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.
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.
FALL 2011 OCCOQUAN RIVER CLEANUP
Saturday, October 15, 2011 was a beautiful day. No worries about rain or other storms that we have endured during the past cleanups. This was our 24th cleanup and there were many new volunteers: Glenn Richman and his pontoon boat, ferrying volunteers around the Lake Ridge Marina; Beatrice Laureano, SEA Chair, Students for Environmental Awareness NOVA-Manassas Campus; Chip Dibling-Moore, APES & Biology Teacher, West Potomac High School, Alexandria; Chris of Carefreeboats, provided a boat at the Town of Occoquan. Some of our regular volunteers could not make it for reasons beyond their control. Debborah, South County HS was out of town; Bob, our Fountainhead coordinator, and family were out of the country, and last we heard were traveling from Monaco to Greece; Woodbridge Junior ROTC, were drilling for their Homecoming celebration and Scout Troop 1369 were on a rock climbing mission. We hope that all of our volunteers will be back for the 2012 spring cleanup on Saturday, April 14, 2012. There were 140 volunteers who collected 70 bags, radios, Styrofoam, tires, cans and miscellaneous items.
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WATER CONSERVATION
Continuing with our educational programs we conducted a water and watershed conservation presentation to a group of youngsters at the Lake Ridge Marina, Woodbridge, VA., June, 2011. Helga Perrin presented material covering: water conservation, wetlands, Occoquan reservoir, aquifers, etc. Assisting with this presentation was Arianna Mcquillen, who just finished Lake Braddock HS and is on her way to attend MIT. See below this page to read more about Arianne.
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Spring 2011 Cleanup
On Saturday, April 9, 2011, the Friends of the Occoquan conducted their 23rd Cleanup of the Occoquan Watershed at four-park locations and the Town of Occoquan. The four park sites for the cleanup were the Lake Ridge Marina, Fountain Head Regional Park, Occoquan Regional Park and the Bull Run Marina. Despite inclement weather, attendance sheets placed the total count of volunteers to 158 people. These individuals combed the banks of the Occoquan River picking up various articles of trash and recyclables. Some volunteers used pontoons, jon boats and kayaks while others walked along the river and reservoir to participate. Collectively, 220 large bags of trash, 18 bags of recyclables, 17 tires, oil barrels, 4 recycling bins, several paint buckets, 6 pieces of scrap iron, plastic lawn furniture and various other items were pulled from the river and properly disposed.Removing this debris is very vital to the eco-system and important to the population of Northern Virginia since the Occoquan Reservoir is a major source of our drinking water. Several public and private organizations participated in this successful event.Special thanks go out all the volunteers as well as Virginia American Water, Lake Braddock High School and Crew Boosters, South County Secondary School, Osborne Park High School, Woodbridge High School and JROTC, George Mason University and their Environmental & Kayak Classes, Boy & Girl Scouts, Prince William Soil & Water Conservation District, Prince William Park Authority, Northern Virginia Community College, Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, Virginia Paving Company, the USGC Auxiliary and the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America. Also, FOTO would like to thank local community leaders. Other partners in this event included the Occoquan Water Trail League, the Town of Occoquan, the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Fairfax County Water Authority, the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Advisory Committee (Virginia Save the Chesapeake Bay License Plates) and Longwood University’s Coastal Cleanup Program.
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To read the "FAMILY PREPAREDNESS" message click here
FOTO receives Conservationist of the Year Award February 26, 2011
Press Release
PRINCEWILLIAMCOUNTY, On Friday, February 25, 2011, the Friends of the Occoquan (FOTO) received the Conservationist of the Year Award at the 33rd Annual Prince William Ducks Unlimited Annual Banquet and Auction. The Prince William Soil & Water Conservation District (PWSWCD) nominated FOTO for the 2010 Ducks Unlimited Conservationist of the Year Award.Kate Norris of the PWSWCD stated that “FOTO has truly been a leader in the community, helping the environment through meaningful projects, valuable partnerships, and volunteer mobilization.”Alex Vanegas, Executive Director of FOTO, received the award on behalf of the organization. The award was presented by Ben Thompson, Vice Chairman of the PWSWCD, and Chip Rohr of the Ducks Unlimited.
The Friends of the Occoquan is a non-profit organization that was formed in October1999. The organization consists of local citizens whose mission is to preserve and maintain the natural integrity of the OccoquanRiver and other Virginia watersheds by promoting community awareness through public and private partnerships.
FOTO has consistently energized individuals, community and business groups to take on the challenge of keeping Northern Virginia’s Reservoirs clean, by educating and coordinating events to remove as well as control man made pollution. Throughout the past decade, this message was conveyed to schools, civic groups and community organizations, as well as local and federal government agencies. Over the past ten years, FOTO has consistently worked to coordinate watershed management efforts and programs including the Semi-Annual Fall and Spring Cleanups, Watershed Education Activities at Prince William County Public Schools, participating in Regional Watershed Taskforces, and the development of Public Service Announcements.These efforts are very significant since the Occoquan Reservoir is a major source of our drinking water here in Northern Virginia.
As part of FOTO’s outreach efforts, the organization has successfully engaged the public through various programs. One successful program is to connect with the Spanish speaking community of Northern Virginia to become stakeholders of our watersheds and become active in maintaining clean and safe our rivers. As part of this effort, FOTO has installed bilingual signs videos, literature and some TV programs.
Altogether, the Friends of the Occoquan have played a major role in preserving one of the region’s most important natural resources, the Occoquan Watershed.FOTO’s perseverance and dedication to environmental has been sustained through the efforts of its volunteers and members as well as the strong bond it has developed with local groups and organizations that share the same passion.
So it is with Friends of the Occoquan. Thanks to Volunteers we have been able to accomplish our goals: “conserve our watersheds.” Some volunteers keep coming back year after year: the father/mother volunteering after their children graduated from high school, the student or scout who started volunteering during high school and now after graduating from college.To all those who faithfully return year after year we extend many THANKS!
Arianna McQuillen a volunteer wrote the following letter.
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