Protect Trees and the Climate
I am lucky to have a beautiful and very meaningful date for a birthday: April 22nd, also celebrated as “Earth Day” where much of the world comes together to practice environmental activities and spread awareness of the climate issues we face.
So naturally protecting trees and improving our parks has been ingrained in me from a young age.
The feature that first attracted me to Arlington when I first moved to the area 12 years ago were its parks. I was amazed just how many there were – like emerald jewels scattered across every neighborhood – later coming to learn it’s a point of local pride that almost every resident is within a 10-minute walk of a park.
However, I fear we’re sacrificing our trees without sufficient policies to protect or incentivize them.
As a true lifelong advocate for trees, stepping up to protect our environment isn’t an academic or political activity for me, it’s how I’ve been living my life. For years I’ve helped organize community park improvements and highway trash cleanups across Arlington, Northern Virginia, and even the National Mall in DC. I shop to minimize plastic packaging and practice “balcony composting” to reduce landfill waste.
But there will be big solutions needed with difficult choices to be made. We need leadership that is willing to step up and take these bold actions for the long-term health of our communities – especially the often underserved and overlooked ones in Arlington.
“Our residents are most impacted by tree loss and climate change, so I will empower volunteers and neighborhood civic associations to help implement solutions focused on incentives and growth that are backed by data and transparent planning.”
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