N° 67 — September 1, 2021
Stay in touch as we celebrate Washington Youth Garden's 50th Anniversary. Enjoy our updates and insights from FONA, the U.S. National Arboretum, and WYG.
Chesapeake Connections
Only 30% of the streams that flowed through Washington, DC at the beginning of the 19th century are still found in DC today — the rest were diverted, filled in, or dried up as the city developed. These streams feed into the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers and impact water quality, biodiversity, and climate resilience for DC and the Chesapeake Bay region.

The DC Department of Energy and Environment recently created an interactive StoryMap highlighting the history of buried streams in DC and the benefits of restoring them.

The U.S. Capitol from across James Creek. Painted by De Lancey Gill via Smithsonian American Art Museum
Springhouse Run five years after construction began restoring the stream.
In 2016, the National Arboretum began converting Springhouse Run from a channelized concrete stream into an open wetland.

Since then, FONA has organized hundreds of volunteers to help Arboretum curators plant over 20,000 native plants along this newly restored stream. Volunteers also monitor water quality every month to see whether the restoration has made the stream more habitable for aquatic and plant life.

Hidden History
How did Springhouse Run get its name? What are those big brick buildings next to New York Avenue at the Arboretum? Who is the "Hickey" that Hickey Run, Hickey Lane, and Hickey Hill are all named after?

New York Avenue brickyards. Photo from Library of Congress
In early August, Washington Youth Garden hosted 37 educators in the garden and virtually for the Summer Intensive. This 2-day training helped educators program their Agriculture, Food, and Environmental education plans for the coming year and develop other school garden skills.
Attendees were encouraged to bring other educators from their schools — of the 19 total schools represented at the training, 8 had multiple educators from the same schools. By training many educators from the same school, our School Garden Support program builds a stronger infrastructure within each institution and makes school garden programs more sustainable over time.

This year's Summer Intensive was hybrid virtual and in-person, which allowed us to provide the best hands-on, experiential training while also showcasing experts from across the nation (and getting everyone inside out of the heat in the afternoons). Participants came with a wide variety of experiences as garden-based educators, but all reported an increased interest in using the school garden as a teaching tool in the coming school year.
Allie Arnold demonstrating how to incorporate worm bins and teach about composting in school gardens.
Vote for "Best of DC"
Thanks for nominating the National Arboretum for many "Best of DC" categories — now it's time to vote!

Voting ends September 19th — please vote for the U.S. National Arboretum for the following categories:

Our friends at the National Bonsai Foundation are also up for a few "Best of DC" categories. Check out what they're nominated for and help the entire Arboretum family shine this year!

Outdoor Events
Join us for a forest bathing experience at the Arboretum September 17th or 25th and discover something new on every twisting trail and curated collection.

Our suggested ticket price is $35, but please pay what you can to attend. We believe everyone in our DC community should have access to mindfulness nature experiences such as this at the National Arboretum.

Arboretum Openings
The National Arboretum is accepting applications for an Education Specialist to plan, implement, and evaluate education programs relating to the Arboretum's gardens, plant collections, and research activities.

The Arboretum is open every day from 8 AM - 5 PM except December 25th. Some buildings and collections remain closed to ensure visitor and staff safety.
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