60 trees destroyed, support of the DC Office of Attorney General on key Friends of the Field’s concerns, and a Board of Zoning Adjustment decision to punt on the Attorney General's opinion. Friends of the Field continues to advocate for thoughtful use of our precious space space and transparent due process. Here’s an update on recent activities

We continue to advocate on our behalf. Since Sept. 27, 2021, when Maret made its intentions to develop the ECC fields public, Friends of the Field has been busy. We’ve done house-to-house organizing, pressed Maret for answers to our ongoing questions, met with consultants, specialists and experts, wrote letters to city administrators, hired an attorney, and much more. See our latest actions.

We finalized our Position Statement and released it on January 13, 2022.

Friends of the Field have offered an alternative to Maret's proposal: a single field, with a single user, and natural grass turf. Lot coverage would be reduced by 45%, many more trees would be retained, and much more of the naturally sloping site preserved. Only the field would be enclosed, and not the entire 5-acre site, greatly decreasing objectionable visual intrusion. This idea was originally prepared while working with the ANC in an attempted compromise with Maret.

Good news! Friends of the Field has been granted Party Status in Board of Zoning Adjustment case #20643: Maret School

Friends of the Field held our second Town Hall on plastic turf on June 8, 2022. The zoom meeting featured nationally known experts talking about PFAS and other toxic chemicals that are present in the plastic turf, and their effects on health. The timing was fortuitous: a week later EPA announced Health Advisories for PFAS and a program with $1 billion in funding to strengthen health protections.

On Feb 1, 2022 we presented our positions and concerns to the neighborhood council, including an alternate view of how to meet the needs of all parties -- ECC, Maret and the immediate neighbors.

Friends of the Field held a rally on 1-8-2022 to update community members about issues and concerns. About 50 people showed up to express support. Thank you! Here are some pictures from the event.

Our Councilmember, Janeese Lewis George, and her Chief of Staff, Lenace Edwards, toured the field on 1/04/2022