For those who haven’t bicycled or hiked the Mount Vernon Trail, there’s a new online option to explore the trail.
The Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail has mapped all 18 miles of the Mount Vernon Trail on Google Street View.
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The Holmes Run Trail has been incomplete and partially inaccessible since floods in 2018 and 2019 badly damaged it, and in a recent update Mayor Justin Wilson said some of the final pieces of that recovery might not be finished until the summer or fall of 2024.
That’s not to say there isn’t progress being made on trail recovery, with other phases completed earlier this year and a bridge replacement planned for later this winter.
The Winkler Botanical Preserve (5400 Roanoke Avenue) has been a tucked away, isolated enclave of natural beauty not far from the Mark Center, but with a new acquisition it could be thrust into the limelight.
Regional parks organization Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority (NOVA Parks) announced today that it will take over ownership of the 44.6 acre nature preserve.
Over a year after City Council paused its controversial stream rehabilitation projects, the City of Alexandria is hosting community meetings next week to restart that process.
The City Council paused stream rehabilitation projects for Taylor Run and Strawberry Run after local civic and environmental activists argued the projects could end up damaging the quality of the streams they were trying to help. City staff reviewed the concerns and said many were unfounded, but the debate raised sufficient uncertainty that the City Council sent the projects back to the drawing board for review.
Part of the Mount Vernon Trail through Alexandria has gotten overgrown with kudzu, and locals are needed to help clear it out.
Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail posted on social media asking for volunteers to help remove it this Saturday (Aug. 27).
The City of Alexandria is hosting a community workshop this Saturday (Aug. 27) that will let locals weigh in on the city’s plans to fight climate change.
The meeting at the Durant Memorial Center (1605 Cameron Street) is the third and final meeting in a series that aims to review the city’s progress towards its goals of combatting climate change on a local level and plan future efforts.
Residents in Arlington and Alexandria can now report suspected sightings of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect spreading around the region.
Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia has launched an online survey for people to report suspected cases of the spotted lanternfly. The organization is a volunteer group working to promote “environmentally sound gardening practices,” in partnership with Virginia Cooperative Extension, according to its website.
Alexandria is getting a little more green over time.
The City of Alexandria released an Alexandria Tree Canopy Assessment done by the University of Vermont that tracked the change in the city’s tree canopy between 2014 and 2018. The results are mostly positive.
One of the biggest points of contention in the stream restoration debate was that models, and not actual testing of the streams in question, were being considered in policy discussions. Next week, the city is moving to rectify that.
The city announced in a press release that a consultant will be performing soil collection, sampling, and analysis tests at Taylor Run, Strawberry Run and Lucky Run — three streams being considered for restoration work.
In the heart of the West End, nestled between I-395 and an apartment complex, is a 44-acre park described by NOVA Parks as an “oasis of nature and beauty” — but it’s also a spot Alexandrians may not know exists, let alone have visited.
The Winkler Botanical Preserve (5400 Roanoke Avenue) was created in 1981 to preserve a section of green open space in the middle of the Mark Center development. The park features multiple trails, streams, a private lodge and a waterfall.
As you’ve probably heard, something is going around and killing regional birds, and local residents are encouraged to report bird deaths to a state database.
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources has launched a form to collect data statewide on which birds are being affected, how, and where. The form asks basic location information but also asks residents to identify specific issues, namely whether there’s visible crusting or swelling around the eyes, or if there are neurological problems like head tilting or uncoordinated movement.