| 2005 Elly Doyle Award
Pickens, a McLean resident, has been instrumental in creating and maintaining what he refers to as one of McLean's "hidden treasures": the Pimmit Run Stream Valley Trail, which, when completed, will allow walkers to traverse the approximately six miles between Olney Park in Pimmit Hills and Pimmit Run's mouth near Chain Bridge in surroundings that make it easy to forget that the trail runs through built-up Northern Virginia. Much of Pickens' efforts involve working with landowners neighboring the trail to obtain easements where necessary, and to make sure that the route and construction methods chosen will enhance neighboring properties. "Having direct access to the trail can be a real selling point for a property," Pickens says, "but neighbors sometimes have understandable concerns. Often, we can address those concerns in very simple ways: placing a stream crossing so that it isn't visible from a house, for instance, or so that people aren't tempted to cut across the corner of an Pickens has been aided by a dedicated group of volunteers, including trail overseers Bruce Glendening, Dan Burd, Gordon Harris, and Paul Blackburn, who take responsibility for maintaining sections of the trail, and citizens who turn out twice a year to help with the semiannual Pimmit Run cleanup. During the most recent cleanup, held in October 2005, 67 volunteers at 10 cleanup sites removed more than 91 bags of trash and an assortment of larger objects, including 2 bicycles, 1 motorbike, a large commercial printer, and quantities of lumber, wire fencing, and other construction materials, from the stream. Before each cleanup, Pickens and longtime FTAS volunteer Victor Litwinski walk the length of the stream, removing some of the larger items and throwing them up on the bank so that volunteers can reach them easily. Litwinski, renowned among FTAS members for his ability to move boulders and other large, heavy objects during trail construction, also picks up litter in the channel between cleanups, leaving it neatly packaged in bags at the side of the trail. "One of the ways that you can tell how much people appreciate the trail," Litwinski says, "is that someone - either a neighboring homeowner or another trail user on their way home - always makes sure that the bags get put in a trash can. People care about the stream, and are willing to do their part to keep it clean." Pickens is also known for his innovative and economical use of materials, and for his care in assuring that the trail will not damage the stream. Often working closely with Boy Scouts completing their Eagle projects, Pickens has designed trail features including an unobtrusive fair-weather crossing constructed of plastic buckets sunk in the stream and filled with concrete, and a bridge over a side-channel that began life as a moving-truck ramp. Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly speaking at the awards ceremony:
Chairman Connolly with FTAS President Ed Pickens:
From left to right; FTAS volunteer Ric Francke, FTAS founder and past president Bill Neidringhaus, Ed Pickens holding the Elly Doyle Award, Dranesville Supervisor Joan Dubois, FTAS volunteers Gerry Schueman and Victor Litwinski:
Ed Pickens holding the Elly Doyle Award with Dranesville Supervisor Joan Dubois:
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William Edward "Ed" Pickens III, president of Fairfax Trails and Streams (FTAS), received the Fairfax County Park Authority's Elly Doyle Award for outstanding volunteer service at a Nov. 18, 2005 ceremony at the Waterford in Fair Oaks.
