth Day weekend) you can help us raise awareness of the watershed by joining us for our "Label the Watershed" event. We are looking for teams of volunteers from all over the area to go out and label the storm drains with "Don't Dump, Flow to Little Falls Watershed" stickers and to distribute educational material to neighbors. This is an easy activity suitable for all ages. Scouts, Brownies, church groups, senior centers, school clubs, book groups - anyone can label storm drains. It should be a fun time. For each storm drain labeled, volunteers will get a raffle ticket and we have great prizes. We hope to have free t-shirts and other give-aways too. But more important, you will get the satisfaction of knowing that you are advocating for the watershed.
Please contact me, stormwater@lfwa.org, if you want to volunteer to help with organization. We especially need people to help with publicity and writing press releases! If you have a group that would like to send a team out, we would like to register them in advance (if possible) so we know how many labels we need. Email me with numbers. And finally, if you would like to sponsor the event, we're looking for donations!
Sarah Morse
stormwater@lfwa.org,
Blog Master
Birds in the Watershed
Every once in a while, you open your email to a real treat. Such was the case last week, when I received an message from John Stinson listing the birds that he noted in the watershed for the Christmas Bird Count. Although the Audubon event is in its 109th year, it's the first time in years that the Little Falls Watershed has been censused. He and his two colleagues followed the path of the Little Falls Branch until they hit the C&O Canal and turned towards Chain Bridge. They found 34 species and were pleased to see Pine Siskins and Kingfishers.
The following is a complete list. If you want the numbers, please email me (Sarah Morse) and I'll forward John's chart.
Bird Count: Little Falls - Bethesda to Chain Bridge Road, December 20 (5 hours, 3 miles)
Eastern Towhee, Great Blue Heron, Northern Flicker, Red-shouldered Hawk, Ring-billed Gull, Winter Wren, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Mockingbird, American Robin, Belted Kingfisher, American Crow, Fish Crow, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Gull sp., Song Sparrow, Blue Jay, Dark-eyed Junco, Pine Siskin, Red-bellied Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, House Finch, Downy Woodpecker, White-throated Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Crow, sp., Mallard, House Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Canada Goose, Northern Cardinal and European Starling.
I'm especially happy to see crows on the list. I know they are a common bird, but the West Nile Virus wiped out the foursome that hung out in my backyard, so I'm glad to see they're back in the watershed.
John is planning on participating in the Backyard Bird Count February 13-16. So hopefully, we'll have another report on who lives in the Watershed. If anyone else is participating, please send me your list and I'll post it.
Sarah Morse
2008 Volunteer Awards - Monday Night
Monday night is a special night for the Little Falls Watershed Alliance. In addition to hosting a community meeting with Councilman Roger Berliner, which we hope will be a lively and informative evening, we are pleased to be honoring two extraordinary volunteers - Elfa Halloway and Andrew Schaengold - for their efforts on behalf of the watershed.
Elfa Halloway has been a stalward member of our invasive weed removal efforts. As you may know, every other Saturday, a group of hardy souls goes out into the Little Falls Stream Valley park to manually remove invasive plants. Elfa rarely misses a session and we are pleased to be able to honor her efforts.
Andrew Schaengold is a premier member of our trash abatement program. We are recognizing this teenager for his fine service this past summer in performing litter patrol on Western Avenue between River Road and Massachusetts Avenue.
One of the pleasures of forming the Alliance is that we get to work with such fine people. We hope to see everyone out at St. Dunstan's church to honor them.
Sarah Morse
Happy New Year from LFWA
It's hard to believe it's 2009 already. Just 10 months ago, the Little Falls Watershed Alliance was just a good idea waiting to happen. It's been hard work, but now we're incorporated, we have a board, we have twice monthly invasive weed pulls, we've hosted speakers and streams walks and most exciting, we just heard from the IRS and our application for tax exempt status under 501(c)(3) application has been approved! (Use the donate button on the right to make a contribution!)
We plan to be very busy in 2009 too:
On January 26, we are hosting a community meeting with Councilman Roger Berliner. He will talk about the Montgomery County Climate Protection Plan and other Council activities as they relate to environmental and development issues watershed.
The twice monthly weed pulls will continue (bundle up). They are on the second and fourth Saturdays at 8:00 am. Contact Lynnwood for details. If you are interested in organizing a weed pull in your area, please ask Lynnwood for help. We have a community set of clippers and are more than willing to come out and help you get started.
Save the date - April 25. For the spring we are planning a "label the watershed" day, where we will attempt to label every storm drain in the watershed - DC and Montgomery parts. Obviously this will take a lot of volunteers, so if you are interested in forming a labeling team, please contact me at stormwater@lfwa.org. We'll have more information as we get closer to the event.
Neighborhood Outreach: We are also looking for contacts in the many neighborhoods in the watershed who can help spread the word. We know that many people out there would like to do something, but just don't know what one person can do. So, we thought we could meet with every neighborhood association to give a short presentation on the watershed and answer questions people might have about how they can help save the streams. Please contact me stormwater@lfwa.org.if you can help identify civic groups who would be willing to host us.
So, as you can see, we have a lot planned and there are many volunteer opportunities. We hope to see everyone at at least one event!
Sarah Morse
Blogmaster
Volunteer Opportunities
The Little Falls Watershed Alliance is an all volunteer endeavor - everyone including the lawyer who filed our 501 c(3) application, the webmaster, the graphic designer, the invasive weed event leader and the speakers at our events. All of us volunteer for this important effort because the watershed needs us.
But we can't do it alone. We need your help. With many hands, we can get a lot done.
Please contact us about volunteering -
If you only have a few hours to spare, we can use people to help with
invasive weed control - plants@lfwa.org
storm drain stenciling (in the spring) - stormwater@lfwa.org
trash abatement - trash@lfwa.org
If you walk in the park regularly, we are looking for STEWARDS to adopt a section of the Little Falls trail and act as the eyes and ears of the park. The stewards would report problems to proper authorities and help coordinate clean-up and invasive removal events. info@lfwa.org
If you would like to get involved with the organization of LFWA, we are looking for
a Fund raising chair info@lfwa.org
a Membership coordinator info@lfwa.org
and help with the website info@lfwa.org
Together, we can make a difference in the watershed.