Celebrating 35 Years of Protecting the Anacostia River! - Part II
For 35 years, the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) has worked with community groups, local residents, government agencies, and others to restore and protect the Anacostia River. Since its founding in 1989, AWS successfully advocated to protect Kingman Island as a natural area, protecting it from development (1993); joined a coalition of partners to sue the Washington Area Sewer Authority to eliminate sewer overflows into DC waterways (1999); launched successful wild rice restoration at Kingman Lake, returning this keystone wetlands species to the Anacostia River (2001); led a study of trash in the river and identified single use plastic bags as a major pollutant, fueling a successful campaign for the DC Bag Law (2009); advocated for years and saw the DC Council pass legislation requiring a plan for cleaning toxic sediment from the riverbed (2014), which is expected to start in 2025; launched our freshwater mussel “Mussel Power” restoration program (2015), becoming a pioneer for freshwater mussel restoration in the region; saw a new, expanded combined sewer overflow tunnel system come on line, reducing overflows of sewage into the river by over 95% (2023)-- a direct result of the Clean Water Act lawsuit filed by AWS and partners in 1999; and much more! This academic year, SEA students will engage in activities that connect to AWS achievements and programs of the last 35 years. This spring, SEA will do a native wild rice mud ball planting, visit an AWS trash trap along the river to investigate sources of pollution and test the river’s water quality, go fishing with an AWS partner, participate in AWS’ annual Earth Day cleanup, go canoeing on the Anacostia River, and more!
| DATE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| 3/29 |
Get to know the other SEA students and staff, help form SEA expectations, and learn about our theme at this spring kick-off session! We will join City Blossoms, a longtime partner of SEA, for a community garden workday. These events help protect and create greenspace in our watershed—an essential component for a healthy watershed and river. |
|
4/5 |
Meet AWS staff on our Restoration team to help with a long-time and successful restoration program-- planting native wild rice. We will head to a special spot in the Anacostia watershed, along the river, to plant native wild rice via “mud balls” to continue these efforts! |
|
4/12 |
Join AWS’s Water Quality Specialist to learn about his job assessing the health of the Anacostia River. One of his key responsibilities is completing the annual State of the River Report Card, which AWS launched in 2012 to communicate to the public the status of key water quality indicators for the river. We will also visit an AWS trash traps to investigate what pollutants it has captured from the Anacostia River, and we may use some basic water quality testing materials to use in our own community science project! |
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4/19 |
NO SEA - Spring Break |
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4/26 |
Participate in AWS’s largest annual volunteer event, the Anacostia River Earth Day Cleanup! We will work at one of dozens of cleanup locations throughout the watershed to remove trash from the along the Anacostia River. You and your family/friends are encouraged to go to Anacostia Park after dismissal from SEA to join the Earth Day celebration, where there will be free food, skating, and boat tours! |
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5/3 |
Meet staff from AWS’s partner, DC Department of Energy and Environment, to learn how to fish on the Anacostia River! We will do a casting game to learn the fishing basics, check out some materials DOEE staff bring, and then everyone will have their own pole for the day to try catch & release fishing! AWS has worked hard over the last 35 years to help make the Anacostia River much closer to fishable and swimmable than it was decades ago! |
|
5/10 |
Canoe the Anacostia River with AWS! A key component of AWS’s work over the last 35 years has been to engage the watershed community in learning about and enjoying the river. Some ways we do this are through recreational activities like pontoon boat tours and canoeing. Our canoe ride will be a fantastic way to culminate our academic year theme and head into the summer! |
