Late fall at Green Spring Gardens.
By Kathryn Cooper
As a long-time resident of Mason District and dedicated volunteer at Green Spring Gardens, I urge the Fairfax County Park Authority to hire someone with conservation expertise as the new site manager at GSG.
Mason District has fewer green spaces than almost any other district in the county, so GSG is a rare and important oasis in our urban community.
Many of us come to GSG to experience and commune with nature as an escape from the stressful times and places in which we live. We value the natural resources of GSG, which are centered on the fragile Turkeycock Run stream valley, including its woodlands, wetlands, and the remains of a globally rare magnolia bog.
For the past few years, the focus at GSG has been on creating elaborate landscape architectural designs – to build man-made structures and memorials largely funded by generous individuals and to create formal garden “rooms.”
Related story: Concerns raised on proposed pavilion at Green Spring Gardens
During the construction to create these memorials and garden rooms, valuable trees have been cut down or compromised, and healthy plants have been discarded. Not only is this destruction financially wasteful at a time of severe budget cuts, but it goes against GSG’s mission to educate the community about environmental conservation.
Now that the Park Authority is seeking to hire a new site manager at GSG, it’s an opportunity to shift the focus from formal landscape designs to conservation of natural resources. [The new site manager would succeed Judy Zatsick, who has held the position since July 2021.]
Instead of funding expensive memorials and other man-made structures, taxpaying residents and generous donors could be encouraged to fund conservation projects, such as caring for and planting native trees and plants, creating bioswales and rain gardens to reduce stormwater runoff, and replacing invasive plants with native plants.
A moon gate was added to Green Spring Gardens in August 2024.
Such projects could fulfill GSG’s mission to educate the public – especially our children – about the importance of preserving natural resources.
As a conservationist, I can think of no better memorial than to plant a tree that will become a living tribute and that will be enjoyed by future generations for decades, perhaps centuries.
I agree with the poet and conservationist W.S. Merwin, who said: “On the last day of the world, I would want to plant a tree.”
Given the severity of climate change, conservation of natural resources is more crucial than ever. Hiring a manager at GSG with conservation expertise who understands how essential it is to protect our fragile natural resources will show how committed the Park Authority is to conservation.
Such a leader will be an example to all of us and will lead the way for conservation education at GSG and in our community.
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