Rock Creek Park volunteers are seeking feedback on their informational project

by David Cohen

John Burwell is passionate about Rock Creek Park. A volunteer in the park since 2007, John created and shepherds The Pinehurst Project, “a volunteer effort to restore the forest and meadow of Pinehurst Tributary in Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC, by removing invasives and planting native trees.”

Now John and I would welcome your input about his newest project. Would you please take a minute to respond to our questions here? The deadline is Wednesday, October 21, 2020.

John created a flyer that allows visitors to the park to identify common trees by their leaves. With the permission of the National Park Services, he posted it at trail heads.

Then John saw my bird photos. He asked to use them and designed a flyer introducing the “Woodland Birds in Rock Creek Park,” the starting point for our survey.

Again, the Park Service approved his posting it at trail heads.

John sees this latest flyer as a way to “educate our park visitors to the wonders of the natural world, in this case just a sampling of the many species of birds that live in the park. With knowledge comes a greater appreciation of our urban treasure and hopefully greater respect of the fragile Rock Creek ecosystem and a desire to protect it. We are the only ones who can protect it for this and future generations.”

I share John’s sense of wonder at the Park and the creatures that make it home. I applaud his efforts to allow others to join his and my appreciation.

Thanks for doing our survey – AND for your help!