Nonprofit Aggregator: Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington

This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Accokeek Foundation.

April 16, 2016. It was a peaceful morning on the Potomac River. The sun was shining, there was hardly a breeze to ripple the river’s surface, and spring’s warmth was finally beating out winter’s brutal cold. It was a perfect April morning. Too perfect. How could we guess at the horrors that awaited us?

10 am. The volunteers began to arrive for the 28th Annual Potomac River Watershed Clean-Up. They checked in, gathered their trash bags and gloves and grabbers, and headed out for the shoreline. They chatted and smiled with one another, and prepared to collect what they thought would be your run-of-the-mill litter–plastic bottles and aluminum cans from the river.

10:30 am. The first tennis ball is found. How funny and whimsical it seemed to find a faded Wilson wash up on the shoreline. Was someone playing fetch with their dog and lost their ball? What is this ball’s story–how did it come to land in Piscataway Park?

10:45 am. More tennis balls. Some look to be brand new, while others are missing their fuzzy yellow shells altogether. Concern began to spread among the trash collectors. Where are they all coming from? How can we possibly collect them all?

11:30 am. Chaos. One group came across a pile of 43 tennis balls, just stacked there in a pyramid, as if the tennis balls were gathering for some sort of ritual. Others began to run out of room in their bags, with no end to the balls in sight. Confusion ran rampant as all those witness to the invasion wondered “Why!?” and “How!?” Where have the tennis balls come from and why do they float so desperately to our shorelines?

We may never know why the tennis balls decided to invade this April. But we do know that it’s thanks to the valiant efforts of those volunteers that stood on the shoreline and bravely fought to stem the tide of the invasion that I live to pass this message on today. Never forget this day, and the lesson that the trash on the streets in your neighborhood could one day make it to our shores to invade again. Never forget.

Thank you to the volunteers who participated in this year’s Potomac River Watershed Clean-Up!

Your efforts led to the removal of 75 bags of trash and recyclables (including a total of 193 tennis balls!) from the shoreline in Piscataway Park. You also managed to remove almost 300 additional pounds of bulk trash. That’s an impressive haul!

If you have any pictures from the event that you would like to share with us, e-mail outreach@accokeek.org, or tag us on social media: (facebook, instagram, twitter).

Click here to learn more about the Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative, and how you can get involved in litter prevention year-round!

This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Accokeek Foundation.

April 16, 2016. It was a peaceful morning on the Potomac River. The sun was shining, there was hardly a breeze to ripple the river’s surface, and spring’s warmth was finally beating out winter’s brutal cold. It was a perfect April morning. Too perfect. How could we guess at the horrors that awaited us?

10 am. The volunteers began to arrive for the 28th Annual Potomac River Watershed Clean-Up. They checked in, gathered their trash bags and gloves and grabbers, and headed out for the shoreline. They chatted and smiled with one another, and prepared to collect what they thought would be your run-of-the-mill litter–plastic bottles and aluminum cans from the river.

10:30 am. The first tennis ball is found. How funny and whimsical it seemed to find a faded Wilson wash up on the shoreline. Was someone playing fetch with their dog and lost their ball? What is this ball’s story–how did it come to land in Piscataway Park?

10:45 am. More tennis balls. Some look to be brand new, while others are missing their fuzzy yellow shells altogether. Concern began to spread among the trash collectors. Where are they all coming from? How can we possibly collect them all?

11:30 am. Chaos. One group came across a pile of 43 tennis balls, just stacked there in a pyramid, as if the tennis balls were gathering for some sort of ritual. Others began to run out of room in their bags, with no end to the balls in sight. Confusion ran rampant as all those witness to the invasion wondered “Why!?” and “How!?” Where have the tennis balls come from and why do they float so desperately to our shorelines?

We may never know why the tennis balls decided to invade this April. But we do know that it’s thanks to the valiant efforts of those volunteers that stood on the shoreline and bravely fought to stem the tide of the invasion that I live to pass this message on today. Never forget this day, and the lesson that the trash on the streets in your neighborhood could one day make it to our shores to invade again. Never forget.

Thank you to the volunteers who participated in this year’s Potomac River Watershed Clean-Up!

Your efforts led to the removal of 75 bags of trash and recyclables (including a total of 193 tennis balls!) from the shoreline in Piscataway Park. You also managed to remove almost 300 additional pounds of bulk trash. That’s an impressive haul!

If you have any pictures from the event that you would like to share with us, e-mail outreach@accokeek.org, or tag us on social media: (facebook, instagram, twitter).

Click here to learn more about the Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative, and how you can get involved in litter prevention year-round!

This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Accokeek Foundation.

In like a lion and out like a lamb. No, I’m not talking about the month of April, but last Saturday’s annual Lattes with Lambs event at the Foundation. After a blustery week, and a wet and cold start to the morning, the clouds parted and left us with a truly beautiful afternoon to enjoy all of the food and fun happening on the farm.

With cheese making demonstrations, taste testing courtesy of P.A. Bowen Farmstead, and a shake-your-own butter activity, the “Dairy Area” gave everyone a chance to learn hands-on how dairy products go from cow-to-culture. The sheep-to-shawl activities (as well as demonstrations done by The Spinning Loft), which included wool washing, carding, dyeing, and felting, demonstrated how wool straight from the sheep is transformed into your favorite yarns and sweaters.

And let’s not forget the main event: the chance to meet some of the new lambs and calves born on the farm this spring. Visitors got behind the scene tours of the barn and barnyard, experienced life as a free-range chicken from inside the mobile chicken coop, and celebrated Nigel the lamb’s first birthday with a special alfalfa cake made just for him.

Thank you to all who attended this event to help support the Foundation’s Heritage Breed Livestock Preservation program. Your support helps us increase the numbers of these critically endangered breeds, while raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity in livestock.

Check out some of our favorite photos from the event below:

Farmer Ann demonstrates sheep shearing techniques for a crowd of on-lookers. All of the wool sheared from the sheep each spring is processed into yarn and sold at the Visitor Center to support the heritage livestock program.

Shemika turns visitors into the farm animal of their choice at the face painting booth.

Nigel enjoys his birthday cake made from alfalfa.

Visitors take a cruise around the site on the hay shuttle.

Break time for some Panera soup and Starbucks Lattes!

What is rotational grazing, and why do we do it here at the Foundation? These kids and visitors learn by pretending they are cows in “The Hungry Games.”

Cheese sampling courtesy of P.A. Bowen Farmstead.

Cheese making demonstrations show how to make your own mozzarella right at home.

Check out more great photos from the event on Instagram #lattes4lambs. Have some photos you want to share? Feel free to send them to us at outreach@accokeek.org, or tag us on Instagram (accokeek_foundation) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/AccokeekFoundation).

We want to extend a huge thank you to all of those who helped make this event a success. To the volunteers who helped staff the activities; to Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Miller Farms for donating coffee and donuts; to Farmer Ann for the sheep shearing demonstrations; to The Spinning Loft for wool and fiber demonstrations; to P.A. Bowen Farmstead for the cheese tasting; and to the National Park Service. 

All photos in this blog entry taken by volunteer Ron Liljedahl. 

Support the livestock (and much more) year-round by joining to become an Accokeek Foundation Member today!

This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Accokeek Foundation.

In like a lion and out like a lamb. No, I’m not talking about the month of April, but last Saturday’s annual Lattes with Lambs event at the Foundation. After a blustery week, and a wet and cold start to the morning, the clouds parted and left us with a truly beautiful afternoon to enjoy all of the food and fun happening on the farm.

With cheese making demonstrations, taste testing courtesy of P.A. Bowen Farmstead, and a shake-your-own butter activity, the “Dairy Area” gave everyone a chance to learn hands-on how dairy products go from cow-to-culture. The sheep-to-shawl activities (as well as demonstrations done by The Spinning Loft), which included wool washing, carding, dyeing, and felting, demonstrated how wool straight from the sheep is transformed into your favorite yarns and sweaters.

And let’s not forget the main event: the chance to meet some of the new lambs and calves born on the farm this spring. Visitors got behind the scene tours of the barn and barnyard, experienced life as a free-range chicken from inside the mobile chicken coop, and celebrated Nigel the lamb’s first birthday with a special alfalfa cake made just for him.

Thank you to all who attended this event to help support the Foundation’s Heritage Breed Livestock Preservation program. Your support helps us increase the numbers of these critically endangered breeds, while raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity in livestock.

Check out some of our favorite photos from the event below:

Farmer Ann demonstrates sheep shearing techniques for a crowd of on-lookers. All of the wool sheared from the sheep each spring is processed into yarn and sold at the Visitor Center to support the heritage livestock program.

Shemika turns visitors into the farm animal of their choice at the face painting booth.

Nigel enjoys his birthday cake made from alfalfa.

Visitors take a cruise around the site on the hay shuttle.

Break time for some Panera soup and Starbucks Lattes!

What is rotational grazing, and why do we do it here at the Foundation? These kids and visitors learn by pretending they are cows in “The Hungry Games.”

Cheese sampling courtesy of P.A. Bowen Farmstead.

Cheese making demonstrations show how to make your own mozzarella right at home.

Check out more great photos from the event on Instagram #lattes4lambs. Have some photos you want to share? Feel free to send them to us at outreach@accokeek.org, or tag us on Instagram (accokeek_foundation) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/AccokeekFoundation).

We want to extend a huge thank you to all of those who helped make this event a success. To the volunteers who helped staff the activities; to Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Miller Farms for donating coffee and donuts; to Farmer Ann for the sheep shearing demonstrations; to The Spinning Loft for wool and fiber demonstrations; to P.A. Bowen Farmstead for the cheese tasting; and to the National Park Service. 

All photos in this blog entry taken by volunteer Ron Liljedahl. 

Support the livestock (and much more) year-round by joining to become an Accokeek Foundation Member today!