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Friends of Accotink Creek
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 Marriott volunteers with the results of their hard work |
Our October 12, 2024, stream cleanups: We faced another splendid day for working on the creek today. Temperatures started out chilly, in the low 40's, but rose quickly to about 80 degrees by midafternoon. The sky was sunny the whole day. Pickett Road was our first site of the day. We had a total of 16 volunteers here, including a group from the Marriott Fairview Park. Thank you, Marriott! The Marriott team came forward to take on the most grueling part of the day - removing the last remnants of the large homeless encampment here that was recently closed. The site had been relatively well-cleaned in a cooperative effort of County staff and the homeless residents themselves, but there was one overlooked gully with quite a bit still to be removed. The work turned into a "mining" operation, with trash buried in layers. Our volunteers collected 38 bags of trash. Our most unusual finds here were a pair of shopping carts. This site is the same location proposed for the Pickett Road Connector Trail, an entirely redundant conversion of forest and floodplain to asphalt. At Barkley Drive, our second site of the day, our 25 volunteers removed 28 bags of trash and two tires. Our most unusual find here was a commercial cafeteria soup serving appliance. Not trash, but certainly unusual, were the two small Brown Bullhead catfish found living in two separate soda cans. Along the gravel banks of the creek, Panicled Asters were in bloom and attracted Green Sweat Bees in unusual numbers. A few Pearl Crescent butterflies also joined in to take advantage of the warm late-season sunshine. Our last site of the day, and of the season, was Woodburn Road. Our 9 volunteers here removed 12 bags of trash, 4 tires, one large inner tube, and a bicycle tire. Our most unusual find here was a milk crate.
"Consider the cost to engineer a water amenity like Accotink Creek compared to the cost of preserving what nature has blessed us with." - Donald Pless 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
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Our October 5, 2024 stream cleanups:
The day began with sunny skies with scattered clouds and a light clean breeze brought by a passing weak cold front. The pleasant weather remained that way the entire day. Temperatures began in the upper 60's and rose to the upper 70's. Our first site of the day was Vaden Drive, where upon arrival, we were greeted by the sadly ironic sight of a length of caution tape that had washed halfway into a storm drain bearing a "No Dumping" medallion. Storm drains are the route by which most trash reaches our streams. Equally sad were the twisting Chinese wisteria vines adding their horror to the other invasive species prevalent in East Blake Lane Park. In a section of the park we had not worked in before, we encountered what seemed like a decade's worth of discarded Heineken bottles. We were only able to make a small dent this time. Our 6 volunteers collected 10 bags of trash. Our most unusual find here was a blue toy elephant, worthy of being added to our box of rewards. At our second site of the day, King Arthur Road, our 5 volunteers collected 17 bags of trash, much of it from a single trash raft of bottles and Styrofoam trapped by a fallen log. Our most unusual finds here were a bag of Xmas lights and a cannabis pipe. It was encouraging here to see just how clear the water was in Accotink Creek. After years of looking at the murk caused by careless runoff from the I-66 Project, it was truly heartening. At Little River Turnpike, our last site of the day, the fish seemed to be celebrating the clean water, with abundant schools of minnows darting back and forth in a sparkling Accotink Creek. Our 7 volunteers collected 18 bags of trash and a heap of concrete rubble left in the park by illegal dumpers. Our most unusual find here was a fishing rod. Coincidentally, passing bicyclist stopped and told tales of chasing off licensed fishermen ignoring the strict regulations for fishing stocked in this stretch of the creek.
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 Volunteer family at Little River Turnpike, where the littlest volunteer chose the blue mask we found last year as her reward. |
 Olam Tikvah crew perseveres in the rain. |
September 29, 2024, cleanup:
Six volunteers helped remove trash from property owned by Olam Tikvah Congregation along Crook Branch in Mantua. Thank you, Olam Tikvah! Plastic planters and plastic water bottles were found. Since a stream area project was completed here by Fairfax County just in the past year, not much trash was found (best find: a child's 4-wheel vehicle). The cleanup was part of Reverse Tashlich during Rosh Hashanah, the New Year's holiday. A custom on this holiday is to take pieces of bread and throw them in water, as if we're throwing our sins away. The reverse event was to remove pollution from the water. As one congregation member explained: "It's more useful, and God looks on this perhaps as more helpful to the world than throwing bread in the water."
"If half of American lawns were replaced with native plants we would create the equivalent of a 20 million acre national park - nine times bigger than Yellowstone, or 100 times bigger than Shenandoah National Park." - Dr. Doug Tallamy |
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Our September 21, 2024, cleanups:
The day was sunny, and mild, with temperatures staying in the mid-70's all day. At our first site, Fairfax Boulevard, we had a crew of 14 volunteers, including a group from the Young Men's Service League, Fox Mill Chapter. Thank you, YMSL! The volunteers collected 13 bags of trash. Our most unique finds here were a rosary and a child's scooter. This cleanup area is the same location proposed for the George Snyder Trail, another misguided trees-to-asphalt conversion project. Our second site of the day was Chain Bridge Road, where 5 volunteers cleaned up 6 bags of trash. Our most unusual find here was lawn chair. A pair of volunteers returned the shopping cart left abandoned along the trail to the nearby Safeway store. A passing resident entertained us with tales of searching for mythical lost Mosby's Gold in Accotink Creek. Blenheim Blvd was our last site of the day. Our 4 volunteers here again included representatives of YMSL. Thank you, YMSL! Our volunteers removed 7 bags of trash. A passerby took home the rosary we'd found earlier in the day. Our most unusual finds here were the sad remnants of the homeless encampment recently removed from the woods by the City of Fairfax - broken bicycles, small gas cylinders, and discarded items of clothing.
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! 
GET YOUR BRAIN WET! Think about your creek. |
 Volunteers lounge on the lawn chair found in the creek |
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Our September 7, 2024 stream cleanups: Today was a fine day along Accotink Creek, with temperatures starting in the high 60's and rising to the mid 70's, with barely a sprinkle to dampen the volunteers. At our first site of the day, Braddock Road, we had 5 volunteers, who collected 6 bags of trash. We looked with envy at the size of the passing herd of 20 to 30 trail hikers out for the Saturday Morning Walk & Coffee Meetup. Everything we found here seemed to be the usual plastic bottles, Styrofoam, and bags. At Franconia-Springfield Parkway, conditions became too breezy to risk putting up our awning. The light high clouds of earlier in the day turned to solid overcast with some threat of rain. We had only 2 signups and they did not show up. However, thanks to the family of 3 who appeared, we did have volunteers here, who collected 3 bags of trash. Again, we found only the usual mundane rubbish. A highlight at this spot was when a snapping turtle was spotted swimming along underwater in the creek. At our last site of the day, Telegraph Road, we felt a few barely detectable sprinkles when we arrived and later a couple showers that were just enough to wet the leaves. Our motivated volunteers took the initiative to clean the roadside ditch that we usually pass by as too daunting. Our volunteers removed 24 bags of trash, much of it collected for us by a homeless individual residing in the woods here.
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, and the International Coastal Cleanup in September & October! Volunteer site leaders and coordinators are needed! Follow the Friends of Accotink Creek motto and "Find just one other person who cares". |
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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 and the Potomac Watershed Cleanup in April! Read about last year's International Coastal Cleanup on Accotink Creek.
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