April 2026 Update

Everything rolls downhill, which makes each of us responsible for our streams.  Please see the article at the bottom of this update and share as widely as possible.

Time to buy native plants!!

We are so lucky to have so many great places in Northern Virginia to buy native plants 

• Garden centers that only sell native plants

• Local once-a-year native plant sales 

• Conventional garden centers where our volunteers label the natives.

Happy shopping!

Do you need suggestions about what to plant where?

Here are two of the many resources available.

• The Plant NOVA Natives website has details for just about any situation. If you are new to this, you might want to start on the Quick Start Guide.

• If you are serious about turning your yard into a sanctuary for birds and butterflies., you can request a free site visit from the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance. 

Help us map Asian Wisteria in Fairfax/Falls Church

The dreaded tree-killer, Asian Wisteria,  will be blooming for the next couple of weeks. Now is our chance to find every infestation and make a plan to address it with the landowners. Please help the Fairfax Tree Rescuers PRISM map it by either taking a photo with your cell phone and emailing it to fairfaxtreerescuers@gmail.com, or using the PRISM’s survey software app. 

Volunteers needed for tabling events - No experience needed, just a willingness to engage passersby on the topic of native plants. Sign up here.

• 4/18 Annandale - Small Space Gardens

• 4/21 Vienna - Virginia Garden Week

• 4/24 Fairfax - Laurel Ridge Elementary School

Free 8-10’ trees for Fairfax community-based organizations

Applications due April 10. Volunteer groups, civic associations, and faith-based organizations qualify.

Reforest PWC

Reforest PWC is a voluntary Prince William County program that partners with private property owners to convert suitable open, grassy areas into long-term native forests at no cost to the landowner.  If you would like to inquire about the program and apply, you can request an in-person consultation with a County Arborist. If you think a neighboring property may also be a good candidate for the program, feel free to invite your neighbor to join the onsite meeting.

Native tree giveaway April 18

Burke Farmers’ Market 8am-noon

Bare-root seedlings: Cercis canadensis, Nyssa sylvatica, Quercus phellos and rubra, Magnolia virginiana

The Fairfax County Tree Commission  will have experts on-hand to provide planting guidance and answer questions.

Upcoming events 

• Beyond the Spray: Protecting Wildlife and Biodiversity with Safer Mosquito Control Solutions.  In person April 25, 2 pm. Mount Vernon Unitarian Church. Details and registration here.

• Dranesville Celebrates Trees - April 25, 10am-12:30 pm, Lewinsville Park. Weed, mulch, plant trees. Register here.

• Workshop in Manassas on invasives removal by Prince William Arborist David Kroeger. April 25, 10-2. Email him if you can attend (max of 20). dkroeger@pwcgov.org 

• 4-H Tree planting - Haymarket. April 18, 9:00-noon. Details and registration here.

Report your native tree and shrub plantings

Please help Northern Virginia meet its tree-planting obligations by reporting your tree and shrub plantings here. So far 21,019 have been reported!

Report your tree rescues

Millions of trees in Northern Virginia are at risk from invasive non-native vines. You can help by saving them on your own land or by volunteering on public land. So far, 22,743 tree rescues have been reported in Northern Virginia. Please add your report here.  

Next Steering Committee meeting – April 30, 10am-noon via videoconferencing. All are welcome. Check our Event Calendar for future meetings.

Support Plant NOVA Natives

Would you like to support the campaign? Give a Gift of Trees. All proceeds will go to Plant NOVA Natives. Straight donations are more than welcome, too! :) 

This month’s newsletter articles to share. For social media, please use this link. 

How we each can help save our streams

Northern Virginia’s drinking water is completely safe, but our streams and rivers are not doing so well. Although agriculture is the largest contributor by far of nutrient and sediment loads in  the Chesapeake watershed,  urban and suburban stormwater runoff is the second largest and the fastest growing contributor to these pollutants.

Consider, for example, the 52 square mile Accotink Creek watershed in Fairfax. The good news is that nitrogen levels have generally dropped. But phosphorus concentrations have remained exceptionally high. Why? Because 87% of the Accotink Creek watershed is developed with 27% of the land covered in impervious surfaces. Such intensely developed regions produce large loads of sediment from stormwater runoff, and phosphorus is bound to sediment. Reduce the sediment levels in our local streams, and you will lessen the phosphorus pollution.

Both the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) have announced focused efforts during 2026 to reduce nutrient-based pollutants and sediment loads in our water. By December of 2025 we already had met 100% of our sediment reduction targets, but we had met only 80% of the nitrogen and 62% of the phosphorus reduction goals, which is a compelling call to action for all residents in the Plant NOVA Natives community. Here are several strategies to reduce nutrient pollution and sediment loads in our waterways:

• Plant more native plants, especially where stormwater tends to flow. Their deep roots stabilize the soil and absorb far more harmful nutrients than turfgrass lawns.. Notice where stormwater tends to flow on your property along swales or slopes and plant there first.

• Plant a street-side garden. Remember the underused strips of your property next to the street or sidewalk. These are ideal spots to add native plants, as their roots will catch stormwater overflow before it hits the pavement. Take care, however, to avoid underground lines, pipes, and overhead wires. And please consider whether your plantings impact people’s access to their cars, mailboxes, or safe crossing to the sidewalk. See Plant NOVA Natives’ comprehensive list of considerations for street-side gardens before you begin to dig.

•  Use organic compost. Ditching commercial fertilizers and using organic compost is always the best option to enrich the soil. But if you must use fertilizers, choose only phosphorus-free or low-phosphorus brands and use them sparingly.  

•  Pick up pet waste: Nitrogen, phosphorus, bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella, parasites, and ammonia can all be found in pet waste! While pet owners often remember to pick up pet waste in public areas, remember to do so on your own property as well for the sake of our streams and rivers.

• Compost and mulch yard waste: Composting and mulching are two strategies that effectively return nutrients to the soil and keep them out of stormwater. Grass clippings should be composted or mulched back into the lawn. Leaves are best left in non-lawn areas, but those that fall on the lawn can also be mulched or raked up and added to your compost pile. Keep lawn debris out of the street and away from storm drains.

• Create a rain garden: Rain gardens are landscaped areas constructed to capture and hold stormwater so that it seeps into the soil instead of running off our property. The Plant NOVA Natives website takes you to a link to a step by step guide on how to build a rain garden. 

•  Use rain barrels: If you can capture water from downspouts and use it later to water your plants, this greatly reduces stormwater runoff caused by our roofs. 

• Redirect downspouts to vegetated areas rather than paved impervious surfaces: When rain barrels are not an option, try to redirect downspout water flow away from sidewalks and driveways and towards the more vegetated areas of your property.

• Reduce impervious surfaces: Replacing asphalt with gravel or permeable pavers will capture and keep more stormwater on your property. But reducing the lawn by converting parts of it to native plant gardens is also highly effective. Turf grass, while green, behaves more like concrete when it comes to water absorption.

•  Maintain septic systems: Regularly inspect and pump septic systems to prevent nutrient leaching into groundwater.

• Wash cars responsibly: Either use a commercial car wash or wash your car on grass to filter soapy water before it enters the ground.

•  Water gardens judiciously only as needed, using timers, soaker hoses and other means of minimizing excess usage and runoff.

Additional strategies to capture stormwater are discussed here on the Plant NOVA Natives website, along with a discussion of planting and maintaining riparian borders. Finally, here is a link to a Fairfax County Soil and Water Conservation District manual with instructions on how to build and maintain rainwater gardens, green roofs, and more.