Local park updates: The fix-it edition

Our well-loved parks suffer wear and tear of both the natural and manmade variety. And over the past few weeks, DC agencies and volunteers have been tackling many of the issues.

New drinking fountains for Forest Hills Park

The DGS crew and one of the new drinking fountains at Forest Hills Park. (photos courtesy of Good Clean Fun, a program of Van Ness Main Street)

These friendly workers, from the DC Department of General Services, swapped out the park and playground’s old drinking fountains for new. The issue with the old ones, they said: clogs caused by sand from the sandbox.

The volunteer leaders of Van Ness Main Street’s Good Clean Fun initiative have been instrumental in tracking Forest Hills Park maintenance issues and needs, and they are making a request of caregivers: Please do not let your children carry sand away from its home in the sandbox. They also say the traveling sand degrades the soft safety surfaces around the equipment.

“Making mud pies is fun, but having a source of cold water on a sweltering day is even better!” they write.

Reclaiming a sidewalk alongside Forest Hills Park

Good Clean Fun has also been pressing the District to cut back the weeds and shrubs overtaking a portion of the sidewalk on the Brandywine Street side of the park. And just before the group’s cleanup on July 12th, The Department of Public Works did just that.

ANC 3F Commissioner Mitch Baer – and FHC – happened to catch the DPW weed-cutting crew at work.

The Brandywine sidewalk before…

…and after.

Soapstone trail repairs

July 12th was a apparently a good day for park work. About 20 volunteers with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club’s Rock Creek crew worked on the Soapstone Valley Trail.

At work on the steps at the Soapstone Windom Place entrance. (PATC photo)

Led by Alex Sanders, they worked on making the trail descending from the Windom Place entrance easier to navigate. They rebuilt the steps with large blocks of wood hand-carried into the park, and moved and stabilized large rocks to improve the stream crossing.

Also, a large tree at Windom Park had toppled over, taking out some the trail. So, they set about rebuilding it and cutting back the roots. Invasive plant and shrubs were also trimmed back or removed.

Mitch Baer (center) and other PATC volunteers working on a Soapstone crossing on July 12. (PATC photo)

The ANC’s Mitch Baer, who is also a PATC volunteer and trail supervisor, was there to help out that Saturday, and he returned the following Friday. He again moved and stabilized the rocks at the stream crossing.

They need constant attention, particularly after heavy rainstorms, because this crossing was not part of DC Water’s Soapstone sewer and stream rehabilitation project. The boulders placed at the other stream crossings by DC Water’s contractor should not go anywhere, but the rocks at the Windom crossing are not large enough to withstand the force of the water.

Getting at hard-to-whack weeds along the Linnean stream

The Linnean Park stream is an older stream restoration and stormwater control project, completed in 2014 by the DC Department of Energy and the Environment. DOEE is still keeping an eye on the place, and has been working on issues including invasive plants, shrubs and trees that require chemicals to eradicate. In early June, the park’s mimosa trees and tree of heaven got the chemical treatment.

Enjoy the fruits of their labors

DOEE has shared a video offering a rare, bird’s-eye view of a more recent – and recently completed – stormwater project, in a gully between the Soapstone Valley and the Linnean Avenue dead end to the north.

We recently completed the Linnean Outfall and Gully Restoration Project which established a new stable channel for a previously severely eroded gully in NW. Our work prevented an estimated 85 tons of suspended sediment from entering Soapstone Creek each year.

Stormwater from… pic.twitter.com/tEIPMJxaDp

— Department of Energy & Environment (@DOEE_DC) July 29, 2025

We also encourage you to head to Linnean Park to hang out with the frogs. Even if you don’t see them, you can’t miss them. They will announce their presence as you walk by.