Audubon at Home in Northern Virginia encourages everyone from the large property owner or manager to the person with a balcony to invite our local wildlife to share our outdoor spaces. If you are thinking about creating a meadow patch, a water feature—big or small—a shade garden, or any other type of wildlife friendly landscaping you can visit locations throughout Northern Virginia that can provide inspiration and guidance as you plan and plant your space.

If you are excited about restoring, managing or creating a native habitat, such as a meadow,woodland or stream then there’s no better way to get started than exploring the real thing in the field. Walking through a local clean stream, flowering meadow or fern-filled forest gives you an image and template to work from, enabling you to correctly re-create that habitat on the properties you interact with

The following are sites that implemented Audubon at Home and eco-friendly landscaping principles.  To visit and find out more, contact the appropriate organizations and ask specifically for someone who can talk or meet with you about native meadows, native woodlands, native plants or watershed management issues.

Often the eco-friendly and/or native plant aspects of these sites are tucked away somewhere and only a few of the staff are knowledgeable about them. Find the right person and they’re more than happy to answer all your questions and even meet with you on site for a personal tour.

Download a PDF of ASNV demo sites here.  This list of demonstration sites includes our Audubon at Home in Northern Virginia project sites as well as other locations that provide habitat for birds, pollinators, reptiles, amphibians and mammals.

NATIVE MEADOW RESTORATION & MANAGEMENT:

1. Reston Association, www.reston.org
2. River Farm, www.ahs.org/river_farm/index.htm
3. Meadowlark Gardens, www.nvrpa.org/meadowlark.html
4. Manassas Battlefield Park, www.nps.gov/mana/naturescience/index.htm
5. Bles Park, www.loudoun.gov/prcs/parks/other.htm
6. Webb Sancturay, www.audubonnaturalist.org/cgi-bin/mesh/sanctuaries/webb_va
7. Rust Sanctuary, www.audubonnaturalist.org/cgi-bin/mesh/sanctuaries/rust_va
8. Riverbend Park, www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend/
9. Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=51611
10. Charles Smith-FCPA & Prince William Wildflower Society,
11. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
12. Rod Simmons–Maryland Native Plant Society, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

NATIVE WOODLAND RESTORATION/MANAGEMENT & SHADE GARDENING:

1. Reston Association, www.reston.org
2. Blandy Experimental Farm,http://minerva.acc.virginia.edu/blandy/RESEARCH/Research_Home.php
3. Scott’s Run Nature Preserve,www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dranesville/Parks.htm#scotts_run (ask Riverbend Pk. folks about Scott’s Run, they manage it)
4. Riverbend Park, www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend/
5. Loudoun Valley High School, www.loudoun.k12.va.us/lvhs/site/default.asp
6. Meadowlark Gardens, www.nvrpa.org/meadowlark.html
7. Charles Smith-FCPA & Prince William Wildflower Society, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
8. Rod Simmons – Maryland Native Plant Society, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

NATIVE PLANT GARDENING, LANDSCAPING & DESIGN:

1. Meadowlark Gardens, www.nvrpa.org/meadowlark.html
2. Greenspring Gardens, www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/gsgp/
3. National Arboretum, www.usna.usda.gov/
4. Blandy Farm,http://minerva.acc.virginia.edu/blandy/RESEARCH/Research_Home.php
5. River Farm, www.ahs.org/river_farm/index.htm
6. Reston Association, www.reston.org
7. National Wildlife Federation, Reston Headquarters, www.nwf.org/news/contacts.cfm
8. Wetland Solutions Headquarters, www.wetlandstudies.com/
9. Loudoun Valley High School, www.loudoun.k12.va.us/lvhs/site/default.asp
10. Freedom High School, http://freedom.groupfusion.net/
11. Hollin Meadows Elementary, www.fcps.edu/HollinMeadowsES/
12. Chesterbrook Elementary, www.fcps.edu/ChesterbrookES/
13. Daniels Run Elementary, www.fcps.edu/DanielsRunES/
14. Tuckahoe Elementary, www.arlington.k12.va.us/schools/tuckahoe/
15. Haycock Elementary, www.fcps.edu/HaycockES/
16. Charles Smith-FCPA & Prince William Wildflower Society, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
17. Rod Simmons – Maryland Native Plant Society, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

RAIN GARDENS:

1. Yorktown Square Condominiums - Falls Church, VA
   Contact: Jeanette Stewart, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
   Established in 2004. Located in a condominium community, receives runoff from rooftop and nearby parking lot.
   
   
2. Meadowlark Botanical Gardens - Vienna, VA
   Contacts: Laura Grape (NVRC) or Asad Rouhi This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (NVSWCD).
   Established in September 2006. Receives runoff from lawn and roadway.
   
   
3. Providence District Government Center - Fairfax, VA
   Contact: Ron Tuttle This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Fairfax County DPWES)
   Established in Spring 2005. Receives runoff from rooftops and parking areas. Also has an example of permeable pavers and a green roof.
   
   
4. Lake Accotink Visitor's Center - Annandale, VA
   Contact: Jim McGlone This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (now with the Virginia Dept of Forestry)
   Established in 2002. Receives runoff from Visitor's Center rooftop.
   
   
5. Cub Run Rec Center, Centreville, VA & Mount Vernon ReCenter, Alexandria, VA
   Contacts: Ron Tuttle This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Fairfax County DPWES) or Christin Jolicouer This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (NVSWCD)
   To be completed Fall 2006. Both will receive runoff from the parking lots and possibly grassy/lawn areas.

BIOLOGS:

1. Snakeden Branch Stream Restoration - Reston, VA
   Contact: Nicki Formeski This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Reston Association) -
   Established in 2004. Biologs placed along the toe of the streambank to prevent undercutting and further erosion.
   
   
2. Lake Audubon, Lake Thoreu, Bulter Pond – Reston, VA
   Contact: Nicki Formeski, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Reston Association) or Claudia Thompson Deahl, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Reston Association). Established at various times from 1995 through 2006.
   
   
3. Daniel’s Run Elementary School - Fairfax, VA
   Contact: Jeanette Stewart, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
   Established in 2004. Used a different technique (Filtrexx) to pump organic materials into sort of socks (like coconut fiber sausages!). They may be planted and have similar erosion prevention roles as biologs...However, they didn’t need large machinery to bring them in, thereby limiting disturbance in the riparian area.

STREAM RESORATION:

1. Donaldson Run Stream Restoration - Arlington, VA
   Contact: Jason Papacosma, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Arlington County DES)
   Established in 2006. Easy access, with trail along majority of restored portion.
   Heavy use of cobble along streambed with good examples of large rock weirs that serve an additional purpose as stepping stones! Great comparison of non-restored tributary. Also has some good lessons-learned. The before and after pictures arevery striking.
   
   
2. Daniel's Run Elementary School - Fairfax, VA
   Contact: Jeanette Stewart, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
   
3. Accotink Creek - City of Fairfax, VA
   Contact: Adrian Fremont This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (City of Fairfax)
   Established in 2003. Long stretch of Accotink Creek. Fairly easy to access at certain points - definitely contact Adrian for more information. CoF is planning on restoring a long section of Accotink Creek near Fairfax Circle.
   
   They are collaborating with the USGS to collect water quality data throughout the process.You may also want to contact Aileen Winquist ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) for examples in Arlington County - a couple examples were placed in residential areas.

Deb Oliver ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) from Prince William County may also be aware of

rain gardens placed in that jurisdiction. For Loudoun County, you may want

to try touching base with David Ward ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). If he's not the right

person to talk to, he can definitely point you in the right direction.

A big THANK YOU to Laura Grape, Senior Environmental Planner with Northern Virginia

Regional Commission for all the above detailed information on rain garden, biolog and stream restoration sites. An excellent resource for rain gardens and many other eco-landscaping issues, you can contact Laura at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .