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A Catalog for Giving 2025
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Nature
The Greater Washington region is home to thousands of acres of natural land, and thousands of residents who steward these precious resources every day. Local nonprofits like the ones featured in this catalog mobilize and educate volunteers to protect our biodiversity, expand access to green spaces, prevent pollution, and promote sustainability. Neighbors, young and old, become community scientists, park stewards, and environmental advocates. Together, they remove millions of pounds of trash from our rivers and forests, propagate tens of thousands of native plants, and equip hundreds of communities with clean energy infrastructure. Though it takes everyone to address our global climate crisis, communities of color often experience the brunt, with under-resourced neighborhoods having below-average tree canopy coverage and higher heat indexes. Local nonprofits reach people where they are – tapping their unique strengths, building relationships, and providing training for good green jobs – to welcome them into a growing environmental movement.
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Photographer Ben Israel, Courtesy of Nature Forward
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Environment
Nature Forward
Nature Forward inspires residents across the region to enjoy, learn about, and protect nature. It serves on the frontlines to conserve habitats, restore streams, build climate resilience, and ensure nature is accessible to all. The GreenKids program annually delivers free environmental education to more than 15,000 Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia students and teachers, while a nature preschool, summer camps, field trips, and classes connect people of all ages and abilities to the natural world. Nature Forward trains and empowers residents to advocate for the environment in their own neighborhoods, with an emphasis on serving traditionally excluded communities. Its wheelchair accessible 40-acre Woodend Nature Sanctuary is open to the public year-round. Nature Forward also hosts the Taking Nature Black and Naturally Latinos conferences to connect and empower conservation leaders in their work on behalf of the environment.
WISH LIST: $100: 1 native plants pollination garden kit; $500: climate change impact training; $1000: environmental education for a full grade of students
Alison Pearce, PhD, Executive Director 8940 Jones Mill Road Chevy Chase, MD 20815 Tel 301 652 1852 spurlocal.org/nf
Ward 8 Woods Conservancy
More than 500 acres of DC’s urban forest are located in Ward 8, but public institutions have historically neglected cleaning and maintaining access to this land. Ward 8 Woods centers residents from these neighborhoods in its environmental justice work. Many are often left out of such conversations despite living with the most pollution. Employing residents as Park Stewards, it trains them to restore the woodland ecology, build trails, and promote sustainable living. Park Stewards work alongside a crew of volunteers to remove trash and invasive species. In six years, they have cleared more than 1.5 million pounds of trash and cut invasive vines from over 8,000 trees. In an area where residents earn about half the average citywide income, Ward 8 Woods provides meaningful employment that restores the environment and increases access to it.
WISH LIST: $100: supplies for 1 week of forest remediation work; $500: 4 hours of environmental cleanup work with a crew of 5; $1000: 20 durable metal signs with work by local artists
Nathan B Harrington, Executive Director 3214 11th Place SE Washington, DC 20032 Tel 202 520 2742 spurlocal.org/woods
ecoLatinos
Involving oft-excluded Latino communities in environmental initiatives, ecoLatinos fosters a network of Latino leaders, volunteers, and advocates committed to environmental justice. After school and during summers, Latino students participate in bilingual environmental education, hands-on conservation experiences, and leadership training. Community-based outreach with businesses, churches, and organizations engages families in water conservation and green infrastructure projects, empowering residents to advocate for sustainable policies and ensuring voices are represented in decision-making. Workers, including first-generation Latino landscapers, receive culturally tailored technical training and networking to secure jobs in green industries and incorporate sustainable practices in their work. Building a bridge that unites environmentalists with Spanish-speaking residents across the Chesapeake Bay, ecoLatinos advances environmental justice so that all communities can enjoy a healthy and sustainable future.
WISH LIST: $100: community clean-up trash bags; $250: stipends & supplies for youth in 1 environmental education session; $1000: supplies & refreshments for community clean-up
Ruby Stemmle, CEO 7309 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 215 College Park, MD 20740 Tel 240 832 6090 spurlocal.org/ecolatinos
Photographer Ben Israel, Courtesy of Nature Forward
Anacostia Riverkeeper Network
An 8.5-mile-long tidal river within a 176-square-mile watershed, the Anacostia is home to nearly one million people who live on the river or its many connected streams. Working toward a clean, healthy, swimmable, fishable river means enforcing existing environmental laws, working on better ones, building public awareness of environmental and health issues, and creating programs that focus on pollution prevention and cleanup. Friday Night Fishing, educational boat tours, service opportunities that foster ownership in the river for watershed residents, citizen water quality monitoring, and opportunities for residents to weigh in on important policy matters that will impact the future — all are framed around equitable access, equal representation in watershed issues for marginalized communities, and ensuring the river’s health supports the health of this region.
WISH LIST: $100: supplies & processing for 1 Citizen Science water quality sample; $550: boat tour for local youth; $1500: Clean Waterways cleanup to remove & categorize trash
Suzy W Kelly, President 729 8th Street SE, Suite 100 Washington, DC 20003 Tel 202 863 0158 spurlocal.org/anacostia
Earth Sangha
Founded as a community for the earth, Earth Sangha grows native plants from seeds collected in local natural areas to restore forests, meadows, and wetlands. Its Wild Plant Nursery is the region’s most comprehensive source of local ecotype native plants, supplying over 55,000 plants annually to parks, schools, and home gardens. Planting sites with limited (or no) funds for restoration receive these plants for free, ensuring everyone can engage in restoration. Earth Sangha engages 1,500 community members yearly to propagate native plants, control invasive species, and restore natural landscapes. Many volunteers become native plant ambassadors in their communities, while trained interns graduate into conservation careers. Most Washingtonians cannot name the over 2,000 native plant species occurring within 50 miles of the Washington Monument – a disconnect that Earth Sangha works to repair.
WISH LIST: $100: 5 trees for a restoration project; $500: 50 native plants & 10 trees for a local project; $1000: Habitat Refuge planting with deer protection in a public park
Maddie Bright, Executive Director 5101-I Backlick Road Annandale, VA 22003 Tel 703 333 3022 spurlocal.org/sangha
EcoAction Arlington
EcoAction Arlington engages thousands of residents as stewards of their natural environment. Volunteers remove invasive plants, clean up nearby streams, mark storm drains, and install energy efficiency improvements in affordable housing apartments. It also uses a contractor to plant trees in neighborhoods with lower tree canopy coverage. In schools, public forums, and community spaces, EcoAction Arlington educates the public on local environmental issues and how to increase access to a healthy environment for everyone. To protect our air, water, and open spaces, it partners with peer organizations and local policy-makers to advocate for long-term actions that address the climate crisis. This last year, volunteers (including student leaders) contributed 2,831 hours to improving their neighborhoods, working together for a healthy, sustainable community.
WISH LIST: $100: hands-on presentation for 25 students; $500: 10 action alerts to engage local activists; $2500: 4 large, native trees planted in under-resourced neighborhoods
Elenor Hodges, Executive Director 3308 South Stafford Street Arlington, VA 22206 Tel 703 228 6427 spurlocal.org/ecoaction
Photographer Katherine Isaacson, Courtesy of Earth Sangha
Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA)
IPL-DMV connects members of all faith communities to the environmental movement and cultivates them as “green leaders” to respond to climate change. All year long, its staff are out in communities, educating congregations about environmental justice through guest sermons, presentations, youth group programs, and skills workshops. Congregants learn about native plants, practice gas pollution testing, and participate in induction cooking demonstrations. Hundreds of congregation leaders receive hands-on guidance and educational support to install solar panels and undertake energy upgrades for their sanctuaries and their homes. In coalition with other grassroots religious environmental efforts, IPL-DMV speaks out for strong climate policy in the region. Accountable to the communities most affected by pollution, its grassroots organizing builds the capacity of 1,400 congregations to invest significantly in clean energy projects and fight for urgent climate action.
WISH LIST: $100: clean energy workshop speaker; $500: solar energy contract technical assistance; $1000: media training to advocate for strong environmental legislation
Joelle Novey, Director 900 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20001 Tel 202 709 7641 spurlocal.org/interfaith
Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council
A healthy Chesapeake Bay watershed requires conservation landscaping, so CCLC educates and supports professionals to implement green practices. Landscapers often impact large areas of land, but many do not currently design, install, or maintain sustainable landscapes. By increasing their skills and knowledge, CCLC significantly changes their understanding of and approach to preserving biodiversity and water quality. Its entry-level and professional certification programs are tailored to the unique ecology of the Chesapeake watershed. Beyond industry-standard green training, CCLC promotes the use of native plants and practices that improve soil health and reduce reliance on chemicals. Publications, private training, and continuing education reach more practitioners and representatives across sectors. Having awarded hundreds of certificates since its founding in 2016, CCLC shapes careers, behaviors, and our local environment for the long term.
WISH LIST: $100: native plant & sustainable landscaping resources for 3 maintenance crew members; $500: advanced training class for 1; $1000: workforce development for 20
Elizabeth Ginter, Executive Director PO Box 3399 Silver Spring, MD 20918 Tel 703 501 1208 spurlocal.org/chesapeake