Betsy Washington wins Fairfax County Environmental Excellence Award

Fairfax County Environmental Excellence Award
 

Our own Betsy Washington has won the 
Fairfax County Environmental Excellence Award this year. This award in
part, is in recognition of her work in conservation landscaping and 
watershed protection right here in Lake Barcroft and applauds Lake 
Barcroft's RPA gardens and conservation landscaping programs and
 educational outreach as models not only for our community, but for all 
of Fairfax County. None of this would have been possible without the
 support of forward-looking past LBA Board members and the WID who
 believed in and supported the conservation landscaping efforts. The nomination/award also mentions the great community spirit and
 hundreds of volunteers that worked to make these gardens and outreach
 programs a reality. The award especially applauds the Board-approved 
LBA Landscape Philosophy and the LBA-WID Tree Replacement program both
 developed in conjunction with the visionary George McLennan while he
 was M&I Chair. They quote our LBA Landscape Philosophy that states,
"community property will be landscaped to protect the water quality of
 the lake by protecting the riparian buffer zones, protecting the urban
forests, by using native plants whenever possible, and by avoiding all 
invasive plants". They conclude by stating, "In short, the
 landscaping of their (LBA) common areas is a model and inspiration for 
the community and beyond to demonstrate watershed-friendly landscaping 
policies.

 A big thank you to you all for continuing to support the Tree
 Replacement program that will help insure that the water quality of
 Lake Barcroft and our urban forest continue to thrive beyond our 
tenure here in this little bit of paradise.  The 
official ceremony will be held in September, 2012.

Congratulations Betsy!