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Friends of Accotink Creek
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Thanks to all the Friends of Accotink Creek who joined the International Coastal Cleanup along our 12 adopted stretches of Accotink Creek in 2013. Thanks to all their efforts, we together removed 215 bags of trash, 19 tires, and junk ranging from a manhole cover to a bowling ball. Our September 7, 2013 stream cleanups: We had a mild sunny day for the start of our 2013 International Coastal Cleanup. The day started with a walk along Wakefield Run sponsored by Fairfax Master Naturalists. About twenty Naturalists walked along the area of the upcoming stream restoration, discussing problems affecting our streams and proposed solutions. Our first cleanup site, Little River Turnpike, had a modest crew of five volunteers. The Accotink ATM kept on producing, as our finds included a one dollar bill and half of a five dollar bill. A new ally joined the cleanup effort, in the form of a trailer and disposal provided by Trailer Trash.
At our King Arthur Road site we had a nother modest crew of five volunteers. Our most notable find here was some "heavy metal" in the form of an old manhole cover and a section of I beam. Trailer Trash again came through by disposing of the collected trash
Plan now to volunteer again with others to preserve our oceans and waterways or coordinate one of our cleanup sites in September, 2014! And don't miss the Potomac Watershed Cleanup in April, 2014! Contact us, E-mail. Calendar All Friends of Accotink Creek activities earn student Community Service hours! |
Thank you, Trailer Trash!
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Hickory Horned Devil (Citheronia regalis)
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Our September 21, 2013 stream cleanups:
The day began mild and sunny, but did not end that way, as rains moved in about halfway through our last cleanup site. It was a rather dull day for trash, as we turned up little that was noteworthy - just the usual bottles, cans, bags, and styrofoam. We began at Fullerton Road, where ten volunteers clambered over the picturesque rocks where Accotink Creek passes over the Fall Line. At our second site, Franconia-Springfield Parkway, not a single volunteer had signed up, but we ended up with a crew of thirteen, mostly courtesy of Boy Scout Troop 853. Thank you, Troop 853! Telegraph Road, our last site of the day, also had an advance signup of zero, but the volunteers materialized and we had five people cleaning up this loneliest spot on Accotink Creek. The rain held off for a little over an hour, but then the drops came down and we called an early end to activities. Our most unusual find of the day was not trash, but a Hickory Horned Devil (Citheronia regalis), largest (and ugliest?) caterpillar in North America. These caterpillars are most often encountered by humans on the ground as they prepare to overwinter in the soil as pupae.
Trash in our streams is fed mainly by litter running off streets and parking lots, into storm drains. Friends of Accotink Creek conducts public education and storm drain marking events to address this chronic problem at the source. |
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Our September 29, 2013 stream cleanup: Another sunny and mild day made for a pleasant time. Again this year, Temple Adat Reyim brought out volunteers to our Braddock Road cleanup site. thank you Adat Reyim! Another contingent of volunteers came from the McLean High School Oceanography class. Willing to get wet, they waded right into deep water in pursuit of pockets of trash. Thank you, Oceanographers! And the bravest of the Oceanographers performed the cleanup anthem. Bravo to our singers! We asked our volunteers to focus on the neglected little tributaries that join Accotink Creek from the east side, collecting the debris running down the storm drains of the Beltway and beyond. They found plenty to collect, as usual. Our most unique find was a skateboard - cleaned and oiled, it may become a new addition to our volunteer rewards box.
Learn about storm drain filters as a part of the solution to keeping trash from reaching our waterways: United Storm Water & Trident & Filterra Bioretention Remember to remind your groups of the importance of proper cleanup during and after all outdoor activities. Reduce, Recycle, Reuse! In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. - Aristotle |
Weary McLean Oceanographers dry their wet toes.
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This young volunteer has the right message!
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Our October 12, 2013 stream cleanups:
Two days of steady rains had caused overnight flooding, yet by morning, the rains had diminished and the creek receded enough to allow for a soggy, muddy day of stream cleanups to go ahead. At our Pickett Road site, we had an hour of light drizzle to start, then just gloomy overcast. Volunteers of URS Corporation braved the conditions. Thank you, URS! Unusual finds here included a step ladder in good condition and a sturdy garden cultivating tool we offered to our volunteers the rest of the day, without takers. A recently homeless gentleman residing under the bridge recounted his harrowing tale of escaping the flood during the night and recovering his scattered belongings from the woods (and even more harrowing tale of being submerged in the turbulent financial waters of our times). At our Barkley Drive site, gray overcast skies continued, but our twelve volunteers were spared from rain or drizzle. A logjam at the upstream Cross County Trail bridge yielded a trio of oddities - an eggplant - a full tootpaste tube - and a TV remote control - along with mounds of the usual bottles and styrofoam. The Musical McLean Oceanographers performed another rendition of our cleanup anthem. Thank you, Oceanographers! As we arrived at our Woodburn Road site, the sun briefly threatened to break through the clouds, but decided not to. At this site, the trash came to us. Our meeting spot had been underwater overnight, leaving piles of trash heaped around. Our roadside cleanup sign survived being submerged overnight, bent, but not broken. Our eight volunteers found three tires at this spot, a far cry from the seventeen we found here last spring.
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The October 19, 2013 Lake Accotink Park Cleanup:
Fair sunny weather favored the cleanup at Lake Accotink Park. Eighty volunteers fanned out to various parts of the park to seek out trash. Others focused on the persistant problem of rafts of accumulated "mung" (mixed trash and floating wood) that accumulated in the marina. From boats and from the seawall, with rakes and hoes, they pulled it in, but there is always more waiting to be trapped in this corner by currents and winds. An Alpine-type snow ski was the most unusual find of the day, but close runners up were the toy skunk and the sofa cushion that had sprouted a colony of sedges.
How many ways can the message of personal responsibility be expressed? No littering! No Dumping! Pitch in! Put trash in its place! We all benefit by being reminded! 
Contact us, E-mail.
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A rapt audience listens to the inventor describe the combination walking stick & bag grabber.
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Delta Sigma Pi & Alpha Phi Omega volunteers study our watershed information display.
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Our October 26, 2013 stream cleanups:
The last day of our fall 2013 cleanups had a frosty beginining, but the sky was clear and the sun beginning to warm things up by the time we got underway. Leaves were falling, laying a picturesque blanket on the surface of the creek in many places. We began at Fairfax Blvd, joined by the volunteers of The North Face, who bravely agreed to perform a rendition of our cleanup anthem. Thank you, North Face! At our second site, Chain Bridge Road, a somewhat damp, slightly muddy shopping cart turned up in the creek. Still in good condition, we rolled it back to the nearby Safeway parking lot. Students of the McLean High School Oceanography class again joined us. Thank you, Oceanographers! George Mason University Delta Sigma Pi & Alpha Phi Omega members also turned out in a group. Thank you, GMU! Even here near the headwaters of Accotink Creek, trash is depressingly abundant. At Old Lee Highway, our last site of the day, the breeze came up and we took our tent down as a precaution. Furniture was a big find here, with a swivel chair and cabinets in bits and pieces. Members of a golf-loving family took home three heavy bags filled with hundreds of the golf balls that litter the creek near the Army-Navy Country Club. We found a bowling ball in the creek, too - some frustrated bowler must have rolled a real "gutter ball". Under this bridge, too, we encountered the humble evidence of a homeless person's shelter.
Despite all the wonderful volunteers who have turned out to help, we are still outnumbered by the litterbugs. Your club, school, business, or other group is welcome to join Friends of Accotink Creek in next year's Potomac Watershed Cleanup in April & May, 2014 and the International Coastal Cleanup in September & October, 2014! Volunteer site leaders and coordinators are needed! Follow the Friends of Accotink Creek motto and "Find just one other person who cares". Contact us, E-mail.
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Let's all of us not forget!
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Only one billion? Seems like we find that many in Accotink Creek each year.
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Thanks, volunteers, for cleaning our home!
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Thanks, volunteers, for cleaning our home!
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The International Coastal Cleanup is the world's largest volunteer data collection effort devoted to the marine environment. The Ocean Conservancy compiles the data received from sites around the world, and prepares a summary report to be used by citizens and policy makers in evaluating our progress in dealing with this serious form of pollution.
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GET YOUR BRAIN WET! Join Friends of Accotink Creek in next year's International Coastal Cleanup in September, 2014 and the Potomac Watershed Cleanup in April,2014! Contact us, E-mail.
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