Rock Creek Conservancy

Restoration:The Conservancy is the voice of Rock Creek, speaking on numerous stormwater, combined sewer, litter, and other pollution issues throughout the year. The Conservancy engaged thousands of volunteers to remove litter, sample water quality, and restore forests throughout the year to restore Rock Creek and its parklands. RCC expanded its partnerships to inspect and maintain green infrastructure with DC to include Montgomery County. Building on its launch in 2022, the Carter Barron Alliance continued to educate the Rock Creek Community about the restoration efforts of the Carter Barron Amphitheater. The Conservancy led efforts this year to build fundraising capacity for this effort. The Conservancy also spent the year engaging subject matter experts to create the Forest Resilience Framework that will be used as a tool to expand restoration efforts in Rock Creek Park and beyond. The Conservancy concluded 7 years of Downspout Disconnection program in 2023.

Environmental Stewardship:The Conservancy continued people-powered restoration efforts across 33 acres of forest habitat, at five mini-oases in Rock Creek Park, a proof of concept for landscape-scale habitat restoration. Weekly volunteer events and training of volunteer leaders continued inside the outside of the park and RCC continued to provide summer work experience to students from schools in both DC and Montgomery County as part of the Rock Creek Conservation Corps (RC3). Events like the Extreme Cleanup and the Weed Wrangle, offered hundreds the opportunity to remove litter and invasive plants from the entirety of the watershed in DC and Montgomery County. Water quality and litter monitoring collaborations with volunteers and regional environmental organizations continued, and expanded to include salt monitoring. The Recreate Responsibly campaign continued to educate park visitors about ways to reduce their impact on park resources while enjoying outdoor recreation. A program series, Race, History, and Rock Creek, explores the intersection of those issues. The Conservancy continued its program, Summer in the Parks to introduce community members to the Conservancy and the National Park Service.