Goose Creek Association

10/02/2026

There's still time to sign up for our **free** webinar this Tuesday!

Have a stream on your property—or want to better understand how riparian buffers can protect water quality, reduce erosion, and support wildlife?

Join Goose Creek Association on Tuesday, October 6 at 7:00 PM for a free virtual webinar designed to give landowners practical, approachable information about establishing and maintaining a healthy riparian buffer.

Hear from:
Alyson Borowczyk — Executive Director, Goose Creek Association
Linnea Sherman — Plantings for the Piedmont & Natural Resources Restoration Program Manager, Piedmont Environmental Council
Kelsi Steele — Conservation Education Specialist, John Marshall Soil & Water Conservation District
Jessie Freeland - Education and Program Administration, Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District

We’ll discuss what to plant, appropriate buffer widths, maintenance, available cost-share and assistance programs, who may qualify, and the resources available to help you protect your stream and property.

There will also be time for audience questions.

Registration is free. Reserve your spot here:
https://goosecreek.org/gca-riparian-buffer-webinar/

Help us celebrate Riparian Buffer Month by learning how healthier streambanks can mean cleaner water, stronger habitat, and a healthier Goose Creek watershed.

09/18/2026

For Episode 2 of The Green Loudoun Podcast on Loudoun Now, we caught up with our friends at Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy to discuss environmental education, how being outside affects our nervous systems, why it's so important to protect natural habitat in Loudoun County, and so much more!

Episode 2 is streaming now on YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

In this episode of the Green Loudoun Podcast, hosted by the Goose C...

09/11/2026

Have a stream on your property—or want to better understand how riparian buffers can protect water quality, reduce erosion, and support wildlife?

Join Goose Creek Association on Tuesday, October 6 at 7:00 PM for a free virtual webinar designed to give landowners practical, approachable information about establishing and maintaining a healthy riparian buffer.

Hear from:

Alyson Borowczyk — Executive Director, Goose Creek Association
Linnea Sherman — Plantings for the Piedmont & Natural Resources Restoration Program Manager, Piedmont Environmental Council
Kelsi Steele — Conservation Education Specialist, John Marshall Soil & Water Conservation District

We’ll discuss what to plant, appropriate buffer widths, maintenance, available cost-share and assistance programs, who may qualify, and the resources available to help you protect your stream and property.

There will also be time for audience questions.

Registration is free. Reserve your spot here:
https://goosecreek.org/gca-riparian-buffer-webinar/

Help us celebrate Riparian Buffer Month by learning how healthier streambanks can mean cleaner water, stronger habitat, and a healthier Goose Creek watershed.

09/03/2026

🌿 Meet the next generation of watershed stewards.

This spring, six local high school students became the inaugural class of Next Gen Creekkeepers - a youth environmental education program conducted in partnership with Loudoun Invasive Removal Alliance AND NOVA Parks - and they did far more than learn about conservation. They got outside and put it into practice.

Over eight hands-on sessions, our Creekkeepers:

🌱 Designed and installed a 30' x 12' native pollinator garden
💧 Learned how to monitor stream health through benthic macroinvertebrates
🌿 Identified, mapped, and removed invasive plants
🐝 Restored habitat for native wildlife and pollinators
🤝 Learned alongside local conservation professionals
🎤 Presented their own conservation capstone projects to the community

We are so proud of what this first cohort accomplished—and even more excited about what comes next.

Explore the full **2026 Next Gen Creekkeepers Impact Report** and see their season in action:
👉 https://nextgengca.my.canva.site/

And we’re just getting started. Next Gen Creekkeepers returns in 2027, with registration opening in January!

Know a high school student who belongs in the next cohort? Tag them or share this post. 💚

08/21/2026

GCA School Presentations✏️🎒🌲

If you are interested in having Goose Creek Association come to your school to teach about the Goose Creek Watershed, please let us know! We would love to come to your school!

We offer interactive watershed demonstrations, among other learning activities. Please message us or comment down below if you are interested🐟

08/18/2026

🌲2026 Riparian Buffer Planting Summary🌳

So far in 2026 we've had a great year for our riparian buffer program!

We have had seven plantings, planted 870 trees, restored 500 trees, and engaged roughly 150 volunteers!

If you live in the Goose Creek Watershed and you are interested in seeing if your property qualifies for a riparian buffer planting, please message us!

08/12/2026

Nitrate Watch 💧🌊

GCA is proud to have participated in Nitrate Watch! We collected data on Little River and submitted everything onto the Clean Water Hub.

Thank you to Izaak Walton League for hosting a great Nitrate pollution Awareness Week! If you are interested in getting involved, please visit https://goosecreek.org/volunteer/ or https://iwla.org/nitrate-watch/ to learn more!

08/04/2026

🌲Goose Creek Association is excited to share that River Steward Annie Bellis has joined the board of the Loudoun Environmental Education Alliance (LEEA) as its new Program Coordinator.

🌲In this role, Annie will help plan LEEA’s Student Environmental Action Showcase (SEAS), which will take place in April. The annual event gives students an opportunity to share environmental projects, explore solutions to local challenges, and connect with organizations and professionals working to protect the natural world.

🌲Annie is especially excited to strengthen the relationship between LEEA and Goose Creek Association. This new connection will create additional opportunities to support environmental education, engage local students, and inspire the next generation of watershed stewards.

🌲Please join us in congratulating Annie on this new leadership role!

08/01/2026

Environmental Impacts of Nitrogen Pollution

Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient, but too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. When an influx of nitrate pollution enters a stream or lake, it creates an ecological imbalance that can jeopardize the health of waterways and lead to events like:
👎 Algae blooms
👎 Fish kills
👎 Dead zones

Tune in this week during Nitrate Pollution Awareness Week to learn about the health impacts of nitrate pollution and find out how to monitor nitrate concentrations in the waterways you care about. Head to iwla.org/nitrateawareness to learn more.