Everyone is welcome to attend all board and committee meetings!
Next REACT Board Meeting: Tuesday, May 29, Lake Anne, Room B
Volunteeria and Earth Day Mini Survey
REACT was represented at the Reston Community Center Volunteeria and the Reston Association Earth Day Festival. While sharing information about REACT, we surveyed Reston residents on the issues we are working on. Clearly, there is nothing scientific about the survey – there are only 18 responses and most of them are from folks who chose to attend an Earth Day Festival. Nonetheless, we find some of the results particularly revealing:
§ When asked about the possible environmental and health effects of lawn pesticides possibly used in their neighborhoods, nearly all respondents (14 of 18) said they were “very” concerned. Three were “somewhat” concerned and only 1 was not concerned.
§ Only 5 of the 18 respondents said they already take the bus/Metro/bike/walk as much as they can.
§ Others would be more likely to use the bus, Metro, carpool, bike or walk if:
o They were more familiar with how to ride the bus (3 respondents)
o They were more familiar with the bus routes (7 respondents)
o They had a guaranteed ride home if needed during the workday (5 respondents)
o The busses were more frequent (1 respondent)
§ Five respondents would walk if they were more familiar with the path system.
We see these results as confirmation that our Yard and Garden committee should find receptive audiences ready to reduce synthetic pesticide use, and the Drive Less, Breathe Better committee can bring about behavior change by sharing specific information on how to reduce single occupancy vehicle trips.
“An Inconvenient Truth” showing
The Reston Association will present a free showing of “An Inconvenient Truth” on Friday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the RA main conference room. Following the movie, there will be a short panel discussion with representatives from environmental groups, including REACT, on actions we can take to address global warming. And, there will be popcorn!
PROJECTS
Residents from three neighborhoods, Colonial Green Cluster, Sycamore Apartments and Indian Ridge have expressed interested in implementing the project.
Wheelwright Cluster is planning to start the project soon.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Reducing Workplace Waste
Committee members are continuing to seek workplaces interested in lessening their negative impact on the environment.
Hazardous Waste Disposal Next meeting: Wednesday, May 23, 6:00 pm, 2011 Approach Lane.
Committee members are continuing to document specific types of waste that need to be included as household hazardous waste, seeking advice from the county on neighborhood collections, and researching companies that provide household hazardous waste hauling services.
Environmental Yard and Garden Care Tuesday, June 5 1684 Moorings Drive
The committee has assembled draft handouts with information on reducing of synthetic pesticide and fertilizer use, increasing the use of native plants and the removal of exotic plants, creating healthy soil with compost, and helping the watershed with rain barrels.
Drive Less, Breathe Better Next Meeting: Monday, May 21, 7:30 pm, RCC Lake Anne.
Committee members are continuing to investigate Walk/Bike/Bus to School Days in Reston, and to develop a neighborhood project to encourage less single occupancy car trips.
Check www.restonenvironmentalaction.org for committee updates, meeting dates, and other REACT news. If you would like to participate in Reston Recycles! or want to join a committee, contact Mary Brown at info@restonenvironmentalaction.org or 703-620-0151.
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