More Eco-Friendly Resources for Metro DC

Last month, in conjunction with National Pollution Prevention Week, I decided to create a post that listed ALL of the great, eco-friendly resources in the Metro DC area. Hah! Once I got started, I realized what a monumental task I had undertaken. There are just so MANY great environmentally focused groups in the area, it was really foolish of me to try to list them all. It was even more foolish for me to call my post “Everything you Need to Know to Be Eco-Friendly in Metro DC” because, of course, we’ll probably never know EVERYTHING we need to know.

 I have since changed the name of the post and the resource list to Eco-Friendly Resources for the Metro DC Area and would like to invite everyone to please contact me with any information that I may have left off of the list.

 I’m grateful to Kimberley Knox, Community Outreach Manager of the Washington Suburban Sanitation Commission (WSSC) for sharing some of the information available from WSSC. The WSSC Community Outreach Group is very active in programs throughout the area to educate and encourage others to be better environmental stewards. The group works with community volunteers, high school students and college students on environmental stewardship projects, such as planting trees and removing invasive weeds. In fact, Kimberley recently received the Izaak Walton League Wildlife Honor Roll Award in recognition of her work with volunteers to remove invasive weeds and to conduct planting projects along the Patuxent River. Congratulations Kim!  And again, thanks for sharing these links with our readers.

WSSC's Native Plant Garden for Butterflies and Birds - WSSC created a native garden for butterflies and birds at Brighton Dam, 2 Brighton Dam Road, Brookville, MD 20833. You can see photos and learn more about the garden here.

Scott's Cove Streambank Restoration Project – WSSC works with volunteers to restore streambanks along its watershed. You can see photos and learn more about this project here.

WSSC has some great photos of birds of the Patuxent Watershed

Birds of Prey

Water Birds

Song Birds

And illustrations of Fish of Triadelphia and Rocky Gorge Reservoirs

Their Facebook page, Friends of Brighton Dam, provides a variety of tips for gardeners throughout the year.

And of course, the wonderful publication, Water Conservation Landscaping, which is being used as text by the National Capital Area Watershed Stewards Academy can be downloaded in pdf in both English and Spanish.

 Water Conservation Landscaping. pdf file (English)

 Water Conservation Landscaping pdf file (Spanish)

Check our online calendar to learn how you can participate in some of the great eco-friendly programs that WSSC has planned for the Metro DC area.

For more information about WSSC events, contact the Communications and Community Relations Office at 301-206-8233 or kknox@wsscwater.com.