Herndon Environmental Network's Founder Nominated as 'Hero'

What started as a simple "passion project" for Herndon resident Carlin Anderson is now earning her national recognition - and she hopes to now bring that attention to the town.

Anderson is the founder of the Herndon Environmental Network (HEN), a group in which locals get together to spread awareness about environmental issues and perform earth-conscious projects around town.

For all that she does around town - and for growing HEN's membership from just a handful of local friends to roughly 100 members currently - one of HEN's members decided to nominate Anderson for a Cox Conserves Heroes award.

Now, Anderson has been selected as one of three finalists in Virginia, and she is on the verge of winning a cash prize worth thousands of dollars.

Anderson told Patch, she couldn't be more surprised or pleased at the unexpected turn of events.

"I was thinking nothing would come of it [when she nominated me]; I was very surprised to find out I was a finalist," she said.

For being selected as one of the three Virginia finalists, Anderson has already won a $2,500 prize for HEN. If she is the grand prize winner, she will win another $10,000 on top of it.

"I have so many ideas of what HEN could do with the money - and I'd also love to hear the public's ideas too," she said.

Anderson said HEN, which meets quarterly, has been hard at work since forming.

Most recently, the group got together to perform invasive plant removals around downtown.

"That went so well that we're going to do that on a regular basis," she said, explaining that an "invasive" plant is one that is exotic and tends to take over native plants, and can be harmful for pets.

She said, often, homeowners will plant them in their gardens because they're pretty, not knowing of the hazards - such as honeysuckle and English Ivy around Herndon, for example.

The plants then end up growing very rapidly and can even kill trees.

In fact, Anderson said invasive plants will be the subject of the group's very first episode of "HEN-TV," their new show debuting soon on Herndon Community Television.

"We'll talk about how to identify invasive plants, and how to remove them," she said.

The group will also be holding its second annual "Battle of the Bottles" competition this summer, in which two Herndon neighborhoods compete to see which one can increase its recycling by the largest percentage.

HEN also regularly performs trash pickups and organizes tours of recycling plants for children, to teach them about the importance of recycling.

How to Vote for Her in the 'Cox Conserves Heroes' Awards

To support Carlin Anderson in the Cox Conserves Heroes awards, just go to the Virginia page of the contest website and vote for her. You can also view a video interview Cox filmed with her.

Voting is open through June 17. A person can only vote once.

Barb Welsh, a member of HEN, said she is thrilled Anderson is being recognized for her hard work organizing HEN.

"Carlin has been a great leader, and has been instrumental in the group's momentum," Welsh said. "She is a humble, yet level-headed, intelligent, 'let's get this done' sort of woman. She genuinely cares about our environment, and the impact it will have on her children and generations to come."

Welsh said, she not only loves the group projects HEN members gather to do together, but how the group as a whole encourages and supports members to get their own individual environmental projects off the ground. 

"I've been happy to be working on establishing community gardens, and have been tickled by the expertise and support that I've had to move things forward," she said.

"The Town and the community have been very receptive to our efforts thus far, and it's exciting to anticipate what might be lying ahead," she added.

What do you think of Carlin Anderson's work, and of the Herndon Environmental Network? Will you be voting for her? Tell us in the comments below.

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