The clean-ups will occur on the following dates & times:
- Saturday, June 16, 9am-Noon
- Saturday, July 14, 9am-Noon
- Saturday, August 25, 9am-Noon
Volunteers will have access to a water refill station, snacks, gloves, trash grabbers and bags, and a limited number of kayaks with life-vests, but are asked to bring their own reusable water bottle, sunscreen, bug spray, and water shoes. A limited number of boats may be reserved. Participants can use their own as well.
The events start out at The Conservatory Center at Four Mile Run Park, 4109 Mt Vernon Avenue. Parking details will be provided to those who RSVP at: 4MRKayakCleanup.eventbrite.com
The Summer Kayak Cleanups at Four Mile Run are “4MR Clean Stream Extreme” events made possible through grant funding from Dominion Energy. The cleanups are also a community initiative in PARKnership with the City of Alexandria's Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities. The Four Mile Run Conservatory Foundation was established with funding by the Four Mile Run Farmers & Artisans Market and supported by funds raised by Action Alexandria’s Spring2ACTion and Facebook’s Giving Tuesday.
The Summer Kayak Cleanups at Four Mile Run are a continuation of the work begun over several years by a group of community volunteers in the Arlandria neighborhood who came together to perform various improvement projects in and around Four Mile Run Park to complement the work of the Four Mile Run Restoration Plan and the new Four Mile Run Park Improvement Plan. The projects include: the Four Mile Run Farmers & Artisans Market, the Four Mile Run Park Expansion, Commonwealth Park (the rehabilitation of a former electrical substation at 3550 Commonwealth Avenue) and a number of a large tree plantings.
“A group of folks in the community have been engaged with stream mitigation work, park improvements and stream cleanups for a number of years and the farmers market we started was an outgrowth of that,” says organizer Kevin Beekman. “Money we raise at the market from t-shirt sales and market vendor fees typically amounts to around $1,000 a year. We always donate all proceeds to the City for the park, but now we’re leveraging the funds to attract more grants and donations.”
While budgets in municipalities across the United States have tightened in recent years, crowdfunding provides an alternative source for projects that municipalities are unable to provide but that citizens are clearly passionate about. Additional Four Mile Run Park projects are in the planning stages. The Four Mile Run Conservatory Foundation “Spring2Action” page remains open for additional contributions: https://www.spring2action.org/organizations/four-mile-run-conservatory-foundation.
For more details, please visit: http://www.fourmilerun.org/.
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About the Four Mile Run Conservatory Foundation
The Four Mile Run Conservatory Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and volunteer organization formed in 2016 following years of community efforts to foster the preservation, beautification, improvement, maintenance, and enjoyment of Four Mile Run Park.
Their mission is to engage and educate the public, and t maintain the trail system and natural lands around lower Four Mile Run to improve Four Mile Run Park, and to foster respect and stewardship for this unique urban ecosystem and its natural, historic, and recreational resources. Their vision is a Four Mile Run Park that is fully utilized and appreciated by its neighbors and other stakeholders as an important part of community life, a resource for recreation, and a model for natural lands maintenance in an urban setting.
See Overview Map of lower Four Mile Run and the Park.
For more info see:http://www.fourmilerun.org
On Facebook: facebook.com/4MRCoservatory
On Twitter: @4MRConservatory
On Instagram: @4MRConservatory
Contact us at: info@fourmilerun.org