Category Archives: Parks & Green Space

LPCA History Committee Awarded County Grant Funding

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By Elizabeth Sheehy

The LPCA History Committee is excited to share that Lyon Park has been awarded a $25,000 Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) grant through Arlington County’s Historic Preservation Program.  The funds will support the “Lyon Park History Preservation and Education Centennial Project.” 

This project has three primary goals:

  1. digitizing Lyon Park historical documents and installing a display case at the Community House
  2. designing and fabricating exterior historical markers in Lyon Park
  3. supporting educational research and QR code signage in Zitkála-Šá Park

We are pleased to be partnering with the Arlington Historical Society and Arlington Library’s Center for Local History. They will provide guidance with best practices to safeguard Lyon Park’s artifacts and documents once they are scanned.  We will also benefit from the expertise of the Historic Preservation Fund team, which will provide advice as we move forward. The HPF supports the Lyon Park project as it “will help strengthen the community’s understanding of historic preservation, Arlington’s history, built environment and/or cultural heritage….it will contribute to a stronger community by providing a link to the past, present, and future.”  

The project is intended to be completed within 12 months, just in time for the launch of the Centennial Celebration of the Lyon Park Community House, which opened in 1925. From the start, the vision for the Community House was to create “A social, civic, and recreative center; so democratic as to attract the humblest; so wholesome as to appeal to the exclusive; so broad in scope as to bring youth, maturity and old age into closer companionship to the benefit of all.” That’s an inspiring mission to guide Lyon Park for the next hundred years.

And a big THANK YOU to Thora Colot and Toby McIntosh who have been instrumental in moving this project forward. This project provides wonderful opportunities for community participation. Some tasks require just a few hours to complete, while others are more detailed. If you are interested in volunteering to help, please contact me at elizabeth.r.sheehy@gmail.com. There is something for everyone!

 

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Urban Heat Islands

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By Elaine Simmons

As Arlington County increases its density of buildings and residents, more people can access our many benefits. However, growth also increases the possibility of the phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect: cities experience higher air temperatures than non-urban areas.

On average, cities tend to be 1–7°F warmer than non-urban areas around them during the daytime and 

as much as 5°F warmer at night. On a summer day, the sun can heat buildings, roofs, and cars to temperatures 50 degrees higher than the surrounding air. Urban air quality also suffers since more pollutants are pumped into the air in densely populated areas, and stagnant air conditions during heat waves can trap pollutants near the ground. 

Natural surfaces like trees and plants have cooling effects from shade and “evaporative cooling,” whereby evaporating water from vegetation absorbs heat (much like sweat cools the human body). Artificial surfaces such as roads and buildings that replace vegetation typically lack those cooling effects and instead absorb and re-emit more heat, which makes their surroundings warmer too. 

As the planet warms, urban heat islands will only intensify higher temperatures. To cope with higher temperatures, cars and buildings consume more energy for cooling—frequently via fossil fuels—which worsens air pollution and contributes to climate change. 

An important way to fight the urban heat island effect is to reintroduce vegetation. This includes planting trees, expanding parkland, and installing “green roofs” designed to support plants. Building cool roofs and  pavements—which have bright coatings that reflect more sunlight and, therefore, absorb less heat—also   can reduce the urban heat island effect. A model by the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub estimated that, if widely implemented, cool pavements could reduce the frequency of heatwaves by 41% across all US urban areas.

As residents, a key thing we can do is plant and properly care for tough native shade trees (like oaks, sycamores, hickories, tulip trees). Those of us with shady yards know that tree cover makes a HUGE difference in how hot it feels. A friend in McLean with lots of shade trees has measured a 10-degree difference in his yard compared to nearby exposed areas. Next time you venture out, notice how much better streets and sidewalks with tall tree overhang feel and look compared to those that are sun-beaten. To get a free tree, including installation, contact the Tree Canopy Fund established by Ecoaction Arlington. You may also register for a free tree on Arlington County’s Urban Forestry Dept web page. Or visit your local garden center.

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Zitkala-Ša Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

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On a cool and breezy Saturday morning, members of the County Board, the County Manager, County Parks staff, and Lyon Park neighbors gathered at Zitkala-Ša Park to celebrate its opening.

The October 23rd event was made all the more special with the attendance of three of Zitkala-Ša’s descendants who flew in to attend the ceremony. Holly Bonnin Ogle, great-granddaughter of Zitkala-Ša and two of Holly’s children, Elizabeth and Justin, attended the opening ceremony. Arlington’s poet laureate, Holly Karapetkova, wrote a poem entitled Vanishings for this event. A framed copy of the poem was presented to the family by Thora Colot on behalf of the County and our civic association.

After the celebration at the park, Gary and Kit Putnam, who live in Zitkala-Ša’s old house, provided the family with a tour of the home and hosted them for lunch. Special thanks to the neighboring Wu family for providing cupcakes at the ribbon cutting – it was a welcome and tasty surprise!

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