WALKArlington: Donaldson Run

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Description: This 1.5 mile walkabout takes you through Donaldson Run, a residential neighborhood consisting mostly of detached homes. Although some homes date from the 1930s, the neighborhood was developed primarily during the period from the late 1940s through the 1950s. The heart of the neighborhood is a system of stream-valley parks along Donaldson Run, the stream that gives the neighborhood its name.

The character of the neighborhood is shaped to a large extent by the trees that shade the homes and yards. Many of these trees were planted more than fifty years ago, and residents treasure them for their environmental and esthetic benefits. The County encourages residents to keep the mature trees they already have, and to plant young trees to provide the tree canopy of the future.

Hello! My name is Larry Finch. I have been a resident of the Donaldson Run neighborhood since 1966. When my wife Ria and I moved into our present home, our three children could walk directly from their back yard onto the grounds of Taylor Elementary School - which happens to be the first stop on our tour! I am very fond of my neighborhood, and honored to be your guide today.

WALKABOUT STOPS

BEGIN: Taylor Elementary School

Built in 1954, Taylor has been renovated and expanded over the years. Beyond the playground is a wooded area adjoining Zachary Taylor Park, providing an ideal outdoor laboratory where science teachers can help students study local flora and fauna. A unique feature of Taylor School is its use of geothermal energy: Hidden under the playground is a field of deep geothermal wells used to keep the school warm in winter and cool in summer.

2. Marcey Park

Marcey Park is a small public park adjoining Potomac Overlook Regional Park; facilities there include an outdoor basketball court and some very popular tennis courts. Across Marcey Road is the Donaldson Run Recreation Association (DRRA) swimming pool, with one of the most beautiful pool settings anywhere. When it opened in 1958, this was the first community pool in the County.

3. Beechwood Circle

Retrace your steps for one very long block, turn right on Beechwood Place, and you will find yourself by a unique feature of the neighborhood. Homes were built in the area as early as the 1930s, and many of the native beech trees can still be seen in and around the circle.

Indeed, the character of the area is shaped primarily by these trees. Although very park-like, the wooded area enclosed by Beechwood Circle is privately owned, and the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust is working with property owners to preserve the old beech trees there.

4. Zachary Taylor Park

One of Arlington's most beautiful stream-valley parks, Zachary Taylor Nature Area, consists of 18 wooded acres adjoining Taylor Elementary School. This is the largest of the stream-valley parks in the neighborhood. The stream flowing through the park is Donaldson Run, and this portion has been restored to deal with serious erosion problems. This is Arlington's first large-scale "natural" stream restoration project; the stream has been configured to resist erosion without lining the streambanks with rocks or concrete. The stream restoration project grew out of a Neighborhood Conservation project and reflects the deep concern of residents about the effects of stream erosion.

There are two routes through Zachary Taylor Park: a bike path along the left bank of the stream and a mulched nature trail along the right bank. The official walkabout takes a braided path along the stream bank but you can take whichever trail you prefer. Those following the nature trail should cross the stream at a ford near the fork in the streams to rejoin the bike path. As the bike path continues to follow the stream, the valley -- and the park -- become very narrow.

In fact, the park is only as wide as the right-of-way for a street that was never built. It appears wider because of the trees on private property adjoining the park. These trees make up an important element of the stream buffer, helping to reduce stream pollution and erosion. With these benefits in mind, the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust is working with property owners to foster the use of conservation easements to preserve wooded properties along Donaldson Run.

5. Reforestation Project

Across the stream, from the streambank to the top of a steep hill, there is a reforestation project sponsored by Friends of Donaldson Run Watershed. This site had been completely overrun with kudzu, an invasive vine that killed every tree on the site. In the fall of 2004, neighborhood volunteers, were joined by Cub Scouts and Marymount University students, cleared the site of kudzu and other invasive plants; it is being reforested with funds provided under a Park Enhancement Grant from the County.

6. DRCA Kiosk

There is a small park on the west side of N. Vermont St. with a Donaldson Run Civic Association (DRCA) kiosk. DRCA maintains four of these kiosks, located near park entrances, where notices of coming events in the neighborhood and across the County are posted. One of the trees in this park is an American redbud planted as part of the celebration of the 35th anniversary of Arlington's very popular Neighborhood Conservation program.

7. Lee Heights Park

Along the upper portion of one branch of Donaldson Run you will find Lee Heights Park. Like the Zachary Taylor Nature Area farther downstream, it was deeply eroded from stormwater runoff. This portion of Donaldson Run also was restored, using modern stream restoration methods to stabilize the stream and control erosion.

Lee Heights Park is the last stop on our tour. Continue on up Vacation Lane a couple of blocks to N. Stuart Street, turn left and soon you will find yourself back at Taylor Elementary. The butterfly garden in front of the school is an especially serene place to rest -- built in the shape of a butterfly, and filled with butterfly-attracting plants. I hope you will indulge yourself here a moment before heading off to your next destination! And thank you for walking along with me!

***

Larry Finch is a retired Foreign Service Officer who spent most of his career in science affairs and nuclear arms control. He directed the State Department's Office of Strategic Affairs and later served as alternate head of the US delegation to the Comprehensive Test Ban (CTB) negotiations in Geneva. He served as Science Counselor at the US Embassy in Rome. After his retirement from the State Department, Larry worked as a consultant to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris and later directed an international program of graduate study in technology management.

In recent years, Larry has turned his attention to Arlington's wooded parks and natural areas. He participates as a volunteer in several organizations: At the County level, he is a member of the Urban Forestry Commission, the Chesapeake Bay Ordinance Review Committee, the board of Friends of Arlington Parks, and Tree Stewards. He co-chairs the parks committee of the Arlington County Civic Federation. At the neighborhood level, Larry chairs the Donaldson Run Civic Association parks committee and Friends of Donaldson Run Watershed.