Saturday, Feb. 15, 9:00am – 11:00am
Two events:

1) Litter Cleanup with FOSC & Potomac Conservancy
at Sligo Creek and East-West Highway, Chillum

– Nick Clements, Litter Hotspot coordinator

Sunday, February 16, 9:00am
Morning walk in Kestrel Meadow
7100 16th Place, Hyattsville, MD
Meet where 16th Place dead ends at the meadow.

Join us for a morning walk in Kestrel Meadow, where the early birds are getting the worms and the plants are preparing their spring frenzy. We walk the path that leads to Sligo Creek, making a loop around the meadow when possible.

Bring binoculars if you have some. There can be some muddy spots this time of year, and it’s always good to wear long pants and socks to deter ticks and protect against poison ivy.

– Kristin Zimmer, FOSC Board Member and Section 1 Steward

Sunday, February 16^th, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Litter Cleanup event in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Wayne Ave and Piney Branch Rd. (FOSC Section 4 – See the map). Meet at the Sligo Creek Parkway tennis courts adjacent to Piney Branch Rd. We’ll remove litter and help the creek and parkland welcome spring.

See the Calendar page for details on kids under 14 years old and SSL hours.

– Chris Richardson, FOSC Section 4 Steward

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!

Support Friends of Sligo Creek and help the creeks thrive in 2025!

Your support is key to our success.

-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 in the watershed
-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

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 Feb. 6, 2025. The initial report is available 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.

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.

FOSC Listservs on

Friends of Sligo Creek – Main Listserv

FOSC Advocacy Listserv

FOSC-Litter Listserv

FOSC-Stewards Listserv (for Section Stewards only)

FOSC-Stormwater Listserv

FOSC-Water Quality Listserv

FOSC-WeedWarriors Listserv (for Weed Warriors only)