12-04-2023
This month’s issue includes news of the Sully Community Center solar installation; the grand-opening of Woodlands Stewardship Education Center; the Charge@Work webinar recording; a two-degree challenge; a Net Zero Design event at Kilmer Middle School; Fairfax Recycles Day; and much more.
Fairfax County government officials recently announced the completion of a significant solar technology installation at the Sully Community Center – saving the county money and contributing to its community-wide energy goals.
Sully Community Center is a 38,000-square-foot facility located on five acres at the intersection of Wall Road and the Air and Space Museum Parkway in Chantilly. The facility, which opened in September of 2022, serves as the home of the Sully Senior Center and also provides a broad array of services, programs and activities for individuals of all ages and abilities.
“Fairfax County faces significant threats to our environment and our economy due to climate change,” said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay. “That’s why it’s so important that we embrace clean, renewable energy to lower our carbon footprint and reduce the strain on our electric grid. Today’s announcement is a significant step along a long-term path away from fossil fuels and toward a more sustainable future.”
 The Fairfax County Park Authority celebrated the completion of the new Woodlands Stewardship Education Center with a ribbon cutting on November 18.
Designed to wow adults and children alike, this interpretive facility demonstrates principles of environmental stewardship that make a world of difference in the way we interact with and affect our natural environment.
County leaders, project benefactors and residents from the surrounding community participated in the inaugural event followed by tours of the amazing features of the site, which was designed to meet the rigorous standards of the Living Building Challenge (LBC) – an achievement attained by only a small number of projects worldwide.
 In another significant achievement for Fairfax County, Woodlawn Fire Station #24 has officially been awarded LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council®. Platinum is the highest level of certification in the LEED Green Building Rating System. Woodlawn Fire Station is the first in the county and just the 42nd building in the Commonwealth of Virginia to achieve Platinum certification.
Located at 8701 Lukens Lane, Alexandria, the Woodlawn Fire Station is a 15,000-square-foot facility that opened in 2022 to replace the original building from 1970. The state-of-the-art facility was designed with a number of sustainability features and was the site of one of the county’s first solar photovoltaic installations. The rooftop solar system, an important component in achieving LEED Platinum, is expected to offset 15% of the building's annual electricity use.
ICYMI: Opportunities to Charge@Work Webinar
The Green Business Partners program and the Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s Best Workplace for Commuters program, along with Charge@Work, held a webinar on November 14 to help businesses power up their workplace charging programs.
During the event, staff from Charge@Work demonstrated a free online tool to help business owners plan and implement electric vehicle charging for employees. The webinar was recorded and is now available for on-demand viewing.
Heating your home can take a lot of energy, which often means higher electricity or natural gas bills over the fall and winter months. In fact, the U.S. Energy Information Administration has estimated that over 40 percent of annual energy consumption in American homes is for heating!
Read our latest article on why it’s worth challenging yourself to turn your thermostat back by a couple degrees (or more, if you please) until warmer weather returns.
The holiday season is here and OEEC has some tips for helping you make it sustainable. From reducing food waste to getting creative with gift giving, there are things we can all do to save money and help the environment.
Read our article on making your holiday season more sustainable.
OEEC Acting Director John Morrill got a front row seat to see how some middle school students in Fairfax County would design energy-conscious, sustainable communities.
As part of Kilmer Middle School’s “Net Zero Energy Celebration of Learning,” eighth graders investigated the global issue of sustainable development in their science, civics, and English classes. Their task was to design environmentally friendly communities with net zero energy houses and to create a marketing website and presentation to promote their communities to the Board of Supervisors. During the November 3 event, select student groups delivered their presentations to an audience of students and adult community members. After the student presentations, a panel of community members spoke to the students about their own careers and how it relates to the environmental field.
Joining Morrill on the panel was Mayor of the Town of Vienna Linda Colbert, FCPS school board member Karl Frisch, real estate developer Dennis Cotto, and energy lobbyist Matt Thornblad. All three were thoroughly impressed with the work the students presented.
“This was an inspiring event! Each student group captured the fundamentals of sustainable design – energy efficiency, renewable energy, and electric vehicles and building systems – and they were mindful of open space and community amenities,” Morrill said. “I’m impressed to see these concepts captured by so many at this age.”
Congratulations to Kilmer Physical Sciences Teacher Sheryl Jones, Civics Teacher Jewell Kleman, English Teacher Danielle Sweet and all of their students on a great event!
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OEEC Acting Director John Morrill gave a presentation on November 9 at the Virginia Electrification Leadership Summit organized by the Beneficial Electrification League in Richmond, Va.
His remarks summarized the vital role for electric vehicles and electric building systems in the county’s climate action plans and the importance of collaboration with community partners.
Morrill also emphasized the importance of energy efficiency, noting that total electricity consumption in Fairfax County – residential, commercial, and industrial – has fallen 8% since 2009, even as the county population and economy grew. Those savings are due to thousands of individual decisions by residents and businesses to use more efficient lighting, appliances, and heating and cooling equipment. These efficiency gains have more than offset the use of electricity for the thousands of electric vehicles registered in the county since 2019.
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In the December episode of the "Connect with County Leaders” podcast, host Bryan Hill, county executive of Fairfax County, spoke with OEEC Acting Director John Morrill about the county’s goals and strategies related to environmental sustainability, energy use and climate change mitigation.
You can listen or watch the podcast now on demand. And be sure to check out the previous episode of Connect with County Leaders podcast which featured an interview with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) CEO Randy Clarke.
On the latest edition of the “County Conversation” podcast, host Jim Person talks with Allison Homer, senior community specialist with the Fairfax County Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination, about the county’s Resilient Fairfax Plan.
“County Conversation” is a podcast featuring employees and subject matter experts from the Fairfax County Government discussing programs, services and items of interest to residents of Fairfax County.
OEEC Energy Programs Manager Kevin Smith was a featured speaker on the 2023 Better Buildings Summer Webinar Series webinar titled "The Power of Partnership in Emissions Reduction Planning with Local Governments.” The Oct. 31 event highlighted strategies for successful collaboration with and across local governments to plan, implement and measure progress on efforts to reduce emissions and create more sustainable communities. Smith was joined by Lindsey Hawes with the City of San Diego and Tom Abram with Introba, a Better Climate Challenge technical advisor.
The presentation, video recording, and transcript can be found on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings site.
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OEEC’s Allison Homer was recognized last month with an Outstanding Performance Award.
Outstanding Performance Awards (OPAs) provide recognition to Fairfax County employees who perform the duties and responsibilities of their positions in an outstanding manner, and whose work is generally well above expectations. OPAs may be given for consistently high performance, providing significant benefit to county operations or exemplary performance on a specific project or assignment.
Allison adeptly managed Resilient Fairfax, the county’s climate adaptation and resilience plan, with unprecedented community engagement that involved hundreds of stakeholders and over 200 engagement and coordination meetings, all within 18 months.
Congratulations, Allison!
This holiday shopping season…don’t buy it, borrow it at Fairfax County Public Library for FREE. From laser thermometers and battery testers to air quality monitors and onboard diagnostic code readers, nine different types of meters joined the Library of Things on November 27. Learn more at https://bit.ly/FCPL_Meters.
Dozens of other helpful items are also available to check out free with your library card such as artwork, binoculars, games, Connect Chromebook Kits, Conserve Energy Kits, Hands-On History kits, early literacy Launchpad tablets, nature backpacks and thermal cameras. To learn more about the other materials available through the Library of Things, visit bit.ly/FCPL_LibraryOfThings.
When we reduce, reuse and recycle our trash, we lessen our environmental impact. Increasing recycling means fewer items end up in landfills, which helps conserve energy, decrease air and water pollution, maintain our natural resources and reduce greenhouse gases.
In recognition of Fairfax Recycles Day on November 15, the same day as the national “America Recycles Day”, the county’s Solid Waste Management Program encouraged residents to take part in recycling and zero waste initiatives.
Fairfax Employees for Environmental Excellence (FEEE) hosted another litter cleanup event — this one at the Meadows of Centreville near the Centreville Regional Library on November 13. Six volunteers worked for two hours to clean up the local environment. Together, they picked up an estimated 320 pounds of trash.
FEEE’s membership consists of county employees who are committed to environmental stewardship within Fairfax County Government and who foster a greener workplace culture through education, outreach and engagement.
If you're interested in helping to clean up litter, visit Clean Fairfax for more details.
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Join the county’s Department of Transportation on January 31 at 6:30 p.m. for an open house and presentation on the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).
The event will take place in the auditorium at Bryan High School, 2709 Popkins Lane.
The proposed BRT system, known as “The One”, will have nine stations, constructed in two sections, and will connect to major employment centers, shopping centers, and residential communities along the Richmond Highway corridor, from Huntington Metrorail Station to Fort Belvoir.
At the meeting, DOT staff will discuss updates on the BRT project – what has been completed, a recap of decisions and milestones, and next steps. You can also visit the project website after the meeting date to walk through materials, including the presentation, at your own pace.
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