In Donaldson Run, Gathering Around The Stream

Ned Rhodes, president of the Donaldson Run civic association, zeroed in on what has drawn many residents to the wooded, hilly, 960-home North Arlington community. "We're passionate about open space that will never be developed," he said.

A neighborhood survey several years ago showed that 80 percent of residents within the association visit Donaldson Run's parks on a regular basis. Parents watch as toddlers poke sticks around in the stream. Couples push strollers along wooded paths, while dogs on leashes get lots of exercise. Old-timers recall frequent childhood encounters with wildlife -- some of which younger residents still enjoy. Children at the elementary school within the community have a stream valley park out back, perfect for science and nature studies.

"The character of this neighborhood is shaped to a large extent by the parks and trees," said Larry Finch, who moved to Donaldson Run in 1966. Finch, now a member of the county's urban forestry commission, recalled that his eldest son, then 8, "spent the first summer here mapping the park."

Beth Kirby and her husband, Allen Levy, moved to Donaldson Run from Glover Park in the District three years ago. They left one wooded setting for another, said Kirby, and her commute to Southwest Washington actually takes about the same time, 40 minutes. "If I get the traffic report in time, I know which bridge to take," she said.

Her husband often bikes to his job near the White House by going across the Roosevelt Bridge.

As she pulled a wagon while her daughter delivered Girl Scout cookies to neighbors, Kirby noted, "It's nice for when the school calls and says she's sick. I can be here in a flash."

Still, the big plus for the family is the community's stream valley parks. "Even our dog likes that the best," she said, as their golden retriever, Lucy, tugged at her leash.

The Donaldson Run civic association encompasses the area south of the Washington Golf and Country Club, east of Old Dominion Drive and west of Military Road. Donaldson was the name of the family that owned a farm where Potomac Overlook Park is today, but the community's name comes from the stream that winds through the neighborhood, ending a mile away at the Potomac River. It's the restoration of that stream, the largest such project in Arlington, that has been the focus of activity for the past several years.

Storm-water runoff had long been eroding the streambed, leaving toppled trees and exposed sewer lines along the way. Trash was everywhere. When the death of a large number of eels in 2001 was traced to herbicides used by the golf course during turf replacement, it was one more bit of evidence that the neighborhood's treasured stream valley parks were in serious danger. Residents had already been working to develop a neighborhood conservation plan.

"It coalesced the community," said Helen Lane, the neighborhood historian and a resident since 1970.

The streambed is being reconfigured to stem the flow of water and keep any flooding within the channel. Elsewhere, efforts to stop streambed erosion often amount to lining slopes along the water's path with rocks, Finch said, but that only temporarily slows the process in the immediate area while making it worse downstream as water rushes along. In Donaldson Run, strategically placed rocks create step-pools that help release water a little at a time.

Patience will be needed for the beautification part of the project, however. At the moment, the community's streambeds look as though they've been designated vegetation-free zones. Dozens of mature oaks and tulip poplars have been removed. Kudzu and other invasive plants have been pulled out by their roots. Now, hundreds of native shrubs and trees are being planted.