Sustainable Environment

Melvin Hazen Trail

COMPOSTING

LANDSCAPING

Homeowners can do a lot to improve our sustainable environment while enhancing their homes. Planting native plants and trees, landscaping to absorb water runoff, and avoiding use of gas-powered garden equipment.

  • Use electric garden equipment. DC law prohibits gas-powered leaf blowers as of January 1, 2022. High quality electric lawnmowers, leaf blowers and weed-wackers are available with interchangeable batteries. They are powerful, relatively quiet, and affordable. Require your landscape maintenance crew to upgrade their equipment and to collect debris with rakes and brooms. Removing every fallen leaf doesn’t have to happen every week; your crew can remove Fall leaves twice a month instead.
  • Take advantage of DC’s RiverSmart programs and incentives to install green landscape infrastructure. See https://doee.dc.gov/riversmart
  • DC’s extensive tree canopy that reduces CO2 and cools our city needs constant support. Maintain trees on you property, water street trees during droughts, and plant more trees if you have the space. Casey Trees will offset your planting cost – see https://caseytrees.org/resources/tree-rebate/

GUIDE TO GOING GREEN AT HOME

A money saving guide to going green at home –
https://couponfollow.com/research/home-green-guide

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

Our global environment is infected by unnecessary waste. Plastic waste occupies thousands of acres of global seas. We can reduce our contribution to this impact by avoiding purchase of plastic containers, reusing as much as possible, and recycling.

CONNECT WITH CP PARKS & ENVIRO GROUPS

Rock Creek Conservancy offers frequent opportunities to learn about Rock Creek Park, enjoy it, and work to enhance it. See https://www.rockcreekconservancy.org

Tregaron Conservancy maintains historic woodland landscape. https://www.tregaronconservancy.org.

CONNECT WITH CPCA’S SUSTAINABILITY FAIR GROUPS

On April 13, 2019, CPCA hosted a Sustainability Fair at the Cleveland Park Library. Tables staffed by DC government agencies and non-profits introduced neighbors to an array of opportunities to affect our environment. Here is the list of participating organizations and their websites:

DC Department of Energy and the Environment https://doee.dc.gov
DC Department of Public Works https://dpw.dc.gov/service/recycling-collection
DC Riversmart Program https://doee.dc.gov/riversmart
UDC College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) https://www.udc.edu/causes/causes/about-causes/
DC State Fair https://dcstatefair.org
Nuts for Natives https://nutsfornatives.com
Love and Carrots https://www.loveandcarrots.com/
Beyond Pesticides https://www.beyondpesticides.org
Cleveland Park Farmers Market https://cpbiz.org/event/cleveland-park-farmers-market-3/
Compost Crew http://compostcrew.com/
Texiles https://www.texiles.com
DC Sustainable Fashion Collective http://dcsustainablefashioncollective.com/
Surfriders Foundation https://dc.surfrider.org/
Solar United Neighbors of DC https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/dc/
Citizens Climate Lobby https://citizensclimatelobby.org/chapters/DC_Washington/