IMA Workday Announcements

Recruiting Additional IMA Site Leaders

Would you like to help restore the habitat and lead a volunteer team to rid our parks of non-native invasive weeds? The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) is recruiting additional Invasive Management Area (IMA) site leaders. FCPA provides you with training, material support, and all required permits to work in the park. You can tag-team with Greg Sykes on his current sites, work on new areas around Royal Lake, Lakeside or other neighboring parks, or ask about additional parks within the FCPA’s jurisdiction. For more information, visit https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/invasive-management-area.

New Crooked Creek Park IMA Workday

It’s the annual “De-Stress Before Christmas” habitat restoration workday! We’ve had great turnouts in the past and accomplished much so let’s keep the momentum going this year! Autumn and early winter afternoons are perfect for working in the outdoors! Here are the details. Read every word of these instructions! Those who fail to follow these instructions may arrive at the wrong place or come unprepared!

• When: Saturday, December 21, 2024, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
• Where: Crooked Creek Park, Commonwealth Boulevard Entrance
  • Crooked Creek Park, the meeting site is on Commonwealth Boulevard, Fairfax, VA 22032, where it crosses Rabbits Branch. The exact street number is not provided here because when entered into a GPS device, the resulting coordinates are far from the meeting site. The correct GPS coordinates are: 38.814299, -77.288444. Street parking only on Commonwealth Boulevard between the three-way-stop at Gainsborough Drive and Dequincey Drive intersections. https://www.google.com/maps/place/38%C2%B048’51.5%22N+77%C2%B017’18.4%22W/@38.814299,-77.290638,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d38.814299!4d-77.2884438
• Who: People in good health and 16+ years old. Volunteers aged 11-15 years must be accompanied by a parent. Parents who volunteer will also be required to pull up invasive plants.
• What to bring: Dress for the weather and working in woods. VERY IMPORTANT: Wear long pants, long-sleeved shirt and sturdy boots. Regardless of the temperature, shorts are unacceptable at IMA workdays. Leave the umbrellas at home; ponchos are best for staying dry during rainy workdays. Bring comfortable, heavy leather work gloves. All tools will be provided. Buy a bottle of Tecnu and have it at home to wash off any poison ivy oils. It works great to remove the oils before a rash sets in. Bring water or juice in reusable containers.
• What We Will Do: Eradicate oriental bittersweet and multiflora rose. Be ready for anything including working amongst thorny branches.
• Be prepared for stream crossings! Much of Crooked Creek Park is forested wetlands with standing water.
• IMA workdays are a “go” rain or shine; delayed or canceled if there is lightning; in case of another major weather event where there are massive power outages, lines are down and trees obstruct roads, consider the workday cancelled.
• Arrive on time or a little early. You can leave early if you cannot stay the whole time. If you need those hours documented, bring the proper paperwork with you.
• Be sure to RSVP by replying to this message (to greg@grsykes.com) if you can make it.