News

The water in Lake Thoreau is finally high enough to allow crews to begin clearing sediment.

Delayed from last fall due to insufficient water levels, Reston Association now anticipates beginning the approximately four-week process of dredging Lake Thoreau’s Westcove next week.


Around Town

Cherry blossoms are so last week. In Fairfax County, April is the delicate bluebell’s time to shine.

The wildflower will take center stage at the Fairfax County Park Authority’s Bluebells at the Bend celebration, which is set to return to Riverbend Park (8700 Potomac Hills Street) in Great Falls on Saturday, April 11.


Around Town

Officially, Arbor Day won’t be recognized in Virginia until the end of April, but Reston Association will get a head start on observing the occasion with a volunteer event at the end of March.

The homeowners’ association is inviting community members to help clean up and enhance some of its natural areas next Tuesday (March 31) from 9:30 to noon.


Countywide

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (March 17) lauded 50 years of service by the county’s Master Gardeners program.

During a presentation, Board Chairman Jeff McKay praised the “dedication, expertise and spirit of service” of volunteers who have supported the effort over the past half-century.


Countywide

A new community collaboration is set to kick off a week of action aiming to remove invasive species from trees in Fairfax County.

Fairfax Tree Rescuers will officially launch the Fairfax Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) with invasive species removal events throughout the county from Saturday (Nov. 8) to Nov. 16.


News

A Reston resident says she’s facing fines and possible legal action over the presence of milkweed on her property.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, milkweed has a “bad reputation,” but the wildflower is vital for monarch caterpillars and other pollinators. It’s also toxic to the invasive spotted lanternflies, which have proliferated across the D.C. region over the past few years.


News

Like a monster in a horror movie franchise, the hydrilla that long plagued Lake Thoreau before lying low over the past couple of years has now returned.

Though past management efforts have seen some success, the invasive aquatic plant, whose full scientific name is Hydrilla verticillata, has resurfaced in “significant quantities” throughout the lake this summer, Reston Association announced on Monday (July 28).


News

The Tysons Community Alliance (TCA) is turning to the Virginia Department of Transportation for support in its effort to spruce up the area’s highway interchanges.

Building on an ongoing pilot project focused on the Route 7 and Route 123 interchange, the booster organization plans to apply for the state’s Comprehensive Roadside Management Program (CRMP), which lets sponsors landscape and maintain in areas within VDOT’s right-of-way.


Countywide

Dozens of volunteers will break out the work gloves and garden shears this Saturday (Sept. 14) to eliminate invasive plants around the “LOVE” sign by the Washington & Old Dominion Trail in Vienna.

The cleanup will clear the way for a native plant meadow that its organizer, the nonprofit Sustainability Matters, hopes will spawn similar beautification efforts all along the 45-mile-long regional trail.


Around Town

If you’ve driven or taken a stroll down Vienna’s Maple Avenue this summer, you might’ve noticed more pops of color than in previous years.

The Town of Vienna wants to draw more attention to the vivid flowers lining its main downtown streets with a new, self-guided “Vienna in Bloom” streetscape tour. The town’s economic development and parks and recreation departments unveiled a map last Friday (July 19) showing the locations of dozens of different flowers and nearby local businesses.


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