Volunteers removing invasive species from Melvin C Hazen Park during a July 15, 2017 cleanup. (photo by Doug Yuan)
This Saturday, September 28th is National Public Lands Day and Rock Creek Park Day. Rock Creek Conservancy and the National Park Service are inviting people of all ages and abilities to spend the morning at the Rock Creek Nature Center removing invasive plants, planting new shrubs and other greenery, and cleaning up trash. You’ll be rewarded with a free lunch (register here). And then, enjoy afternoon programs that promote and celebrate all that Rock Creek has to offer.
Rock Creek water quality topped our last Neighborhood in the News roundup. The park has also been in the news lately because of the invasive vines strangling the trees, and because it is an oasis in the city, as Rock Creek Conservancy has reminded us. It’s one of the organizations leading the fight against the invading vines. WAMU recently reported on the effort and how you can help.
Many people are invested in protecting the park because it offers a chance to “escape the city – without leaving the city,” as the The Washington Post puts it. One of the three hikes described in this article takes you to the Capitol Stones piled by the Rock Creek Maintenance Yard.
Another Post article offers a more detailed overview of what Rock Creek Park has to offer. Its description of the Nature Center even suggests a place to pick up a picnic lunch – Little Red Fox. There’s another mention of the Capitol Stones and a plug for Peirce Mill activities like Heritage Day on October 12th. And more lunch suggestions: pickles and cheeses from Calvert Woodley and sandwiches from Bread Furst.
More neighborhood news:
Fire at 4301 Connecticut: NBC 4 and WTOP were among those covering the Sept. 11 two-alarm blaze, which started in an upper level boiler room.
Even with the last minute rescheduling, a fire in the Ward, and the heat, neighbors joined me at every firehouse visit today to express their gratitude to our firefighters—it truly speaks to how valued and appreciated @dcfireems is by our community. Thank you today and everyday.
— Mary M. Cheh (@marycheh) September 11, 2019
Beyond these gates: The Peruvian ambassador’s residence.
Tour the residence of the Peruvian ambassador: Fox 5 takes us inside the mansion at 3001 Garrison Street NW. There’s also a Civil War defense site on the grounds of the compound.
Next-level funding for next-gen technology research: As reported by Black Engineer magazine, NASA and the National Science Foundation have awarded UDC faculty millions of dollars in grants for the study of space exploration technology and nanotechnology.
Splitting atoms at a favorite Forest Hills sledding hill: We learn a few things from a recent Answer Man column in the Post. One is that the Carnegie Institution on Broad Branch Road was a popular sledding hill even back in the 1940s. Another is that the campus’s unusual dome-topped building was an atom smasher built in the late 1930s.