THE LEAFLET

October 21, 2024 /
Emily Koppel

Teaming Up for a Greener Future

At Casey Trees, partnership is at the heart of what we do. Reaching 40% tree canopy by 2032 can only be achieved when we all work together towards this collective goal. We are lucky to collaborate with many impactful individuals and organizations, two of which are Friends of Anacostia Park and the Washington Spirit.

For those not familiar with the important work of Friends of Anacostia Park, they are a community partner that connects Ward 7 and 8 residents to the Anacostia River and surrounding green spaces. Together, we have hosted park clean-ups and tree planting events, most recently one this past Saturday where we planted 50 trees. One of the people who has spearheaded our partnership with the Spirit is player Anna Heilferty, a Falls Church native. In the past two years, Anna and the Spirit have participated in two tree planting events (one at Anacostia Park), hosted us for their sustainability game nights, and organized a ‘Goals for Trees’ initiative last season, in which a tree was planted for each home goal scored.

In exciting news, Anna has been nominated for the National Women’s Soccer League’s Lauren Holiday Impact Award, which recognizes players who are making a difference in their communities. In Anna’s case, her nomination is a result of her sustainability work generally, but specifically with Friends of Anacostia Park. As the first Ambassador for DOEE’s Sustainable DC, Anna became involved with FoAP after tabling a Late Skate event on behalf of DOEE. For Anna, it was important that her work with them not be one and done, and that she use her platform as a professional athlete to shine a spotlight on their efforts. That is evident in the genuine and committed way Anna has shown up for all the community groups she’s involved with, including Casey Trees. Anna told us, “I’m happy to put my face to these campaigns and represent something that my heart is behind, and that represents my values.”

At the Spirit game on October 13th, Friends of Anacostia Park was honored with a $5,000 donation from the NWSL. But they have the chance to win even more money to support their mission! From now until the end of the month, you can vote for Anna Heilferty in a fan vote, once a day. If Anna has the most votes at the end of October, she will receive additional funds to donate to FoAP. Voting couldn’t be easier- you don’t have to provide any personal information and it only requires two clicks. Let’s show Friends of Anacostia Park how much we value their work in the community by voting for Anna and getting them more funding to continue that work.

We couldn’t be prouder to stand in partnership with Friends of Anacostia Park and the Washington Spirit in greening Anacostia and we look forward to more collaborations in the future!