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Nonpoint Source Pollution & Labeling Stormwater Drains, a Gold Award Project

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Article by FMN & Gold Award Girl Scout Mackenzie Nordai
Photos courtesy of Mackenzie Nordai

My Gold Award* aimed to address the issue of nonpoint source pollution’s effect on Pohick Creek Watershed which includes Hidden Pond Park in Springfield, Virginia. As the leader of the project, I led groups of volunteers through three communities adjacent to this watershed and labeled stormwater drains to alert people about where these drains lead. I also communicated awareness to the communities around Hidden Pond through a community newsletter, Fairfax Master Naturalist social media, and postings on bulletin boards at Hidden Pond Nature Center about the negative effects that nonpoint source pollution has on the environment. Nonpoint source pollution has the largest impact on our water quality, because it comes from many sources like our suburban neighborhoods. Some examples include fertilizers, pesticides, dog waste, car soap, oil, grease, antifreeze, paints, sediment, and excess salt from salting the roads. When it rains, the runoff from our neighborhoods enter our stormwater drains dispersing different pollutants into our ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers leading to the Chesapeake Bay and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean, which can hurt the ecosystem and marine life.

Did you know that a single six pack plastic ring can last 400 years before it finally can decompose? And paints, oils, and grease can pollute the waters through dissipation. These pollutants along with various others can impact different wildlife through suffocation and by changing the environment’s carrying capacity to a level that the wildlife can no longer sustain. Amphibians, for example, have thinner skin than most animals and are affected by water and air pollutants, so imagine what a drop of oil or grease is going to do to a whole population of organisms.

I selected my issue, because I care about the environment, plan to pursue a related field in college, and have already begun educating others on this topic during my coursework to become a certified Fairfax Master Naturalist. While doing so I was inspired to spread the knowledge about how to prevent nonpoint source pollution and the impacts that it has on our watersheds. As I delved into research, I felt a passion in understanding the impacts of pollution and I felt driven about educating others on what society can do to help prevent it.

In conclusion, there are ways that we all can help our environment by preventing nonpoint source pollution. First, you can contact the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD) and label the stormwater drains in your neighborhood to increase awareness. Next, you could work on establishing native plants in your landscaping and minimize fertilizers and pesticides, or by purchasing household detergents and cleaners that are low in phosphorus. Also, you can dispose of used oil, antifreeze, paints and other household chemicals properly. Lastly, you can properly dispose of dog waste and litter. All of these actions help to protect the environment and our local watershed.

* The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador can earn. A Gold Award Take Action Project has national and/or global links, is sustainable, takes approximately 80 hours and addresses an issue the Girl Scout cares about.

NVSWCD Green Breakfast: Fairfax County’s Watershed Monitoring Programs, March 13th

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Saturday, March 13, 2021
9 am
Free
Speaker: Shannon Curtis, Watershed Assessment Branch Chief, Fairfax County DPWES-Stormwater Planning Division
Registration required. (Registration password is green, if needed.)

Fairfax County has some of the most robust watershed monitoring and watershed management programs in the nation. These are a culmination of a long history in Fairfax of investing in environmental protections through progressive policies and programs.

The county’s long-term stream monitoring programs meet state and federal regulations and support the Board of Supervisors’ Environmental Vision by providing an ongoing evaluation of the streams, which over time can be used to determine changes or trends in the conditions of the waterways, provide insight into why these trends are occurring, and ultimately be used to make sound management decisions such as targeted restoration approaches and land use decisions. 

Spend Saturday morning, from the comforts and safety of home, while hearing from Mr. Shannon Curtis, Chief of Fairfax County’s Watershed Assessment Branch, and learning more about the watersheds in Fairfax County, the legacy of progressive efforts to protect water quality, and about several of the ongoing water quality monitoring programs – including what the data is telling us, and some of the ways it is being used to protect and improve our environment. 

NVSWCD Green Breakfast: Valuing our Urban Forest, January 9th

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Huntley Meadows, photo by J. Quinn

Saturday, January 9, 2021
9 am
Free

To register for this webinar or learn more, please email [email protected].

Recently, Fairfax County adopted the updated Tree Action Plan unifying many program efforts to enhance Fairfax County’s urban forests. At the same time new climate and pest stressors have been discovered.

Grab the breakfast of your choice and pull your comfy chair to your computer to hear from Jim McGlone, Urban Forest Conservationist with the Virginia Department of Forestry. Jim will share an overview of these activities and concerns, as well as new tools available to help capture information on a wide variety of tree plantings across the Commonwealth and help DOF meet its goal of planting 56,000 trees over the next two years.

NVSWCD Green Breakfast, Youth Conservation Leaders, October 10th

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Saturday, October 10, 2020
9 — 10:30 am

Email [email protected] for login information.

Young Conservation Leaders
Over the past year, several Fairfax County high school students have worked with the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District as part of the Youth Conservation Leadership Institute to develop summer independent research projects. Join us from the comfort of your home and be prepared to be inspired as you learn about their environmental conservation and stewardship projects:
The Danger of Microplastics – Carolyn Rohr
Water Quality in Accotink Creek – Nimesh Rudra
The Efficacy of Different Erosion Prevention Methods – Cynthia Ma
Effect of Microhabitats on Insect Biodiversity in Northern Virginia – Nimesh Rudra
Water Quality and Buffered Stream Banks: What’s the Connection -Becca Jeffries

What is the Youth Conservation Leadership Institute?
The Youth Conservation Leadership Institute (YCLI) is a Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts recognition program for students in 9th- 12th grade that focuses on volunteer service and environmental stewardship. YCLI began as an expansion of Youth Conservation Camp in an effort to keep students engaged in the environmental topics introduced at camp. YCLI offers high school students interested in environmental conservation and stewardship an opportunity to build leadership skills and connect with local mentors involved with environmental issues.

Virtual Green Breakfast with Clean Fairfax

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Saturday, July 11, at 9 AM – 10:30 AM

Hosted by Clean Fairfax and Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District

Snuggle up in the comfort of your own home, with your breakfast and beverage of choice, while joining us online to hear from Jen Cole, Executive Director with the Clean Fairfax Council. While you have been safer at home, have you thought about ways to be greener at home too? Learn why it is important to reduce waste production and consumption and steps we can all take in our day-to-day lives to make our world a little more sustainable.

This event is FREE.

If you have environmental stewardship events that you would like to promote, please send them to [email protected] and she will share them during the webinar. Face-to-face interaction and networking are two things that make our Green Breakfasts so special. We miss seeing you all and look forward to a time soon when it is safe for all of us to gather again.

Join the meeting, by clicking the following link and using the meeting number and password, included below: 

https://northernvirginiasoilwaterconservationdistrict.my.webex.com/northernvirginiasoilwaterconservationdistrict.my/j.php?MTID=m7ba10ee8ebc650dcdd65ccc8c7dbed8e

Meeting number (access code): 126 436 0508 

Meeting password: Fj2Qdg (352734 from phones and video systems)

To listen to the presentation from a phone, dial 1-415-655-0001

Access Code: 1264360508#

Password: 352734# 

Soil Your Undies Campaign

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The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District is challenging residents all across Fairfax County to bury a pair of cotton underwear as part of a campaign to promote soil health awareness. How does it work? Just bury a pair of cotton underwear and dig it back up after at least 60 days. It’s the quick and dirty way to test the microbial activity in your soil. The more the underwear is deteriorated, the healthier your soil!

Although you can use the Soil Your Undies Challenge to check your soil health at any time, the 2020 NVSWCD Soil Your Undies Challenge runs from July to September 2020.

JOIN THE CHALLENGE!
Step 1: Look for a place where you want to study the health of the soil. Make sure you are only studying sites on your property or with the permission of the landowner.
Step 2: Bury a pair of white cotton undies (or any white cotton clothing item) 3 inches under the soil’s surface. Be sure to take a “before” photo.
Step 3: Don’t forget to mark your study site with a flag or other easily-identifiable marker!
Step 4: Wait at least 60 days (this is the hard part…)
Step 5: Locate your marked study site and dig up your cotton undies. Be sure to take an “after” photo.
Step 6: How healthy is your soil? Healthier soils have a lot of microbial activity, and the healthy fungi and bacteria in the soil will break down your cotton undies. The more degraded your undies are, the more microbial activity you have in your soil, and the healthier your soil is.
Step 7: Share the results of your citizen science project! Email your photos and any notes you may have to [email protected], and share your results with us on Facebook @nvswcd and on Instagram @NorthernVirginiaSWCD. We’ll be sharing our results with you, too!

Learn more about the challenge and soil health here.

Conservation Poster Contest for K-12 Students–Entries due August 14th (deadline recently extended)

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Calling all student artists! The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District is seeking students to design posters to submit to the 2020 Youth Poster Contest. The theme for this year is Where would we BEE without Pollinators? 

ABOUT THE POSTER CONTEST

The Youth Poster Contest is a national competition sponsored by the National Association of Conservation Districts, and offered locally at the district level. District winners advance to the state level. Only Local Soil & Water Conservation Districts can forward their local winning poster entries to the VASWCD office for consideration at the state level. Virginia state winners will advance to the National Contest. National winners are recognized each year at the NACD Annual Meeting. The contest is open to the public, private or home school students, girl scout/boy scout troops, etc. 

Any Girl Scout  or Boy Scout who creates a poster and submits it to their local SWCD for judging can earn the VASWCD Poster Contest Patch.  When submitting a poster to earn the Poster Contest Patch, be sure to check the box on the entry form.  Please note that poster patches are distributed in December each year.

ABOUT POLLINATORS

Resources for Where would we BEE without Pollinators? are offered by the National Association of Conservation Districts and include booklets, activity sheets, storybooks, K-12 lessons and activities, coloring pages, and additional teaching materials. You can access these materials here.

Pollinators form the foundations of a healthy and sustainable future for food and the environment, but in recent years, they have shown concerning signs of decline. It’s important that we work to help them prosper by enhancing native pollinator habitats and protecting against pollinator declines. The Pollinator Partnership is one of many great resources when learning about pollinators. 

HOW TO ENTER

Entries from Fairfax County must be submitted to the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District by Friday, August 14, 2020.

The local NVSWCD competition follows the NACD national guidelines. 

Posters should be submitted digitally as a .jpeg, .png, or similar file format. Posters and images may be of any size. When photographing or scanning your poster for submission, be sure that the entire poster is clear and visible, the image is appropriately cropped, and the photo accurately reflects the original poster. 

Submit entries to Ashley Palmer, Conservation Education Specialist. An entry form should accompany your entry; download the entry form here. 

Local winners receive recognition and a prize from NVSWCD. 

Green Breakfast: Three Things You Can Do to Change the World, Mar. 14th–CANCELLED!

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In an abundance of caution and uncertainty over the spread of COVID-19, this event is cancelled. The speaker will make her presentation at the July 11, 2020 Green Breakfast.

Brion’s Grille
10621 Braddock Rd, Fairfax, VA 22032
Saturday, 14 March 2020
Breakfast begins at 8:30 am, $10 at the door, cash preferred.
No prior registration required.

Ever wonder what you can do to make the biggest impact locally and globally? The scale of environmental issues can be overwhelming and make it difficult to convince ourselves that any changes we make will make a difference. How do our individual efforts contribute to a collective impact? Join Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District for a warm breakfast and hear from Jen Cole, Executive Director, Clean Fairfax, who will share three things you can do to reduce your local and global footprint, including ways of reducing dependency on disposable items.

Clean Fairfax began as a litter control task force in 1978, established by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to implement an anti-litter campaign. In 1985, the organization became a private nonprofit.

Funding for the program comes from statewide taxes provided by manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors of 15 product categories. As a recipient of a non-competitive state grant, Clean Fairfax Council educates the citizens of Fairfax County, Virginia on litter prevention and control, supports the county recycling program, discourages graffiti, promotes sustainability and provides environmental education to residents, businesses and students.

Breakfast includes an all-you-can eat hot buffet with fresh fruit and coffee, tea, orange juice or water. No prior registration required. If you have any questions, please contact the Northern Virginia Soil and Water at [email protected].

Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair needs judges, March 21st–CANCELED! FCPS closed until April 10th

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Robinson Secondary School
5035 Sideburn Road, Fairfax VA
Saturday, 21 March 2020
7:30 am – 12 pm

Be an organizational judge for Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District’s special award at the Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair! Overall, each year 250 judges are required to evaluate over four hundred science fair projects in a wide variety of categories ranging from plants sciences to physics and astronomy. Of course the ones for this award will relate to NVSWCD’s work.

Master naturalists receive service hour credit using code E155.

For more information and to volunteer, contact Tessa Bennett.

NVSWCD 2020 Native Seedling Sale–order now!

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The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District’s annual seedling sale makes low-cost bare-root native shrub and tree seedlings available to Northern Virginia residents. Seedling packages go on sale in February and are available for pickup in April. Trees and shrubs help cleanse water, prevent soil erosion, provide habitat, cool our climate and clean our air. Consider adding native trees and shrubs to your community today!

This year’s seedling sale features small shrubs and trees which are hardy in small spaces and bear gorgeous flowers and fruits, and display beautiful colors. The fruits and flowers that these plants grow are important food sources to birds and pollinators, and are delicious treats for us! By planting these native species, you are directly contributing to the betterment of our environment. The plants in each package clean our water and air, prevent soil erosion, provide valuable habitat, and add beauty to your property.

Order today!