To celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Peace Corps, the Northern Virginia Returned Peace Corps Volunteers proposed a commemorative tree-planting project to the Fairfax County Park Authority’s Invasive Management Area (IMA) program.

The group wanted to honor the milestone with 65 native trees and asked the Park Authority to choose a site that needed more shade and tree cover. The Park Authority selected Jefferson Manor Park in Alexandria because there was space to reduce mowed grass areas and the park has an existing IMA Volunteer Site Leader dedicated to managing invasive species with volunteer help. The park also sits near urban “heat islands,” where pavement and buildings trap heat.

To make the planting possible, the Park Authority worked with Fairfax ReLeaf, which donated 65 native saplings. On April 26, 2026, volunteers from the Jefferson Manor community and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers came together to remove invasive English ivy and plant native trees, wildflowers and grasses. Their work helped make Jefferson Manor Park a greener, cooler and more resilient space.

The Peace Corps

President John F. Kennedy created the Peace Corps in 1961. It is a federal agency that sends American volunteers overseas to work with local community members. For more than six decades, Peace Corps volunteers have addressed needs in education, health, the environment, agriculture, community economic development and youth development. They focus on building cross-cultural understanding and supporting projects that last.

The Power of Partnership

This project shows the “domestic dividend” of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers — the positive local impact they have in the United States after serving abroad — and their commitment to working with their neighbors.
The effort brought together several partners:

• Fairfax County Park Authority Invasive Management Area program: Trains and supports volunteers who remove invasive plants and restore parks, forests, meadows and waterways in Fairfax County.
• Fairfax ReLeaf: A nonprofit group of volunteers who plant and protect trees, improve community appearance and restore habitat on public and common land in Northern Virginia.
• Jefferson Manor Citizens Association: A volunteer organization of residents in the Jefferson Manor neighborhood of Fairfax County.
• Northern Virginia Returned Peace Corps Volunteers: A group of Peace Corps alumni who promote peace through better understanding of other cultures and countries.

Voices from the Partnership

• Patricia Greenberg, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama and staff member with the FCPA Invasive Plant Management Program: “I was happy to help coordinate the planting and celebrate the Peace Corps’ 65th anniversary. This type of event creates a sense of community for those that participate. The plantings help reduce mowing and support the County’s green space strategy, increasing tree canopy at Jefferson Manor Park.”
• Taylor Beach, Fairfax ReLeaf executive director: “ReLeaf is pleased to support bringing the global good of Peace Corps to our own backyard – cleaning and cooling our local environment with native plantings.”
• Derek Cole, Jefferson Manor Citizens Association member: “Jefferson Manor has always been a community where neighbors show up for one another, and this project reflects that spirit perfectly. These 65 native trees will make our neighborhood cooler, greener, healthier, and more resilient for future generations, while also creating a more beautiful park for everyone who uses it. We were proud to partner with the Peace Corps volunteers, Fairfax ReLeaf, and the Fairfax County Park Authority to turn an important environmental goal into something tangible our community can enjoy for decades to come.”
• Kamana Mathur, president of Northern Virginia Returned Peace Corps Volunteers: “Participating in the planting of 65 trees to commemorate 65 years of the Peace Corps was a special experience. The Peace Corps, like a tree, builds deep roots and grows into something that provides fruit for years to come – all over the world. And as the roots of different trees often intermingle and make each other stronger, so do we. The organization is built on the premise, “Give a man fish, you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Through Peac Corps service, we not only share new ideas and teach innovative methods to our partners in other nations, we learn ourselves. And we form bonds that last a very long time.”

Why Jefferson Manor Park?

The Fairfax County Park Authority chose Jefferson Manor Park because it sits in an area hit hard by urban heat islands. Urban heat islands are neighborhoods with many roads and buildings and few trees. These surfaces absorb and hold heat, which makes temperatures higher than in nearby areas during both day and night.
By planting 65 native trees, the partners hope to:

• Provide shade: Lower surface and air temperatures for residents, especially people in low-income communities, older adults, children, pregnant people, people with health conditions and people experiencing homelessness.
• Address climate change: Capture and store carbon to support the county’s Resilient Fairfax climate adaptation plan.
• Restore wildlife habitat: Offer food, shelter, nesting sites and breeding areas for native birds, pollinators and other wildlife.