The Friends of the Occoquan environmental group received a $10,0000 donation to educate the community about rain barrels.
The barrels are used to collect rain water and to help conserve water.
Deborah Johnson from Dominion Virginia Power presented a $10,000 check to Friends of the Occoquan President German (pronounced Herman) Venegas on Tuesday at the Prince William County Government Center.
Friends of the Occoquan (FOTO) provided more information about the rain barrels project, and how the organization will use the funds:
FOTO will utilize the funds requested for the continuation of our Rain Barrel Workshops and to introduce local groups and organizations within the Prince William and Fairfax Counties to the benefits of establishing food gardens.
Our target for this project will be the Prince William County Schools, civic associations, senior retirement centers and Spanish speaking organizations. Funds will also go to preparing videos and literature that will advertise, educate and inform the public on these two projects.
To date FOTO has had several Rain Barrel Workshops that have included the Prince William County School System. When FOTO does a school workshop the barrels we work on are donated to the school for their use.
Our first goal with this project is to continue to educate the public on the multiple benefits of using rain barrels for both gardening and redirecting water run off to promote water conservation and prevent erosion. Secondly, to encourage the establishment of home/community food based gardening that has a foundation as a water-conserving garden. By establishing these gardens community members can grow their own local food and have a healthier diet.
With both these projects we hope to increase a sense of community ownership and stewardship to both our watersheds and rivers as well as the foods we eat.
FOTO will evaluate their success by:1. Conducting at least 3 workshops
2. Installing at least 10 rain barrels
3. Establishing at least 2 home/community food-producing gardens
4. Making at least one video and broadcast it in local TV stations.
Recent Stories
On Sunday afternoon, nearly 100 people gathered in a Taco Bell parking lot less than a mile from the clinic’s doors with a shared aim: taking ownership of its now-precarious future.
The project to widen Balls Ford Road between Doane Drive and Ashton Avenue to a four-lane, divided roadway is now officially complete. The county’s Department of Transportation held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the parking lot of the General Shale Brick Company last week.
Another round of weather challenges is in store today as a robust cold front approaches. The front will bring gusty winds and low relative humidity.
Join us on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., for the dedication of the Town of Occoquan’s LOVEworks sign in River Mill Park (415 Mill Street, Occoquan), designed by artist Darby Leondra. This event is free and open to the public.
To celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week (May 6-10, 2024), Clean Air Partners is working with A Few Cool Hardware Stores to exchange DC, Maryland and Virginia residents’ gas-powered lawnmowers, trimmers, and leaf blowers at select Ace Hardware locations in the region. DMV residents who turn in their gas-powered lawn tools will receive a FREE Ego Power+ replacement including batteries and chargers, while supplies last.
Compared to gas, electric lawn equipment can reduce emissions, noise pollution, health risks and maintenance costs and time. The program aims to remove about a hundred gas-powered polluting tools from yards in the greater Baltimore-Washington region.
The exchanges will take place the weekends of May 17-19, 2024, and May 31-June 2, 2024, at A Few Cool Hardware Stores network of employee-owned Ace Hardware stores in the DC and Baltimore metro areas. To participate and get your free Ego Power+ lawn tool, sign up at https://qrco.de/CAPExchange to reserve your tool and select your trade-in date and location.
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Free Irish Music Concert
Welcoming Spring with music from the Emerald Isle, the New Dominion Choraliers offer a FREE concert on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the First United Presbyterian Church of Dale City.
Joined by Legacy Brass and members of Old
Spring Ceili: An Irish Music Festival
The New Dominion Choraliers of Prince William County and McGrath Morgan Academy of Irish Dance invite you to join them at our Ceili, a grand celebration of Irish music and dance.
A gathering of performance groups throughout Prince William County
