On Sunday, May 16, BPAC organized a bike ride and walk to visit community gardens, butterfly gardens, learning gardens, and other public gardens in and around Alexandria.
For the ride, we gathered in Ben Brenman Park on Sunday morning and then did a 15-mile loop around the city, stopping at ten different gardens or parks along the way. Highlights included learning about Ben Brenman Pond and its role in treating stormwater runoff so that pollutants don’t get into our local waterways; trying to identify the vegetables that volunteers at Fairlington United Methodist Church are growing for the Alexandria Food Assistance Center; stopping by the Teaching Garden at the Fairlington Community Center, with its many neatly labeled trees and herbs; talking about the different vegetables and flowers grown at Chinquapin Community Gardens; and enjoying the shady trellised area of King Street Gardens Park.
For the walk, we started at Simpson Gardens on Sunday afternoon and then did a 3-mile loop around Del Ray. We had to shorten the walk when the rain moved in sooner than predicted. Nonetheless, we had an enjoyable time admiring the different themed gardens within the Simpson Gardens, talking about the volunteers who were the driving force behind the butterfly garden at Duncan Branch Library, learning about the plans for the Nancy Dunning Memorial Garden and nearby spray park; and seeing kids’ chalk drawings at the Mt. Jefferson Traffic Garden.
Some photos from the ride and walk are below. Photo credits: Casey Kane and Josephine Liu.
If you’d like to do a self-guided version of the ride or walk, a guide for the ride is available here and a guide for the walk is available here.
A round of applause and a bouquet for all of the volunteers who helped make the event happen!
Alexandria Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee 