Our Work

Annual Creek Cleanup

Photo: ©Philip Bogdan

The 2026 Annual Little Hunting Creek Cleanup will be held on Saturday, April 11 from 9:00 AM – Noon!

 Join Us for the 2026 Cleanup!

Let us know if you are interested in participating in this year’s cleanup. Please submit the form below so we can best organize our intrepid team of volunteers. Community credit hours are provided for students who bring their forms. We supply gloves and plastic bags.

Please join volunteers and neighbors at the following sites on Saturday, April 11.

  • Colonel John Byers Park. 2213 Collingwood Rd. (between Candlewood Dr. and Karl Rd, on the south side of Collingwood.) Meet at the playground area of the park and proceed along the creek to the beaver dam and beyond. Contact: Greg Crider.
  • Fort Hunt Elementary School on Linton Lane. Meet near the tennis courts. Contact: Carrie Howe.
  • Gum Springs. Meet at 3211 Napper Road at 9 a.m. to help clean up trash at Napper Road and Richmond Highway. Contact: Bryan Birch, 571-201-2802.
  • Potomac flotilla, a joint effort of Potomac Riverkeepers Network and FOLHC to clean up trash on the river from the mouth of the creek north to Sheridan Point.  Bring your kayak, canoe, or small boat (and PFD) to Mount Vernon Trail Overlook Parking Station 13 (the small parking lot on the GW Parkway, at River Farm Rd).  If you’re arriving by water, meet at the shore in the vicinity of Cedar Knoll Inn.  If you have a shallow draft boat that can be used to haul trash bags to shore, please contact site leader Dan Murrin.

Join Senator Scott Surovell and Delegate Paul Krizek to help clean up three of the trashiest spots on Little Hunting Creek! Please RSVP for any of the following cleanup events by following this link.

  • Janna Lee Avenue bridge. Meet here.
  • Mount Vernon Shopping Plaza. Meet near the Sherwin Williams Paint Store, 7644 Fordson, here.
  • Audubon Estates. Meet on Grackle Court, here.

What to Wear and Bring

  • Sturdy waterproof shoes or rubber boots or old sneakers (most sites are muddy).
  • Long pants and long sleeves (some sites have poison ivy).
  • Water, and a hat or sun protection (some sites are exposed).

 

Annual Creek Cleanup Volunteer Form

Do you want to lead volunteers to clean up a trash spot in your neighborhood? (check one)

Do you want to participate in the cleanup but not lead a site?

Do you have a boat, canoe, or kayak you’re willing to take out onto the Potomac to clean up legacy trash near the mouth of Little Hunting Creek?

Join Our Weekly Weed-Pulling Sessions at Little Hunting Creek Preserve!

We’ve had some pretty spectacular cleanups over the years.

Just how much trash did we collect?

Click the button below to see the results of our most impressive efforts.

Past Cleanups
A volunteer picking trash out of the creek
Volunteers posing with the trash they collected from the creek
A volunteer picking trash out of the creek
Volunteers posing with the trash they collected from the creek
A volunteer picking trash out of the creek
Volunteers posing with the trash they collected from the creek
Trash at Little Hunting Creek
Volunteers posing with the trash they collected from the creek
Young volunteers posing with the trash they collected from the creek

What We’re Working On

Here are some of our ongoing initiatives for improving Little Hunting Creek. Click a photo to learn more about what we are doing and how you can help!

Trash Reduction

Creek Access Improvement

Advocacy

Photo: Great Egrets, ©Philip Bogdan

Join Us!

Friends of Little Hunting Creek is a grassroots, volunteer-led organization that began as a group of genuinely concerned neighbors living near the creek. We need your help to protect this beautiful place – join us today!

Become a Member

Our vision is a beautiful, healthy creek that supports wildlife living in it and along its shores, and provides recreation and respite to humans that live nearby. We envision a shared sense of community responsibility for the health of the Little Hunting Creek watershed and appreciation for its beauty.

Photo: ©Philip Bogdan