The Fairfax County Park Authority Board announced two recipients of the Elly Doyle Park Service Award for 2022, honoring their work as leaders of local invasive-plant-removal efforts.
The honorees:
• Stephen Markle is an Invasive Management Area (IMA) Volunteer Site Leader and a Park Volunteer Team Leader. He has volunteered his time to Gil McCutcheon Park in Alexandria since 1998, helping protect and preserve the 18-acre park for nearly a quarter century.
As an IMA site leader, Markle has organized more than 137 workdays and contributed approximately 2,276 hours to the restoration and maintenance of the park. He has spent countless hours repairing trails and working with volunteers to ensure safe use of trails.
• Willow Martin is an Invasive Management Site leader for Oakton Community Park. She has served as a volunteer in various capacities for many years, and became an IMA Site leader in April 2021.
The Greater Oakton Community Association asked her to help with the park, a role she enthusiastically took on, knowing it would likely be a large and multi-year job.To date she has organized 12 monthly sessions involving more than 200 people, and has cleared several areas of invasive plants and planted numerous new trees and native flowers.
The Elly Doyle Park Service Award was established in 1988 in recognition of former Park Authority Board chairman Ellamae Doyle’s years of outstanding service toward the preservation of parkland and establishment of natural and recreational areas for the benefit of county residents.
Awards will be presented at an online event later in the year.