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On this page, you can find out about upcoming events. ACE sponsors both volunteer events, such as stream cleanups, invasive plant removals, highway cleanups, and storm drain markings, and educational Green Living events. Take the Green Living Pledge today and help make Arlington a cleaner and greener place! We would be happy to set up a service event for your group: email Beth or call 703-228-6406 for more information.

Our Featured Events:

ACE 32nd Annual Meeting. Tuesday, March 9, 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. NRECA, 4301 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. This event will feature a keynote presentation by Andrew Wingfield, Associate Professor at the New Century College of George Mason University, "Green Living: From Personal Choice to Civic Action." The program will also feature elections for the 2010-2011 ACE board of directors, an overview of ACE programming for the upcoming year, and light refreshments courtesy of Whole Foods Market.

Four Mile Run Watershed Cleanup. Saturday, March 13th, 9:00 a.m. to noon. Join ACE and the Arlington Park Rangers at one of the following locations:

  • Arlington Mill Community Center: Meet at the parking lot at 4975 Columbia Pike. Register by email or at 703-228-6406.
  • Shirlington Park: Meet at the parking lot at the end of S. Nelson St. off of Four Mile Run Dr. Register with ACE by email or at 703-228-6406, or with the Park Rangers at 703-525-0168.
  • Barcroft Park: Meet at 4200 S. Four Mile Run Dr. at the Barcroft Sports and Fitness Center. Register with ACE by email or at 703-228-6406, or to the Park Rangers at 703-525-0168.
  • Glencarlyn Park: Meet at parking lot at the end of 4th St. S. off Carlin Springs Rd. Register with the Park Rangers at 703-525-0168.
  • South Bluemont Park: Meet at parking lot at 4th St. N. and Manchester St. Great for families with young children. Register with the Park Rangers at 703-525-0168.
  • Bon Air Park: Meet at parking lot at the corner or Wilson Blvd. and North Lexington St. Great for families with young children. Register with the Park Rangers at 703-525-0168.

Green Living Expo! Saturday, March 20, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Conference Center, 4301 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, near Ballston Metro. Looking for practical ways to green your lifestyle? Join us for Arlington's first Green Living Expo! The expo will feature businesses and organizations with products and services focusing on energy conservation, solid waste reduction, eco-friendly transportation, green home remodeling, sustainable landscaping, and healthy homes. The event will also include seminars, a raffle, and children’s activities. Organized in partnership with the Arlington County Fresh AIRE and Community Outreach Programs. More information: www.arlingtonenvironment.org or 703-228-6427.

Potomac Watershed Cleanup. Saturday, April 10, 9:00 a.m. to noon, Chain Bridge. Join ACE for the annual Potomac Watershed Cleanup. Meet at N. Glebe and Chain Bridge Roads. For more information or to register, email or call 703-228-6406.


Other Local and Regional Events

Contact the sponsoring organization for information and to register for the events listed below.

All about Energy Audits. Saturday, March 6, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Walter Reed Community Center, 2909 16th Street S. For Single-Family Homeowners, Condo Owners, and Property Managers. Are you thinking about getting an energy audit for your home or condo, but having trouble getting the facts? Learn who should get an energy audit, what an audit should include, how to choose the energy auditor and approximate costs. Simultaneous sessions focused on energy audits for single-family homes and condominiums/apartments. Free. Parking available. For more information, contact Helen Reinecke-Wilt at 703-228-4792 or by email.

Water Quality Study on the Tidal Four Mile Run Bacteria TMDL. Monday, March 8, 7:00 p.m. at the Shirlington Branch Library, Campbell Meeting Room, located at 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. Results of the project will be presented at this meeting. This is a public meeting that is aimed at a general audience, and everyone is welcome. Information regarding directions and parking at the Shirlington Branch Library can be found on the library's website.

Our Natural Puzzle: "Putting the Pieces Together". Thursday, March 11, 7:30 p.m. Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria, VA 22312. Join us for an interesting look at how our local pieces of the puzzle fit – focusing on our native flora, of course. Get a peek at just how interdependent our insects, plants, other wildlife, and even humans can be and try to put together our local nature puzzle. Take a look at host plants, ethnobotany, and other wildlife interactions. Free and open to the public. For more information please contact the Virginia Native Plant Society at 703-642-5173.

Tripling Citizen Success in Stopping Bad Development. March 14, 2:00 p.m. Rockville Library, 21 Maryland Ave., 2nd fl. meeting room, Rockville. How does a home or property owner fight an over zealous developer who intends on eliminating wetlands, scenic creeks, and other native plant and wildlife habitats; create stormwater runoff and pollution; and build high-density housing developments, shopping centers, and impervious surfaces? Richard Klein, president and founder of the Community & Environmental Defense Services (CEDS), describes a new approach known as politically oriented advocacy that triples the rate at which citizens win land use and environmental battles. RSVP soon by email or phone 301-351-6985.

Environmental Film Festival! March 16 - 28. Washington, DC. 18th Annual Festival, 56 Venues, 155 Films, 25,000+ Filmgoers. For more information please visit the Festival's web site.

Spring Science Symposium & Public Forum Sunday, March 21, 1 to 4 p.m. George Mason University Fairfax Campus, Johnson Center Meeting Room E. Be Part of the Future of Chestnut Restoration Research. Co-hosted by The American Chestnut Foundation and Department of Environmental Sciences & Public Policy. Speakers: Dr. William MacDonald, West Virginia University (Hypovirulence and Blight), Dr. John Scrivani, Director, Virginia Chapter TACF (Surviving American Chestnuts, How Many, Where, and Why?) and Dr. Norman Bourg, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (Oh Deer! A Darwinian Dilemma). Sign Up for campus tour of George Mason's surviving chestnuts. Space is limited, RSVP by March 15 to: vachestnut@verizon.net.

"Does Time Outside Make Us Healthier?" Monday, March 22, 6:00 p.m. at the GMU's Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center (PEREC), Arlington campus. On "World Water Day" a new Alliance of Environmental Educators, "NoVa Outside," will launch with this highly interactive and free event. Featuring George Mason University Prof. Laurie Harmon, Program Coordinator for Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies plus "World Cafe"-style small group activities and networking opportunities for all participants.

The First Flora of Virginia in two and a Half Centuries. Thursday, April 8, 7:30 p.m. Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria, VA 22312. Meet the Associate Director of this exciting project, which will describe more than 3,500 plant species in 200 families and feature 1,400 captioned, scaled, and botanically accurate illustrations. Learn about the team that’s doing the work and see some of the magnificent illustrations. If you are a botanist, educator, naturalist, student, natural resources professional, or any citizen who’s interested in plants of the commonwealth, the Flora of Virginia is being created with you in mind. Free and open to the public. For more information please contact the Virginia Native Plant Society at 703-642-5173.

Film Screening: "Community of Gardners". Saturday, April 17, 2:00 p.m. Arlington Central Library Auditorium, 1015 N. Quincy St. Produced by local filmmaker Cintia Cabib. The documentary explores the vital role of seven community gardens in Washington, D.C., not only as sources of fresh, nutritious food, but as outdoor classrooms, places of healing, centers of social interaction, and oases of beauty and calm in inner-city neighborhoods. The screening will be followed by a Q-and-A with Cabib.

Community Book Discussion: “The Memory of Old Jack” by Wendell Berry. Monday, April 19, 7:00 p.m. Arlington Central Library Auditorium, 1015 N. Quincy St. A community discussion of the Arlington Reads 2010 featured title, “The Memory of Old Jack,” a classic novel that sees truth and integrity in the land through the eyes of an aging farmer in 1952 rural Kentucky. Win a copy of the book by visiting www.arlingtonva.us/library.

Author Talk: Novella Carpenter, “Farm City: The Education of An Urban Farmer”. Thursday, April 29, 7:00 p.m. Novella Carpenter has restaged the American agrarian dream in an abandoned Oakland, California lot, raising fruits, vegetables, bees and even pigs and goats in a neighborhood known as “GhostTown.” Her critically acclaimed “Farm City”—featured on “best book lists” from Oprah to the New York Times—spreads the gospel of home-grown food and the empowerment it brings.

Project Learning Tree K-8 Curriculum Training. Saturday, May 1, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This award winning environmental education program will be offered at Long Branch Nature Center, 625 S Carlin Springs Rd, Arlington, VA 22204. The training is free. Registration begins March 22. Click here for more information or contact Arlington Parks and Rec at 703-228-4747.

Spring Farm Festival. Saturday, May 1. A day in the country for the entire family. Each spring the Alice Ferguson Foundation opens its gates to the public for the annual Spring Farm Festival. Enjoy the view, the natural areas, and the lively barnyard that is a "living laboratory" for thousands of children each year. More information.

A Conversation with Wendell Berry. Tuesday, May 4, 7:00 p.m. Arlington Central Library Auditorium, 1015 N. Quincy St. In a rare public appearance, literary legend, essayist, poet and Kentucky farmer Wendell Berry visits Arlington Public Library to discuss his life’s work and vision of people honoring and reconnecting with the soil. It was Berry who declared “eating is an agricultural act,” inspiring today’s movement toward safer, healthier, locally produced meals and sustainable living. Berry’s classic novel “The Memory of Old Jack” is this year’s Arlington Reads featured title.

Free! Invasive Plant ID Advanced Training Series. Open to all. Please be appropriately dressed. You may want to bring pen, paper, and camera to document things. To ensure that you get a notice in the event of inclement weather and we have to postpone or cancel, please make sure to register to jtruong@vt.edu. Registrants can also call 703-228-7636 to check Jenn's voicemail message for updates.

  • Friday, March 5th, 1-3 p.m. @ Long Branch Nature Center. Led by Alonso Abugattas & Jenn Truong
  • Friday, April 2nd, 10am-12p.m. @ Meet at Belle Haven Picnic Area to join Friends of Dyke Marsh. Led by Erik Oberg & Jenn Truong
  • Friday, May 7, 1-3p.m. @ Location TBA. Led by Greg Zell & Jenn Truong

Invasive Plant Removal Events. Help protect our watersheds and keep Arlington County parks beautiful. There are several monthly invasive plant removal events sponsored by Arlington County Invasive Plant Program. For more information and to register, email Jenn, call 703-228-7636, or visit www.arlingtonva.us (search for "invasive"). See a map of these locations.

  • Second Saturdays @ Lacey Woods (Mar 13)
  • Second Sundays @ Gulf Branch (Mar 14)
  • Third Saturdays @ Tuckahoe Park (Mar 20)
  • Third Sundays @ Long Branch (Mar 21)
  • Fourth Saturdays @ Benjamin Banneker (Mar 27)
  • New! First Tuesdays @ Zachary Taylor Park (Apr 6)

Find Out More! Complete an ACE Volunteer Application

Other Local Environmental Events and Volunteer Opportunities



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