Friends of the Occoquan is a non-profit organization of local citizens who preserve and maintain the natural integrity of the
Occoquan River and other Virginia watersheds by promoting community awareness through public and private partnerships.
Vision of the Friends
To energize individuals, community and business groups to take on the challenge of keeping
Northern Virginia’s Reservoirs clean, by controlling excessive sedimentation and pollution. This message will be brought to schools, civic groups and community organizations, as well as local and federal government agencies.
Goals
Coordinate watershed management efforts and programs.
Open communications and develop cooperation among intergovernmental jurisdictions regarding the watersheds.
Provide decision makers, policy makers, and citizens with accurate information.
Develop public and private partnerships focused on maintaining the natural integrity of drinking water sources.
Engage the community, including the Spanish speaking population, to become stakeholders of our rivers and streams.
SIGNS
Continuing with our watershed protection and conservation program FOTO has installed two International/Bilingual signs along the Potomac River at the Chain Bridge. There has been an accumulation of trash in this particular area, caused by people fishing in the river and neglecting to dispose properly of their refuse. This project is coordinated with the George Washington Memorial Parkway/ National Park Service, Washington, D.C., FCWA, Congressman Moran and FOTO. Two more signs will be installed, as soon as final location is approved by GWMP/NPS.
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Occoquan River Spring Cleanup: Saturday, April 18, 2009, 9:00AM to 12:00PM. There were 240 volunteers and 2 tons of refuse removed from the watershed. For details click here
Great Volunteer Turnout at FOTO’s Fall ‘08 Rain Date Clean-Up Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday's gorgeous autumn weather helped make the clean-up of our beautiful Occoquan Rivera huge success. The actual clean-up date scheduled for October 15th, 2008 was changed due to Saturday’s heavy rain and thunderstorms.
188 devoted volunteers--parents with their children, Rotary Club, Optimist Club and Lake Braddock Crew Booster members; Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts; Students from Freedom, Garfield, Lake Braddock, Osborn Park, South County High, Woodbridge Senior High School and its JROTC team and their leaders; L. Benton, Lake Ridge, and Marsteller Middle Schools; Lake Ridge Elementary School joined by combing the river shores for litter and hauling debris out of the water. We thank all of the environmentally-friendly volunteers who came to help make our drinking water source cleaner and keep the Occoquan a pristine waterway.
A big thank you also goes to our sponsors, The Fairfax County Water Authority, and others who contribute to FOTO’s efforts.
Not the least, we couldn’t conduct the cleanup events without the cooperation of the Fairfax County and Prince William County and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authorities and staff, the Town of Occoquan and staff, and the Prince William County Soils and Conservation District and Public Works for proper disposal of the 178 bags of litter and other larger item debris.
Another thank you goes to the local newspapers, such as the Old Bridge Observer, www.theoldbridgeobserver.com, and the Potomac News, potomacnews.com, among others who always come out rain or shine to cover our events.
Fountain Head—Coordinator, Danielle Wynn 58 Volunteers South County High School students and teacher Deborah Buffington, Boat captain Bob Lerch and others
6 tires 2 crates 3 buckets 1 large plastic floating dock 1 framed window 1 large oil barrel, oil/lube bottles 4 Styrofoam pieces 1 kid’s 4-wheeler 1 propane tank 63 filled (20 lb) bags of trash
Bull Run Marina—Coordinator, John Rothrock 27 Volunteers Marsteller Middle School students, Lake Braddock Crew Boosters and leader Jug Jagodnik Rotary Club members, Several families Boat captains Duane DeBruyne and John Rothrock
4 lawn chairs 1 large picnic table with benches 3 trash cans 2 drainage pipes 4 car tires 1 truck tire 3 large Styrofoam pieces 4 paint cans 5 wooden boards 40 filled (20 lb) bags of trash
Lake RidgeMarina—Coordinator, Renate Vanegas 74 Volunteers Junior Girl Scout Troop 982 and leaders Casandra Zamora, Julene Pruitt; Boy Scout Troop 1369 and leaders Rich Sackett, Larry Brengelman, Marc Engelking, Gene Hauck, Tim Wallace and Tim Vecher; L. Benton Middle School, JRTOC Woodbridge High School and leader SFC F. Elliott; Lake Ridge Middle School and Lake Ridge Elementary School students, Osborn Park High School (Green Club) students; Optimist Club member Five Families
1 large iron cast propane tank2 car batteries 2 metal poles 1 car part 3 car tires Several shoes 48 filled (20 lb) bags of trash
Occoquan Regional Park—Coordinator, Alex Vanegas 15 Volunteers L. Benton Middle School, Freedom High School, Garfield High School, Lake Braddock High School and Woodbridge Middle School students
12 filled (20 lb) bags of trash
Town ofOccoquan—Coordinator, Betty Vanegas 14 Volunteers L. Benton Middle School, Osborn Park High School, Woodbridge High School JROTC students & leader SGM J. Neely Optimist Club member
15 filled (20 lb) bags of trash Litter included personal hygiene items e.g., syringes and diapers Cigarettes lighters, tips, wrappers; Plastic/paper bags, beverage bottles, glass bottles, beer/soda cans, caps, lids, forks, knives, spoons, plates, food wrappers and containers, shotgun shells, 6 pack holders; Fishing lines, strapping bands, bait containers, fishing lures/light sticks and light bulbs, children toys
178 filled bags @ an estimate of 20lbs per bag = 1.78 tons of litter, not including the larger items, e.g., tires, propane tanks, floating boards, docks, tables, car parts, batteries, etc. Hence, estimated trash collected = approximately 2+tons
Twenty two environmental-friendly volunteers turned out Saturday morning together with Occoquan’s Mayor Earnie Porta and his wife Barbara to pick up litter from the streets and along the banks of the Occoquan River.Prince William County supervisor Michael May came with his little son and so did Gerry Connolly, Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
Claudia Cruise, Occoquan’s Town Clerk helped organize the event together with FOTO’s German and Renate Vanegas who provided refreshments, gloves and trash bags for the hard working volunteers.
Young Sofia Simonian together with her mother Inna Miroshnjkova was so proud of having collected a full bag of trash that she didn’t want to let go of the bag. Among the other volunteers were Barry Dean, Lin & Cletus Schultz, Ernie Ehlinger, Susan Lee-Merrow, Craig Swinford, Betty Dean, DI & JP Cunha, Mark & Lee Hoyland, Ruthann Blum and Judith R. Harris. Together they filled 25 bags of litter.
After the cleanup, a town cookout for the participants followed by a public ceremony dedicating the town pier to Occoquan’s late former treasurer Win Frank.
Renate and German Vanegas were chosen among the three honorees as Grand Marshals forthe 12th Santa's Old Bridge Parade in Lake Ridge, VA., together with Col. Franklyn Matthews, Director of the Woodbridge High School JUNIOR ROTC program, for their contribution to the environment and for making life better in the community. Members of the Aquia Corvette Club graciously volunteered to chauffeur the Grand Marshals.
Renate Vanegas and Col. Matthews
German Vanegas and Col. Matthews
Lee, a member of Aquia Corvette Club
Woodbridge HS JUNIOR ROTC
Woodbridge HS JUNIOR ROTC
Garfield HS
Garfield HS
Mini Corvettes
Mini Corvettes
Reviewing Stand
Reviewing Stand
Public Library members
Public Library members
Freedom HS Air Force JUNIOR ROTC
Michelle McQuig, Virginia State Delegate
Mike May, PW County Occoquan Supervisor
Manassas, September 13, 2007
The Optimist Club International of Manassas presented FOTO with a Certificate of appreciation for their environmental efforts. Sam Shankar, President of the club and Lucy Beauchamp, Chairman of Prince William County School Board presented the award to Renate and German Vanegas, FOTO directors.
German, Renate, Lucy and Sam
International Signs Installed
On July 16, 2007 we completed the installation of seven signs: 2 at Bull Run Marina, 2 at Fountainhead Marina and 3 at Sandy Run Marina. On December 27, 2006, in coordination with Brian Hennesy, Park manager, we installed six bilingual signs at the Occoquan Regional Park.Following are some pictures of these signs.
FOTO receives funding from EPA as part of The Small Watershed Grants Program PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA: On Thursday, August 24, 2006 the Friends of the Occoquan (FOTO) was honored by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Chesapeake Bay Program as one of sixty-eight community-based organizations to receive funds from the Small Watershed Grants Program.
At the Announcement Ceremony in Annapolis, Maryland; special guest speakers, U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin and Sen. Paul Sarbanes recognized grant recipients for their efforts in restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Over $2.6 million in Small Watershed Grants were awarded from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in an effort to promote community involvement to develop and implement watershed management plans.This is the third consecutive year that FOTO has received funding from the EPA. This year’s grant will be used to administer FOTO’s Community Watershed Outreach Program which focuses on engaging our diverse community in watershed awareness and stewardship. This program is a multi phased project that includes bilingual public service announcements (PSA), videos, watershed signs and literature designed to educate the public on issues facing their community’s respective watershed. Betty Vanegas, Public Affairs Coordinator
The Award Ceremony was held at the Adams Academy in Annapolis, MD. Main speakers included: The Honorable Senator Paul S. Sarbanes; The Honorable Benjamin L. Cardin; Rebecca Hanmer, Director, Chesapeake Bay Program Office; John Catena, Northeast Regional Supervisor, NOAA Restoration Center and Thomas Kelsch, Director of Conservation Programs, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Following are some pictures of this event.
Senator Paul S. Sarbanes, Rebecca Hanmer, Thomas Kelsch
Senator Sarbanes and Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin
Award Recipients
Congressman Benjamin L. Cardin
Senator Sarbanes, Alex, Cito , German and Renate Vanegas
Attendees
Cito, Renate and Alex Vanegas
German A. Vanegas
Renate and Alex Vanegas
FOTO News, October, 2006
Laura Grape has moved to the Northern Virginia Regional Commission as a Senior Environmental Planner and the Editor of NVironment, a publication of NVRC. Laura is a supporter of FOTO and actively participated in several of our programs such as the cleanup for Fountainhead and design of the International/Bilingual Signs. Laura can be reached at lgrape@novaregion.org.
Clair Blanchard completed the Occoquan Water Trails, a 40-mile water trail paddling adventure beginning at Bull Run Regional Park and continuing to the Rte 28 Bridge in Centreville; Bull Run Marina; Fountainhead Regional Park; Lake Ridge Marina; Occoquan Regional Park; Mason neck State Park and ending at Pohick Bay Regional Park. This Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority project is part of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network. On October 4, 2006 German A. Vanegas, as a FOTO project partner, attended the last meeting of the project partners conducted by Claire. For more information contact CLAIRE BLANCHARD CBLANCHA@nvrpa.org.
Members of Chesapeake Bay Program Office visit FOTO
On September 15, 2006 three members of the Chesapeake Bay Program Office visited FOTO. We reviewed some of our ongoing programs and showed them the Town of Occoquan, Lake Ridge Marina, Bull Run and Fountainhead. Alicia in charge of the newsletter, wrote an article about FOTO in the Chesapeake Bay newsletter: "In tiny Occoquan, VA........." To read this article click here.
Below are some pictures of this visit.
One of the bilingual signs
Hanna Bracken, Brent McCloskey and Alicia Pimental
Wetland Model Presentation
On Saturday, November 4, 2006, FOTO met Cub Scouts #1344, at the Occoquan Regional Park. Renate G. Vanegas discussed the importance of wetlands and demonstrated the wetland model. This model is the one that FOTO is promoting and soonwill be given to teachers and other watershed organizations. Afterwards cub scouts and their parents cleaned up the river around Shelter 4.
Following are some pictures of this event.
Presentation by Renate Vanegas
Presentation by Renate Vanegas
Presentation by Renate Vanegas
Cub Scouts in action
Cub Scouts in action
Results after hard work
Robert Flowe, Cub Scout leader
Cub Scouts in action
Reviewing cleanup efforts
Reviewing cleanup efforts
Robert Flowe, Cub Scout leader; John Gavin
Town of Occoquan
Town of Occoquan
Town of Occoquan
Town of Occoquan
Education and Coordination
FOTO is working with community groups, schools, state and local governments to promote Northern Virginia's watershed preservation. FOTO continues to expand contacts with other groups to enlarge watershed stakeholders. Installation of international signs along the watershed is one of our projects.
FOTO is proceeding to engage the Spanish speaking community of Northern Virginia to become stakeholders of our watersheds and become active in maintaining clean and safe our rivers. In addition to the bilingual signs described below, we will be installing other bilingual signs in Fairfax and PrinceWilliamCounties. Also we are preparing videos, literature and some TV programs.
Friends of the Occoquan P.O. Box 1452 Woodbridge, VA 22195-1452 Tel. (703)624-7124
