Wheaton's Open Green Spaces

While we are fortunate to be surrounded by large open green space (Wheaton Regional Park, Sligo Creek and Rock Creek Parks, and numerous small local parks), in the Wheaton Central Business District there is little open green space.

It is important, therefore, to protect and care for our existing open green spaces in the Wheaton CBD. If valued and cared for, our open green spaces can be of great importance to the character of Wheaton and the surrounding communities. If neglected, open green space can be perceived as unwanted and undesirable. In fact the overall look of Wheaton can be affected by condition of unattractive and derelict open green space.

With large budget deficits, the county has reduced funding for maintenance of our public open green spaces in Wheaton, and our open green spaces are starting to look neglected. GreenWheaton members recognize the importance of high quality open green  space and see this as an integral part of our visions for a "green" Wheaton. GreenWheaton is working to organize community solutions to address the care of our open green spaces.

Last year GreenWheaton worked to beautify the green space next to Parking Lot 13 with the installation of a 500 square foot conservation landscaping project.

This spring GreenWheaton 'adopted' the grounds of the Wheaton Library.The grounds of the library should enhance Wheaton and complement the library's mission of providing materials and services to help community residents. The grounds should help the library look like an appealing place to visit.

Instead the Wheaton Library grounds were overgrown and trash strewn. GreenWheaton organized a small crew of dedicated volunteers to see how much they could accomplish during a "mini-workday" over the Memorial Day weekend.  Our small work crew trimmed the hedges, removed a lot of unwanted vegetation, pruned dead branches and collected two large bags of trash.

In two hours over 20 bags of landscaping debris was collected, and a large portion of the grounds was cleaned up. GreenWheaton is planning quarterly clean up events. For this effort to be successful, the surrounding communities need to be engaged. When the grounds are under control, GreenWheaton would like to work the the county to install a demonstration pollinator or conservation landscaping area.  The county plans to eventually replace the library and adjacent recreation center with one new combination library and recreation center.  GreenWheaton would like to be involved with the design process to ensure "green" and sustainable practices are incorporated into the design.