Helen Casey Memorial Butterfly Garden in Sterling Park

A recent Sterling Foundation project in Sterling Park is the installation of a new butterfly garden known as the Helen Casey Memorial Butterfly Garden named after a well-known community member who passed away in January 2016.

Helen was a community activist and volunteer in Loudoun for most of her 40 years as a resident. Her many activities included: Chair of the Eastern Loudoun League of Women Voters, founding member of the Bypass Alternative Review Committee, Board Secretary of Sterling Citizens for Action Now, Eastern Loudoun representative on a citizens advisory panel for the Northern Virginia Sub regional Transportation Plan and founding board member of the Loudoun County Transportation Association (now known as the Virginia Regional Transportation Association). In addition, she was appointed by Gov. George Allen in 1988 to serve on the Goose Creek Scenic River Advisory Board (GSCAB), serving as chairman of the board from 1999 to 2009. In 2009 she was formally recognized by the Loudoun Board of Supervisors for her efforts with GSCAB. She also attended virtually every County Board of Supervisors meeting from 1986 until 2010.

Under the excellent leadership of Todd Gallant and with the help of the New Ag School and wonderful Sterling neighbors, the Helen Casey Memorial Butterfly Garden was finally reworked and completed. Twenty volunteers, wearing masks, came out to establish planting beds by cut stripping the sod, edging garden beds and tilling the soil.

The following weekend thirty seven volunteers participated in planting 400 native plant plugs (ten varieties) into the prepared beds. Volunteers included Boy Scout Troop 966, The Sterling Elks Local 2406, Serve Camp and other local folks in the surrounding community. More than a dozen neighbors contributed over $1,300 to cover the cost of the plants. Celeste Duarte designed the garden and the native plants were purchased at Watermark Woods in Hamilton. The community butterfly garden is located in an area by East Staunton Avenue and Sterling Boulevard.

OFFICIAL RESOLUTION - LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

Whereas the Goose Creek Association has worked for over thirty years to preserve the scenic river corridor of Goose Creek; and

Whereas Helen Casey has been a member of the Goose Creek Scenic River Advisory Board since 1995; and

Whereas with Mrs. Casey's support the Goose Creek Scenic River Advisory Board partnered with other members of the conservation community to pursue Scenic River status for the Fauquier portion of the Goose Creek and;

Whereas on July 1, 2007, after two years of focused effort, Goose Creek was given full Scenic River Status by the Virginia General Assembly; and

Whereas Helen Casey and the Goose Creek Scenic River Advisory Board's efforts to achieve Scenic River status provides an extra measure of protection for the headwaters in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Fauquier County to its confluence with the Potomac River 45 miles downstream--a 365 square mile watershed; and

Whereas in October of 2007, Helen Casey and her husband received on behalf of the Goose Creek Scenic River Advisory Committee an award for viewshed preservation from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation;

NOW THERFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors does hereby congratulate and recognize the exemplary work of Mrs. Helen Casey and the Goose Creek Scenic River Advisory Board in achieving Scenic River status for Goose Creek.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that on today's date of January 3, 2008 a copy of this resolution will be permanently included in the official records of Loudoun County.

For more information contact Cheryl Villalobos

Sterling Foundation Chair

Chair@sterlingfoundation.org

P O Box 1036

Sterling, VA 20167

703 430-9472 - leave message

www.sterlingfoundation.org

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