Saturday, January 25, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Litter cleanup between Wayne and Colesville Rd.
Meet at the parking lot just north of Three Oaks Drive. We will have grabbers and bags. Hope to see you there! ~Carrie
Sunday, Feb 2 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Litter hotspot cleanup at Wheaton Branch stormwater ponds
Dennis Ave. and Hemley Lane, Silver Spring 20902
Join us at the Wheaton Branch stormwater ponds. Please bring work gloves if you have them. We’ll provide the trash! And trash bags and recycling bags, of course.
Sunday, Feb. 2 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Weed Warriors at Clayborn Ave and Long Branch
Across the bridge from Rolling Terrace Elementary School. Look for the weed warrior sign and the tall man in the WW hat! We will be focusing on English Ivy and may get to other NNIs.
Who: Anyone interested in helping beautify our communities, helping our oxygen-giving, carbon-fixing trees be healthy or if you need community service hours for school. If you are interested in becoming a weed warrior, find out more here.
What to bring: bring loppers and pruners and/or folding saws. (I have extra pruners and loppers.) Also wear long sleeves, pants, gloves, sturdy shoes, and bring water!
Parking: Plenty of parking on the street or at Rolling Terrace Elementary School.
Sign up here on the Parks volunteer webpage. Non-weed warriors are welcome but MUST register!
Looking forward to seeing you there! – James Gulley
Tuesday, Feb. 4 from 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Weed Warrior program for interested people
Corinne Stephens, head of the MoCo Weed Warrior program, will give a zoom talk about the basics of non-native invasives (NNIs), top NNI species, and what the numbers are like in the Sligo Creek and Northwest Branch watersheds.
We will learn all that volunteers did to save the parkland trees in past years and how we can join the effort this year. Register on zoom!
Saturday, Feb. 15 from 9:00am – 11:00am – two events
1) Litter Cleanup with FOSC and Potomac Conservancy
at Sligo Creek and East-West Highway, Chillum
2) Litter Cleanup with FOSC and Potomac Conservancy
at Green Meadows Park, 6310 Sligo Parkway, Chillum
– Nick Clements, Litter Hotspot coordinator
News & Updates
FOSC in the News
FOSC’s efforts to support the plastic bag ban at the County Council hearing last Tuesday were noted in Bethesda Magazine’s Jan. 14th article, Supporters turn out for proposed plastic bag ban, citing environmental impact. Several members of the FOSC Advocacy committee testified in favor of the ban. Similar bans in Prince George’s and other nearby counties have been successfully implemented with little drama.
Winter scenes from Sligo and Long Branch
(Photos by Nathalie Peter – LB near Becca Lilly park, Lenore Boulet – footbridge over Sligo, and Susan DeFord – snow on native coneflowers)
The FOSC Salt Monitoring Program measured extremely high salt levels throughout Sligo Creek, Wheaton Branch, Long Branch, and Takoma Branch starting with our first snow storm and continuing to date. We are collating the data as of Jan. 14, 2025. It will be reported soon on the Salt Monitoring Initiatives page under the Water Quality Monitoring programs tab.
Email the Water Quality committee at [email protected] to learn more and become a tester.
Support Friends of Sligo Creek and help the creeks thrive in 2025!
Your support is key to our success.
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Sweep the Creek and Litter Hotspot clean-ups
Weed Warrior work sessions to remove invasive plants
Salt, E. coli, and other testing to understand threats to water quality
Advocacy work on many issues to protect the creeks
Water WatchDogs pollution reporting
Natural history posters for the kiosks
Outreach to neighbors in English, Spanish and Amharic
Sligo and Long Branch are in fine color this fall
This short YouTube video shows the beautiful fall pictures taken by longtime FOSC member Michael Wilpers in the Park. Thank you, Michael, and thank you Ed Murtagh for creating the video.
Check out the many other FOSC videos on our Youtube channel.
The Sligo Garden Program is Sold Out!
The Sligo Garden Program 2024 has sold out of both the garden kits and the design consultations. Every native plant counts for pollinators, and every sq. ft. of permeable conservation landscape helps absorb rainwater and reduce the stormwater entering the creek. You are adding resilience to our local ecology! Thank you to all who have participated in this program. We hope to obtain further grant funding to bring back this popular program.
Want to know what it was all about? Check out the Sligo Garden Program page under the Stormwater tab above.
Join FOSC
Sligo Creek connects us. Please join FOSC and help protect and restore the Creek for everyone in our community. It’s simple to do and can be free if you wish. Membership gives you early notice of events and the FOSC newsletter.
You can make a donation too, either online (simple and secure) or by check to FOSC, P.O. Box 11572, Takoma Park, MD 20913. Thank you!
FOSC Listservs on
Friends of Sligo Creek – Main Listserv
FOSC Advocacy Listserv
FOSC-Stewards Listserv (for Section Stewards only)
FOSC-WeedWarriors Listserv (for Weed Warriors only)
FOSC Action Hub
Winter 2025 Top Invasives
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- Porcelainberry
- English Ivy
- Bush honeysuckle
- Mulitflora rose
- Porcelainberry
- English Ivy
- Bush honeysuckle
- Mulitflora rose
Invasive: Italian Arum
Italian Arum is back in force around Sligo Creek and Long Branch. It has spread from nearby yards. One of the EDRR (Early Detection, Rapid Response) invasive species, it has many little “daughter” corms attached to its main corm which makes it difficult to remove completely. Dig it out carefully. Screen the loosened soil for small “daughter” corms. There is some evidence that spraying with glyphosate is effective at killing all its corms.
FOSC on iNaturalist
Heard about FOSC on iNaturalist.org but uncertain how to navigate the site or contribute your own observations? Expert birder and iNaturalist… Read more