WASHINGTON — As WUSA9 focuses on the environment, we want to highlight the hundreds of volunteers from across the country who will help protect two special landmarks in the area.
On Monday, more than 250 volunteers with the National Association of Landscape Professionals will be helping out at the Lincoln Memorial and National Arlington Cemetery.
"The trees and the grounds make these monuments what they are and make them an important part of the American landscape," said Bruce Allentuck with the National Association of Landscape Professionals.
Volunteers with the National Association of Landscape Professionals will be helping preserve some of the historic trees in this area, planting new trees and improving the irrigation system.
At Arlington National Cemetery, volunteers will be renovating some of the irrigation zones, planting new trees and even installing lightning protection on some of the historic trees.
"At Arlington National Cemetery we will be repairing turf areas in two sections which is important for the aesthetics in the area and for controlling erosion. We will be improving and updating irrigation systems in two areas which is important for water management. We will also be doing lightning protection on six of the trees on the property,” said Allentuck.
"It keeps runoff from going into the Potomac and further into the Chesapeake so the work we do, although we are improving the aesthetic feel of these areas, we are improving the environment which is what the National Association of Landscape Professionals has been doing," said Allentuck.
Organizers said they are preserving the historical landscape and health of the plant environment around these beautiful monuments and cemeteries for generations to come.
During this years’ service project on the National Mall, volunteers will create landscape beds with 130,000 lbs. of mulch around the existing plants that surround the Lincoln Memorial.
"This is a huge park. The the trees and the turf and the plants do so much for the environment, keeping the soil from running into the tidal basin, keeping it from flooding into the Potomac and like I said further down into the Chesapeake so everything we are doing has to do with the sustainability of this environment," said Allentuck.
Allentuck said there will also be a children’s program happening to help pass on the knowledge and the love of volunteer work to the next generation.
The location of this year’s volunteer project on the Mall is significant, as 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial.