Roll Call had a subscriber-only story up yesterday about today’s kick-off of an effort on the part of non-profit Trust for the National Mall to raise $350 million to revitalize Washington’s top tourist destination. Students from Ann Beers Elementary School in Southeast are getting things going today by planting 3,000 daffodil bulbs in Constitution Gardens.

Citing maintenance needs due to heavy use like cracked walkways and patchy grass, the Trust will be working alongside the National Park Service to raise the needed funds to restore and preserve the National Mall. Pending Centennial Challenge legislation in the House could provide federal matching funds for some of the project’s initiatives.

Have you noticed any particular areas of the National Mall that are in need of immediate attention? And what do you think of the apparent need to raise private funds to fix up our country’s most visible national land?

Photo by Greg McElhatton