When the azaleas are in full bloom Yards Park is a must visit spot in Navy Yard.
parks
Photo by PoPville flickr user mosley.brian
On Friday I mentioned that a friend of mine works at The Nature Conservancy and they were taking us bird watching. We just had to decide where to go – it’s gonna be Teddy Roosevelt Island. We’ll meet at the Island (more details via email) at 8am Sat. May 4th. The tour should last until around 10am. The event is free but limited to the first 15 people who respond. Please email me at princeofpetworth(at)gmail with bird watching in the subject line if you’d like to go. Also if you have a car and are able to take others please let me know. And thanks again to The Nature Conservancy for making it happen.
Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99
Long story short – a friend of mine works at The Nature Conservancy:
“The world’s largest environmental non-profit. In the last 60 years, with the help of over 1 million members, The Nature Conservancy has protected over 120 million acres, thousands of miles of rivers, and operate over 100 marine protected areas globally.”
They have been kind enough to offer a birdwatching tour to PoPville on Sat. May 4th. So we just have to decide where to go – the Arboretum or Teddy Roosevelt Island? Let me know where you prefer and I’ll announce the location on Monday. On Monday I’ll also pick the first 15 folks who want to go.
So where shall we go the Arboretem or Teddy Roosevelt Island?
Dear PoPville,
I found out that the fountains at Meridian Hill Park, due to sequestration-related budget cuts, will not be turned on until Memorial Day weekend, in an email from the permits specialist at Rock Creek Park.
I learned this because I applied for a wedding ceremony permit for April, and they notified me yesterday (they’ve never guaranteed that the fountains would be on earlier, but generally they were turned on in early April from past years) since so many people get married there because of the fountains.
In 2011 they were turned on as early as March 27. In some ways, I’m glad we know exactly when they’ll be turned on, but disappointed that we won’t get to enjoy them until the beginning of summer!
At least the fountain at the sculpture garden has been filled. Stay tuned for Jazz starting back up May 24th.
Photo by PoPville flickr user afagen
From a press release:
The fifth annual Rock Creek Extreme Cleanup will take place on Saturday, April 6, from 9 am to 12 pm. Rock Creek Conservancy is seeking volunteers to remove trash and debris at over 70 locations along Rock Creek in Washington, DC, and Montgomery County, MD. Click here for a map of cleanup locations and signup information.
The three-hour cleanup will bring together kids, families, and adults of all ages to pick up litter from the creek and woodlands.
“People love Rock Creek and are really eager to be involved,” according to Conservancy Executive Director, Beth Mullin. “They can make a difference right here, and it’s a fun way for kids and adults to be outside and give back to their community. Our parks are now visibly and measurably cleaner, but they still need a spring cleaning.”
People interested in volunteering can find a cleanup location and sign up at the Rock Creek Conservancy website, rockcreekconservancy.org.
During each of the past four years, volunteers have fanned out in parks bordering the 33-mile length of Rock Creek and collected over 2,500 bags of litter and tons of assorted junk, including a Canadian flag on a flagpole, a parking meter full of coins, and a Vespa motorbike. During the Rock Creek Extreme Cleanup, volunteers carrying colorful trash bags can be seen for miles in Rock Creek parks.
Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC
We last spoke about the debate on dealing with deer in DC in early Feb. From the National Park Service via MPD:
Rock Creek Park Superintendent Tara Morrison announced today that several temporary night-time road closures will be in effect from March 27-30, 2013 to provide for visitor safety during white-tailed deer reduction efforts in the park. The Rock Creek Park White-tailed Deer Management Plan calls for reducing the density of deer to support long-term protection, preservation and restoration of native vegetation and to allow for forest regeneration.
“Implementing the White-tailed Deer Management Plan is a critical step toward ensuring the forest is able to support native plants and animals found in Rock Creek Park in a sustainable manner for this and future generations,” said Superintendent Morrison. “Safety is our top priority and we will conduct management actions in the safest manner possible.”
Numerous safety measures will be in place to protect park visitors and neighbors. Highly trained sharpshooters from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, working under the direction of National Park Service resource management specialists and in coordination with the U.S. Park Police and local law enforcement, will conduct reduction actions at night when the park is normally closed. The management plan calls for using active herd reduction efforts during the next three years to reduce the deer density from over 70 per square mile today to 15-20 per square mile. Once the herd size is at a healthy level, management efforts will work to maintain a sustainable deer population.
Over the last 20 years, an overabundant white-tailed deer population has negatively impacted Rock Creek Park. Their numbers have grown so large that they are eating nearly all the tree seedlings and preventing Rock Creek Park’s forest from growing. Reducing the size of the population will reduce pressure from deer browsing, allowing for a healthy diverse forest that supports native vegetation and other wildlife.
The following road closures will be in effect from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., March 27-30 when sharpshooting is underway: Beach Drive north of Broad Branch Road, Ross Drive, Wise Road, Grant Road, Sherrill Drive, Joyce Road, Morrow Drive, and Bingham Road, NW.
Photo by PoPville flickr user mayhemnsuz
Well this is pretty awesome. Thanks to a reader for sending from the Friends of Marie Reed School & Park:
The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, and the English Premier League soccer club Manchester City, have agreed to build a new soccer pitch in the park adjacent to Marie Reed Elementary School. The work will be done through Manchester City Football Club’s US-based non-for-profit City Soccer in the Community. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend a 10-15 minute presentation at 7PM on March 27th inside Marie Reed Elementary School. Work will begin on the field on April 2nd.
The Marie Reed field is located behind the tennis courts at 18th Street and Wyoming Avenue, NW.
3725 10th Street, NW
Thanks to OrderedChaos for sharing some photos from the new Raymond Rec Center:
Looking good:
City Kids is written by Takoma, DC resident Caroline. Caroline previously wrote about The Building Museum.
Rock Creek Park has endless opportunities for activities for all ages. The Rock Creek Park Nature Center, tucked just south of Military Rd, has a small gift shop, planetarium, and a large exhibit of local plant and animal species. Rangers and volunteers at the nature center conduct a variety of free programs on the ecosystems found in the park and night sky watching.
Every Friday afternoon, visitors of all ages can watch and help rangers feed the captive animals who live at the nature center. Three varieties of turtle and two snakes live in aquariums. A group of about five parents with kids ages 1 to 7 watched a yellow-orange corn snake strike, squeeze, and unhinge its jaw to swallow a mouse. The kids preschool age and up got the most out of the “eeewww” factor, although the little ones also enjoyed the display. Littler ones also enjoyed the large collection of taxidermy animals.
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Biking around Town is written by Josh Nadas (@dcliterate), a daily bike commuter & avid rider who works for the National Park Service, and lives in Mount Pleasant.
Sometimes, you need to get out and sweat without going too far from your house. It’s for this reason that I came up with this route – it’s relatively close to my home, and I can get a workout without having to go too far. Everyone needs a route like this. While this one is mine, I’m going to work on finding similar ones around the city. The total distance covered on the map is 10 miles, but if you count loops from beach drive and ridge road, that distance is shorter. Once you get into the park, it’s pretty easy to make more loops than one if you like.
The ride starts out headed down Harvard street, which is a fun downhill. However, there is a light at the bottom of the hill. If you are going to the right (which is the mapped direction) you should be okay. If you were going straight to get to the zoo, I don’t think cars have great visibility coming from the other way, so keep your head up. Also, even on the weekends a lot of this route is on roads where there are cars. It many cases there are not a lot of cars, but it’s good to be aware.
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