You can’t save a planet without a little help from your friends: that is the thinking behind Arlington’s EcoAction group, a non-profit that seeks to help residents recycle better, clean up streams, compost, and take care of its trees, to name a few major goals. And that is why EcoAction Arlington met with donors and activists on July 21, taking over the classy 11th floor reception-room-with-a-view at Marymount’s Ballston campus, to brainstorm and come up with ways to realize strategic goals for 2023-2025. Their strategic plan states:     

“The environmental issues facing our planet are vast, serious, and growing. In particular, climate change presents an urgent and existential global crisis, with its impacts already being felt in our community. While environmental issues are shared across the globe, our focus as an organization is intensely local. We believe that Arlington should be a leader in sustainable living, meeting our responsibility to leave to future generations a county that is cleaner, greener, and healthier than the one which we now inhabit. We aspire for Arlington to be a model for other communities, demonstrating that sustainable living is both possible and desirable. Our vision can only be realized through a ‘whole of county’ approach – through the collective actions of the county government, schools, companies, restaurants, citizen organizations, visitors, and residents. We envision EcoAction Arlington as a facilitator of that collective action. Moreover, we have become increasingly aware that environmental degradation disproportionately impacts low/moderate income and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities. We are therefore committed to ensuring that future environmental engagement is done with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Mike Lowe asked people what the most important issues were for eco-conscious Arlingtonians right now. Land use was a big one.  

 

Board members of the non-profit asked residents who have already shown an interest in preserving our environment to gather and talk in three separate break-out groups to brainstorm ideas for how we can get more people to take action in Arlington. There was no shortage of ideas. 

The EcoAction calendar is dynamic: check out the Sept. 23, 2023 Annual Cleanup and Trash Tally to remove trash and debris from Four Mile Run. “This is exactly what Eco-Action Arlington does best,” said one participant. To get details, and see what other weekly events Eco-Action Arlington has arranged, and/or to donate to this non-profit, see https://www.ecoactionarlington.org/get-involved/events/

EcoAction asks: What can government do? What policies need to be put in place? That was the subject for one group of participants. Be more strict about lot coverage and taking down trees unnecessarily for stream restoration was a major topic.