BSCL met on April 5 for its monthly meeting.

Minutes

President Chris Siple called the meeting to order at 7:30pm. The minutes of the
February meeting were approved as drafted.

Program

Our program was a presentation by Alyssa Ford Morel, our illustrious newsletter editor,
who is also a Master Naturalist and a Master Gardener. She introduced us to the Audubon at Home program and the principles the program is based on:

• We have a responsibility to care for our environment
• We must understand how everything is interconnected
• We have control of our own back yards, unlike the broader community.
• A healthy back yard is a healthy environment for us and the animals.

The Audubon at Home Program has a pledge: eliminate pesticides, conserve water,
protect water quality, remove non-native invasive plants, make room for native plants
in your yard, save trees, support birds and other wildlife on your property, and control
outdoor cats.

The Audubon at Home program will send an Audubon Ambassador to your home to
answer questions and make suggestions. To be certified as a sanctuary, you have to
report seeing ten of the 30 sanctuary species in your yard, letting the animals decide
which yards are certified. You can find more info on the Audubon at Home Northern
Virginia web site: http://audubonva.org/audubon-at- home-1/

There are native plant sales coming up soon. Shirley Gay will send a list of them to our
Chat List.

Sign Manager

Glen Li is searching for a volunteer to replace him as our Signs Manager. He puts up the
signs every month announcing the BSCL meeting, and the Please Vote Today signs to
help remind people of elections. He says the circuit takes only about 15 to 20 minutes.
He will be glad to answer questions. Please contact him to volunteer!

Neighborhood Conservation program

Deborah Wood, our Neighborhood Conservation delegate, said we need a new project
for neighborhood improvement funding. We have given up on the former Dominion
substation location. Linda Gaines researched the location and discussed it with the
County. She found out that it is now cleaned up to the industrial standard, but would
require extensive cleanup to be used as a park. The County doesn't want to purchase it due to the potentially high cost of cleanup, and because we have lots of nearby
parkland. In the area between the substation and around the Pershing to Buchanan
curve, Barcroft can put improvement and cleanup forward as a new NCAC project. Will
take a long time to proceed through the system. The project could include a connection
down to Grandma's Creek. Deborah will write up a proposal for our May meeting.

Keith Fred has talked to Sara Archer about the invasives problem in that area. She said
the County has not proceeded because the bamboo is also on adjacent private
property. After prompting by Keith they will contact the property owner about
proceeding with the project to eradicate the bamboo.

Communications

The committee is working on a Facebook presence.

Tee Shirt Project

Elaine Squeri promised to show the new tee shirt design next month.

The meeting adjourned at 9pm.

Respectfully submitted
Randy Swart
Still awaiting a volunteer to be Recording Secretary