Volunteer in our parks: December 7 and 21 cleanups

The next few weeks bring opportunities to beautify and protect local parks and streams. One gives you an opportunity to add “warrior” to your title! And they all present a chance for students to knock out some service hours.

Saturday, November 23 – Weed Warrior Training:

Rock Creek Conservancy and the National Park Service will teach participants how to identify and control species of non-native, invasive plants found in the DC area. The one-day, two-part course at the Rock Creek Nature Center starts with a classroom session and ends with a two-hour field session. Participants must register here.

Volunteers remove invasive bush honeysuckle from the Broad Branch stream daylighting site (2016 photo)

Saturday, December 7 – Broad Branch and Forest Hills Park cleanups:

Rock Creek Conservancy and NPS are teaming up again to lead invasive species removal at Broad Branch Stream. Volunteers are to meet at Broad Branch Road and Linnean Avenue. Details here, and again, please register.

At the same time (10 a.m.) Friends of Forest Hills Playground and the DC Department of Parks and Recreation are hosting a coffee and cleanup event at Forest Hills Park. A DPR expert will guide adult and teen volunteers in removing invasive species and weeding the newly replanted rain garden. And an all-ages cleanup will tackle trash, sand and leaves in the play areas. Find details here.

Saturday, December 21 – Broad Branch trash cleanup:

The place and people are the same as the December 7th Broad Branch cleanup but the task is different: Remove trash that has collected there. Rock Creek Conservancy asks that volunteers register. Here’s where you do it.