solve_launch

Date: October 1, 2015
Contact: Emily Linroth, 202-619-7156

WASHINGTON—More than 100 volunteers worked to clean up and restore parks around D.C. to launch a new stewardship program in celebration of Rock Creek Park's 125th anniversary this weekend.

On Saturday, Sept. 26, volunteers of all ages pitched in at six different parks throughout Washington, D.C., to help clean up trash, remove invasive plants and restore trails. These events celebrated National Public Lands Day and kicked off a new Rock Creek Park stewardship program, Sustaining Our Lands with Volunteer Energy (SOLVE). SOLVE encourages community groups to adopt a place in the park for a year and provides a variety of volunteer opportunities.

"Rock Creek Park is the heart of our city, and the 125th anniversary is an opportunity for us to inspire more people to make lasting connections to the park," Superintendent Tara Morrison said. "It was wonderful to see so many passionate and hard-working volunteers caring for the places we all love. I look forward to continuing to work with our community partners to protect and connect with Rock Creek Park for the next 125 years."

Community partners volunteered at the following parks:

Meridian Hill Park: 23
volunteers with Washington Parks &People removed invasive plants and picked up nearly 40 bags of trash.

Piney Branch/Grove 29: 20
volunteers with The Rock Creek Conservancy removed invasive plants and collected 35 bags total, 24 bags of trash and 11 bags of recycling.

Chevy Chase Circle: 14
volunteers with the Friends of Chevy Chase Circle collected 18 large bags of debris.

Grant Circle:
Community member Carol Herwig and 12 volunteers collected 20 bags of debris.

Dumbarton Oaks Park: Roughly 20 volunteers with the Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy cleared and rebuilt the Clifton Hill Walk trail with support from the Potomac and Appalachian Trail Club.

Fort Bunker Hill:
Volunteers with the Brookland Neighborhood Civic Association worked on trail cleanup and beautification.

In addition to launching the new stewardship program, the park welcomed visitors on Sunday, Sept. 27 for a rock climbing wall, smartphone photography workshops, hikes, pony rides, gardening tips and cake to celebrate the 125^th birthday.

Rock Creek Park is America's first urban national park.The 125th celebrates Rock Creek Park as a special place where nature, history, recreation, and people come together.

A photo gallery from the weekend's events is available on the park's website at https://go.nps.gov/125photos.

To learn more about SOLVE, please visithttps://go.nps.gov/solve