Jean R. Packard Wins Top Environmental Award

Jean R. Packard just won the Sally Ormsby Environmental Stewardship Award, presented to her by the Fairfax County Park Authority. This is the highest environmental award in Fairfax County. [Pictured above is Jean Packard receiving the award from Congressman Gerry Connolly, last years award winner.]

No one could be more deserving of this high honor than Jean Packard. She is a truly amazing person who has dedicated her life to improving the environment and quality of life in Northern Virginia.

Jean is on the Board of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. She is also Chair of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, the local land trust for Northern Virginia. She is also Chair for the Soil and Water Conservation District Board for the region. She has served on the National Board of Directors of the Sierra Club, the Interstate Commission of the Potomac River Basin, and the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations.

In the 1970s Jean served as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and as a result of her leadership thousands of acres of land in the southern part of the County along the Bull Run and Occoquan Rivers were down zoned to protect one of the primary drinking water sources for the region.

On a national, regional and local level, and through governmental and non-profit organizations Jean has done, and continues to do amazing work. Jean Packard is a model of how to have a positive impact on your world. In her crusade to make a better world, wisdom, civility and persistence have been among her most effective tools.

Way to go Jean!!!

Korean Bell soon to be at Meadowlark Garden

By the spring the first phase of the Korean Bell Garden at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens will be complete. For several months artists from Korean were on site at Meadowlark building the beautiful pavilion in the photo above. This traditional structure was all made from hand carved wood, with the tiles shipped directly from Korea.

Jeung Hwa Elmejjad-Yi the President of the Korean American Cultural Committee just returned from another trip to Korea this week. On this trip she met with the Governor and other senior officials from Gyeonggi Province. This province of Korea is going to fund the bell that is being cast there. The first two images below are of the actual bell that is being made for Meadowlark Gardens, and the bottom one is of another bell that is of a similar size. This bell will feature images of Cardinals, Great Blue Herons, and Dogwoods, all natural images from Virginia.

The Republic of Korea (federal government) has already contributed to this project, as have numerous private donors. When complete this spring this will be the only Korean bell pavilion in a public garden in North America. Last spring volunteers helped plant 100 trees native to Korea around the site the pavilion stands today. A winding trail and large stones help create a scene very similar to what you find in the palaces of Korea.

This extremely exciting project has been made possible by the great donations of the Korean American Cultural Committee, and the amazing dedication and hard work of Jeung Hwa Elmejjad-Yi.