The owner of Arlington’s Wild Birds Unlimited is seeking to retire after 32 years in the birding business — right after he finds a successor.
Michael Zuiker wants to make it clear: the long-standing storefront in the Lee Harrison Shopping Center in Yorktown isn’t going anywhere. But after more than three decades, Zuiker is looking for someone new to fill his role of chatting with customers, keeping up with change and encouraging busy Arlingtonians to take time to enjoy the natural world.
Going for a hike in Arlington? The trail you use might cause harm to the environment.
That’s according to a study on unpaved hiking trails released earlier this month. The Natural Surface Trail Condition Assessment, a first-of-its-kind project for the county, aims to be a comprehensive survey of Arlington’s 20+ miles of trails free from surfacing materials such as pavement or asphalt.
Spooky season is upon Arlington and the county parks department has a few family-friendly activities in store.
Next week, families can gather around the campfire for ghost stories and s’mores or take slightly spooky evening nature walks.
Two significant county plans — one governing stewardship of trees and natural resources and the other historic preservation — are reaching the finish line.
On Saturday, the Arlington County Board set hearings for both plans. Members will vote on adopting the plans at the hearings.
Has your garden been damaged by hungry deer?
Local master gardeners with the Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Arlington and Alexandria City program are asking residents to fill out an anonymous survey about the impact of deer on private property.
Four privately owned trees of “outstanding size” in Arlington could be protected from future removal or injury.
The owners, who live in the Williamsburg, Cherrydale and Glencarlyn neighborhoods, nominated these trees to be recognized as “specimens” worthy of protection, the county says in a report.
Ballston Beaver Pond is in need of a new name because, well, there are no more beavers.
An online survey to rename Ballston Beaver Pond is set to close on Wednesday, June 1, as renovations at the pond are on hold due to a delay in material delivery.
A new program seeks to increase equity in Arlington by planting more trees in certain neighborhoods.
The local non-profit EcoAction Arlington announced that it’s starting the “Tree Canopy Equity Program” with the goal of raising $1.5 million to fund planting at least 2,500 trees over the next five years in local neighborhoods that have too few.
A recently-announced partnership between is helping to clear hundreds of invasive plants from Upton Hill Regional Park.
For the past year, work has been ongoing to remove invasive plants from the 27-acre Upton Hill Regional Park located on Wilson Blvd in the Dominion Hills neighborhood. In particular, work has focused on a two acre section of the wooded section of the park with the highest concentration of invasives.
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It was a reasonable ask. Amanda Dabrowski and Jessie Dertke just wanted to do more outdoor activities and go camping. So, they joined the Boy Scouts. Specifically, Arlington’s Troop 104, the oldest continuously operated troop in the Commonwealth and first established more than a century ago.
Supporters of Gulf Branch Nature Center are pushing to expand the hours of Arlington nature centers, as the 2023 county budget proposes to keep hours at pandemic levels.
In a letter to the community last week, Friends of Gulf Branch Nature Center president Duke Banks took issue with the County Manager’s proposed budget, which would keep the county’s two nature centers open only three days a week. That’s in contrast with the centers’ six day a week schedule prior to the pandemic.
County Prepping New Tree Study — “Arlington leaders may take their next crack at guesstimating the number of trees in the county – a topic not without political as well as environmental ramifications – early in 2023, if all goes according to plan… estimating the cost at $100,000 to $150,000.” [Sun Gazette]
New Name for GMU Arlington Campus — “George Mason University announced today that its Arlington Campus will be renamed Mason Square as the new centerpiece of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor for multi-disciplinary talent and business development, as well as a civic and cultural destination. Also being announced is Fuse at Mason Square, the name of the new technology-forward building that is the heart of Mason’s commitment to growing Northern Virginia’s next-generation workforce. A groundbreaking ceremony for Fuse at Mason Square will take place April 6.” [Press Release]
