We seek peace in our own lives through meditation and the study of the Dharma (the traditional Buddhist teachings). We contribute to peace in our communities through ecological restoration, as a remedy for some of the violence done by development.
At our Wild Plant Nursery and the field sites that it serves, we work to conserve the native plant communities of the greater Washington region, home to one of the richest floras in eastern North America. Our Tree Bank / Hispaniola is conserving the forests of central Hispaniola, the richest surviving remnant of the Caribbean forest biome, a global biodiversity hotspot.
We see ecological restoration as essential to conservation because many natural areas are now too small and isolated to persist over the long term in their current state. In the greater Washington region, we are reestablishing forests and meadows on degraded sites. In central Hispaniola, our Tree Bank farmers are replanting native forest on their lands.
There are no updates at this time.
Please note: This schedule is subject to revision. For the most recent scheduling, click the updates tab or contact us at info@earthsangha.org or (703) 764-4830.
Logistics: Unless heavy rain is forecast or an update indicates otherwise, you can assume that we will be out. Bring work gloves, if you have them, and a bottle of drinking water. Unless otherwise noted, we will provide tools. Wear sturdy shoes to our field events. Please do not wear sandals or open-toed shoes! And if you are coming out to one of our field sites, such as Meadowood, you're better off wearing long light-weight pants, rather than shorts. (But shorts are fine at the nursery.) And if you're new to our work, it's best to confirm before you come. You can confirm by contacting Lisa. (See the previous paragraph.)
For more information on volunteering with the Sangha, read the Volunteer page.
Move
 |
-
Meadowood Recreation Area
Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Big Rocky Run Stream Valley Park
Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary
Eakin Community Park
Roundtree Park
Native Arboretum at the Marie Butler Leven Preserve
 |
Above: Field-work scenes.
Field Schedule for Summer
If you're lost, please call Lisa on her cell, at 571-213-8025.
Please note that our summer field schedule is not weather proof. Please check with us first before you head out.
Every Monday & Thursday, from 8 am to Noon, at our Wild Plant Nursery in Springfield. We simply never catch up with the work at the nursery! Every Monday and Thursday are our nursery's volunteer work days. We are looking for experienced volunteers for the nursery during the week. If you aren't experienced we can train you, but we need someone who will be around for awhile after training. If you are a natural gardener or botanically curious, please join to become one of our Nursery Diva volunteers. We need help during the week, especially on Monday, Thursday, and Friday.
-Directions to the Nursery: The Nursery is in Springfield, Virginia, in Franconia Park, which lies just south of the Beltway, and just east of the Beltway’s intersection with Routes 95 and 395. (See the ADC Northern Virginia Map Book, map 5762, square E4.) Access is from Franconia Road (644). From Franconia, turn north on Thomas Drive, less than half a mile east of the 395/95 intersection. There is a traffic light at Thomas. From Thomas, turn right onto Meriwether Lane. Turn left onto Cloud Drive. Please park in the parking lot at the bottom of the entrance road, then walk down the dirt road along the community gardens. Our nursery lies beyond the community gardens. View the nursery's location on Google Maps. (The Google pointer is set to Cloud Drive, not directly on our nursery, which has no street address. From Cloud Drive, follow the directions above.)
Tuesday, June 18th, from 10 am to 2 pm at Marie Butler Leven Preserve in McLean. This is our Native Arboretum Project site. A group of 8th and 9th grade students from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart will work to control invasive plants. The Stone Ridge Schools have been partnering with us every year for several years. We look forward to working with them again.
-Directions to the Native Arboretum: The Marie Butler Leven Preserve is in McLean, Virginia. The street address is 1501 Kirby Road. (See the ADC Northern Virginia Map Book, map 5526, square G2.) If you’re coming from the Beltway, exit on Route 66 East; from 66, take the first exit, to Leesburg Pike (Route 7); turn left on Leesburg Pike, then almost immediately after the underpass, turn right onto Idylwood Road (695). Just stay on Idylwood, which becomes Kirby Road after the intersection with Great Falls Street. Stay on Kirby; once you have passed the stop sign at Chesterbrook Road, the Preserve is about half a mile up on the right. View the Preserve's location on Google Maps.
Saturday, June 22nd, from 9:30 to 2 pm at Mason Neck State Park. This is not exactly our field work but a nature walk organized by VNPS Potowmac Chapter. A group of people will join Lisa for a walk and picnic lunch at this great coastal wetland site at Mason Neck State Park. This park is a heaven for Heath family: Black Huckleberry, Blue Huckleberry, Black Highbush Blueberry, Deer Berry, Pinxter Bloom, and that famous Wild Rice (not in a Heath Family but a grass, but what a grass). We don't know half of what this wetland has to offer, but there are a lot to see. If you want to join, you should contactDiana Carter to register. In fact, Diana has been organizing all sorts of highly informative VNPS programs to showcase diverse Plant Communities of our region. If you are not already on the VNPS listserv, you should!
More events to come! Please check back.
KEY LINKS:
Comments to info@earthsangha.org | Copyright 2012 Earth Sangha. | All rights reserved.
Earth Sangha | 10123 Commonwealth Blvd., Fairfax, VA 22032-2707 | (703) 764-4830
