Description
Paradise Creek Nature Park, Portsmouth, VA 1PM – 4PM
This 40-acre park offers two mile of multi-use, handicap accessible nature trails to explore an urban oasis off Paradise Creek. The park is an excellent example of wetland restoration, part of the on-going restoration of native species underway on the creek since 2001 by the non-profit Elizabeth River Project, the City of Portsmouth, The Port of Virginia, and many other partner. On site participants will tour and interact with a multitude of Best Management Practices from pervious walkways and rain cisterns to conservation landscaping and freshwater wetlands. Participants will learn about maintenance requirements for these practices, the collaborative efforts providing equitable access for the community, and how climate change is impacting maintenance and future planning at the park.
Audubon Naturalist Society, Woodend Sanctuary, Chevy Chase, MD 12:30PM – 3:00PM
At Woodend, we will visit a variety of sustainable practices, including a permeable parking lot, rain gardens, conservation landscaping, a meadow, and the Stream and Trail Restoration Project, a work in progress, which will improve the habitats and visitor experience at Woodend by stabilizing the eroded banks of the stream channel, upgrading the main trail to be accessible, and adding thousands of native plantings to the forest, meadow, and pond habitats. This field day location is now full, to join a waitlist email katie@cblpro.org
Stroud Water Research Center, Avondale, PA 9AM – 12PM
Tour the grounds of the Stroud Water Research Center to learn about their beautifully designed stormwater treatment train, wastewater wetland, native meadows, and the riparian buffers that have been instrumental in their research to understand how our landscapes impact the health of local streams.