As summer progresses, the daylighted Broad Branch stream is maturing. The tadpoles I’ve been watching since they hatched are growing bigger. And wildflowers have burst out, giving the pollinators – bees, flies and butterflies – a delectable menu. Here are some of their entrees, which can all be found close to Linnean Avenue and Broad Branch Road:
The pond and lilies I found in June dried up during a heatwave that soon followed, but thanks to the torrential late July and early August rains, the pools have been restored, as have the lilies. Lily pads are in two ponds now.
Some of these wildflowers were planted by volunteers on April 1, 2017. Dani Churchill, an intern with the Rock Creek Conservancy, waters them with the aid of a high school student volunteer.
This work is supported by the DC Department of Environment and Energy grant awarded to Katrina Weinig, under the umbrella of Forest Hills Neighborhood Alliance, and administered by Rock Creek Conservancy. Churchill and her helper had been hooking a hose to a hydrant but had to discontinue because they did not have a permit. So instead, they’re using stream water to fill containers and lugging them to the planted beds.