Local events from our community calendar and beyond:
Be informed. Northwest Neighbors Village, headquartered at Forest Hills Senior Living, hosts a speaker series that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home. Upcoming talks include Native American symbols as sports mascots (November 2nd), DC’s racial wealth gap (November 7th), and the Israel-Hamas war (November 9th). Learn more about the speaker series and view recordings of past talks here.
Help plant Connecticut Avenue’s fall garden. Volunteers of all ages and abilities are welcome to join Master Gardener Kathy Sykes and Van Ness Main Street in planting fall blooms and spring bulbs in the Connecticut Avenue pollinator gardens. The plantings are taking place most Saturdays and Sundays this month, from 2 to 4 p.m. Find the dates and tentative locations here. And email Kathy (SykesKathy@yahoo.com) with “Pollinator Planting” in the subject line, the dates you are available, and your cell phone number so she can alert you to any weather-related cancellations.
Our local Master Gardener will tell you about how native plants feed and sustain native wildlife. Pulling up non-native invasive plants is another important part of the equation. Which brings us to:
Weeding and replanting the Rock Creek Park “mini-oases.” Rock Creek Conservancy established six of these demonstration areas four years ago, and in that time, “has achieved something remarkable”: less than five percent of the oasis surface area is covered by invasive plants. That achievement is possible and is being sustained through the work of the conservancy, certified Weed Warriors, and volunteers who work under their guidance. And the Rock Creek Conservancy calendar has invasive removal and native planting events at nearby oases and other locations throughout the month.
Shop small and local for the holidays. You’ve heard of Small Business Saturday? We have a walking tour/guide for that. Tenley WinterFest also kicks off the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Hillwood Museum is participating in Museum Shop Sunday, with specials throughout the long holiday weekend.
And, save the date for the Van Ness Main Street holiday pop-up market on Saturday, December 2nd.
Forest Hills Connection is an editorially independent program of Van Ness Main Street.