Grant received! Franklin Park Entrance Restoration Project
UFA and FACA receive grant to restore public land
Preliminary concept design to create a native pollinator garden and restore land at the entrance of Franklin Park. (Top of picture: Old Dominion Drive; to the left is Park Road; and at the bottom is Vermont Avenue.)
Our cherished neighborhood in Franklin Park remains a forested retreat just 20 minutes from the Nation’s Capital. Along almost every stretch of road, the trees and green space provide the charm that welcomes us home!
Yet the greeting we receive as we enter the neighborhood from Old Dominion Drive is less than ideal!
The unmaintained median strip along Old Dominion is an eyesore and a danger to drivers! Invasive plants have taken over this unmaintained VDOT median strip. The invasives are strangling trees, degrading water quality in Little Pimmit Run, and — quite frankly – have left this area extremely unsightly at best and dangerous at the worst.
Porcelain berry, an invasive vine originally prized for its brightly colored autumn berries, has overtaken this Franklin Park entrance. It is strangling trees and has even obliterated traffic signs.
Now, there is something we can do — as a community — to address this problematic area. One of the oldest neighborhood associations, Franklin Area Citizens Association (FACA) is joining forces with one of the newest, the Urban Forest Alliance (UFA). Together, we are taking on restoration and beautification of this area.
Winter view of the land at Park Road and Old Dominion Drive. Picture taken in March 2022.
Depiction of same intersection after three years of growth. (Note: gravel infill will be limited and replaced with native plants.)
This area is a Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) right-of-way. After reaching out to VDOT to ask them to address the problems here, they informed us that they do not have the time or resources to maintain spaces such as this. Consequently, UFA and FACA searched for alternative resources, which led us to apply for Virginia Department of Forestry’s (VDOF) Virginia Trees for Clean Water grant. The good news is that after much hard work, the grant application was successful!
Our groups have received a matching grant from VDOF to create a native plant pollinator garden in the drainage field along the north portion of this of land. To unlock VDOF’s generosity, we must raise $5,200.
We need your help to do this!
FACA and UFA have made past attempts, with some success, to clear this area of invasive plants (read about our March 2022 and Earth Day efforts). But the problem of invasives is growing out of control, not just here, but all over Virginia. So we are growing our plans to address this problem, starting with this neighborhood entryway.
The minimum of $5,200 to match the grant is just a start as we aim to raise additional funds to cover aspects of the plan not paid for by the grant. (Total project cost is approximately three times that amount.) There will also be opportunities to get involved as we ask volunteers to help prep soil, clear invasives, and plant natives!
In the winter, this area between Vermont Avenue and Old Dominion Drive is an unsightly wasteland.
In the summer, the area is overgrown with invasive plants.
Japanese knotweed (shown) blocks visibility onto Old Dominion Drive and Porcelain berry grows over traffic signs.
Native trees, woody shrubs, flowering plants and ground cover could make this an area we can all be proud of!
(This is a depiction of the area after three years of growth.)
Of course, this is just a beginning, because to make the plan a reality, we need to match that $5,200 with gifts from you and other Franklin area neighbors.
The landscape plan for the project was paid for by UFA members and created by a local landscape architect who specializes in native plants, shrubs, and trees. If 15% of our neighbors were able to give $100 to this effort, this will become a reality. Help us make the entry into our neighborhood as beautiful as the neighborhood itself!
Please give as generously as possible — $100 if you’re able, but any amount, less or more! — will be very helpful to create this space for our neighborhood and all who pass by this area.
Donations can be made via GiveButter at this website: FP Entrance Restoration Project or checks can be made out to Franklin Area Citizens Association noting “Restoration” in the memo line and dropped off or mailed to Franklin Area Citizens Association (FACA), c/o Wayne Knight, 1912 Virginia Ave, Mclean, VA 22101. We thank you for generosity!