2024 Quarterly Chapter Meetings

/in , /by

Quarterly Membership all-hands meetings.

This article announces the schedule for the 2024 chapter all-hands meetings. All meetings have been entered into the BI calendar for your convenience. They can also now be found listed on the BI home page.
Details will be added as the date approaches.
Each meeting will include 1 hour of FMN CE.
The March meeting was changed to a Tuesday to accommodate the speaker’s schedule.

Tuesday March 19 – Virtual; guest speaker is Doug Tallamy
Monday June 17 – In person; location TBD
Monday September 16 – Virtual
Monday December 16 – In person; location TBD

Registration in BI is not required. However, by registering, the event is placed on your personal BI calendar as a reminder. Events you register for may be seen on your BI Home page and edited under your BI Schedule tab.

FMN CE: Riverbend Wildflower Walk

/in , /by

What: FMN CE Wildflower Walk for Fairfax Master Naturalists
When:  Thursday April 11, 2024 @ 4:30-7:00 pm
Where: Riverbend Park, Great Falls, Va.

How long: Approximately 2 hours.
Group limit: 20 individuals

The venerable Alonso Abugattas will lead the trail walk.  In April, expect to see an abundance of Blue Bells, Dutchman’s Britches, and White Trout Lily, along the river’s edge; and maybe Trillium, Valerian, and an orchid or two in the forest.

Please contact FMN John Wilson if you have questions
[email protected]

This is an FMN only CE event and registration is required thru BI

To register:

  1. Login to BI and click on your ‘Opportunities’ tab.
  2. Select ‘Opportunity Calendar’ from the pull-down list.
  3. Find event in the displayed calendar and click on it to display event details.
  4. To sign up, Click on the ‘Sign Up’ box in the lower right. This automatically signs you up and puts the event on your calendar.
  5. To claim 2 CE hours: use All Continuing Education -> FMN All other Chapter Training

FMN CE: Turkey Run Wildflower Walk

/in /by

What: FMN CE Turkey Run Wildflower Walk for Fairfax Master Naturalists
When: Saturday, 30 March 2024, 9 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where: Turkey Run in McLean, Va.
How long: Approximately 4 hours.
Group limit: 15 individuals

Margaret Chatham, storyteller, nature enthusiast, and founder of Voices in the Glen, will lead a hike along Zig-Zag trial down to the river at Turkey Run Park in McLean, Virginia. Turkey Run is part of the Potomac Heritage Trail. Meet at the trailhead on the river side of parking area C-1, the first parking area you come to as you enter the park from GW Memorial Parkway.

Please note that parking is only available at C-1 due to construction and the restrooms do not open until April. There are restrooms at the Parkway Headquarters, though it is only open M-F 815am – 415pm.

Please contact FMN John Wilson if you have questions
[email protected]

This is an FMN only CE event and registration is required thru BI

To register:
1. Login to BI and click on your ‘Opportunities’ tab.
2. Select ‘Opportunity Calendar’ from the pull-down list.
3. Find event in the displayed calendar and click on it to display event details.
4. To sign up, Click on the ‘Sign Up’ box in the lower right. This automatically signs you up and puts the event on your calendar.
5. To claim 4 CE hours: use All Continuing Education -> FMN

FMN CE: South Run Herp Hike

/in , /by

What: FMN CE Herp Hike for Fairfax Master Naturalists
When: Tuesday, April 16th, 2024 @ 1:30 pm
Where: South Run Park and Rec Center in Springfield
How long: Approximately 2 hours.
Group limit: 10 individuals

Caroline Seitz from Virginia Herpetology Society (VHS) will lead a walk to discover reptiles and amphibians.
The parking is plentiful and easy. Plan to meet at the parking lot after the dog park parking area as you come in on Reservation Drive towards South Run Rec Center.

7550 Reservation Drive Springfield, Virginia

Please contact FMN John Wilson if you have questions
[email protected]

This is an FMN only CE event and registration is required thru BI

To register:
1. Login to BI and click on your ‘Opportunities’ tab.
2. Select ‘Opportunity Calendar’ from the pull-down list.
3. Find event in the displayed calendar and click on it to display event details.
4. To sign up, Click on the ‘Sign Up’ box in the lower right. This automatically signs you up and puts the event on your calendar.
5. To claim 2 CE hours: use All Continuing Education -> FMN All other Chapter Training

The Braddock District Tree Forum, Trees Need More Than Hugs: How to Care for Your Trees! March 20th

/in , , /by

Photo: Plant NOVA Trees

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 7-9 pm
7:00-9:00 pm

No registration is required.
Kings Park Library Conference Room
9000 Burke Lake Rd, Burke, VA, 22015-1683

Questions: [email protected]

Come to this informative event to hear three experts in the field talking about tree care.  Information tables will be set up to visit before and after the talk. Win a chance to receive a free native tree seedling!  Free, no registration, all are welcome. Come to learn about why you should care, and how to care, for your trees.  For more information, click, or copy and paste, this link:  2024 Braddock District Tree Forum flyer final.pdf

NVSWCD Seedling Sale is Coming!

/in /by

Photo:  Francesco Gallarotti on Unsplash

The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District is excited to share another year of seedlings with you! This year they are featuring a Nectar Lovers package and a Songbird Friendly package. Descriptions and pictures of the seedlings in each one are available on our website.

They understand that their seedlings are very popular and sell out quickly. To address some of the ordering challenges from past years, they will have a staggered release of seedlings. Seedling packages will be made available on the sales website at 10am, 2pm, and 6pm on Thursday, March 14, 2024 and will remain available until sold out. If you miss the 10am seedlings, check back later in the day at 2pm or 6pm after the inventory has been replenished. The seedling sale pickup dates are Friday, April 19, from 9am-4pm and Saturday, April 20, from 9am-12pm at the Sleepy Hollow Bath and Racquet Club in Falls Church.

Don’t want to miss the sale? You can sign up for their seedling sale emails by clicking here and they’ll send you reminders.

NVSWCD Green Breakfast: Knockout Natives, March 9th

/in , /by

Saturday, March 9, 2023
9 am
Free
Speaker: Sam Hoadley, the Manager of Horticultural Research at Mt. Cuba Center
Registration required. 

Join Sam Hoadley, the Manager of Horticultural Research at Mt. Cuba Center, as he highlights knockout native species and cultivars from their trials. Top performers and favorites of Monarda, Phlox, Echinacea, wild hydrangea, Carex represent some of the best native plants for the mid-Atlantic region and beyond. Sam will discuss their horticultural and ecological performance and will share important information on standouts that will make beautiful additions to your garden.

NVSWCD’s popular Green Breakfasts are now virtual! All Green Breakfast webinars begin at 9:00am and are hosted on Teams. No prior registration is required.

January Green Breakfast Recording available: Conserve Energy, Save Money, and Take Climate Action with OEEC

Speaker: Dr. Neely Law, Senior Planner, Fairfax County Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination
The January Green Breakfast was chock full of information, be sure to check it out if you weren’t able to join us! To watch the recording on our YouTube channel, click here.

Stream Monitoring Citizen Science & Training Opportunities, March

/in , , /by

Photo: FMN Janet Quinn, Hidden Pond stream monitoring

*NVSWCD Workshop*
Wolftrap Creek Stream Monitoring Workshop
When: Saturday, March 2, 9:00am-12:00pm
Where: Wolftrap Creek Stream Valley Park/Foxstone Park, Vienna

Join NVSWCD for our first stream monitoring workshop of the spring season. This site features a small, shallow stream which usually has a good number of beetles. Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

Accotink Creek Spring Stream Monitoring
When: Saturday, March 9, 9:30-11:30am
Where: Lake Accotink Park, Springfield

GET YOUR BRAIN WET! Join Friends of Lake Accotink Park and Friends of Accotink Creek for a rewarding and fun time for adults and children who enjoy helping our parks and environment by identifying and counting stream critters to document the health of the stream. It’s fun for the whole family to learn what’s in the water by seeing and counting stream critters. The critter count is ever-changing, but volunteers have made some exciting finds, including small crayfish. Learn more and be sure to register here. 

*NVSWCD Workshop*
Difficult Run Stream Monitoring Workshop
When: Sunday, March 24, 9:00am-12:00pm
Where: Difficult Run Stream Valley Park, Great Falls

This stream site in Great Falls is a short walk through the woods to a river with wide, sandy banks. These trails are very popular with hikers and volunteers often get high water quality scores at this site. Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

*NVSWCD Workshop*
Big Rocky Run Stream Monitoring Workshop
When: Thursday, March 28, 1:00-4:00pm
Where: Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, Chantilly

This stream monitoring site on Big Rocky Run is located near the historic Cabell’s Mill in Ellanor C. Lawrence Park. This park features great trails with interpretive signage and the stream site is a stone’s throw from Walney Pond, where you may get to see the happy beaver family that lives there. Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

 

More Training and Stream Monitoring Opportunities

The NoVa Soil & Water Conservation teams are  very excited to contribute their stream data to state and national datasets. If you’d like to see data from all the NVSWCD regional stream monitoring team’s active sites, you can find our organization on the Clean Water Hub.

Geology of the Piedmont Tour, March 9th

/2 Comments/in , /by

Image: Courtesy of Clifton Institute

Saturday, March 9, 2023
9:00AM – 12:00PM

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Rd
Warrenton, VA 20187

Cost: FREE

Registration is REQUIRED.

It’s winter and that means that rock season is upon us! This year, it would be nice to branch out and check out a whole new geologic province. The last two years the class took a close look at rocks of the Piedmont Plateau and learned that several times in the geologic past, huge mountain ranges rose up where the Piedmont is today. Where did those mountains go? The sand and silt washed down from those soaring peaks must have gone somewhere and this class is going to find it! Join this tour for a journey off the western edge of the Blue Ridge Anticlinorium and into one of the world’s great thrust/fold belts, the Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachian Mountains. you will be looking at layers and layers of ancient sediments laid out in a vast river delta. Like the pages of a book, these layers have a fascinating story to tell about life in the Paleozoic.

The tour will be heading out to Front Royal to begin the geology tour this year and making its way up into Fort Valley, stopping along the way. A few of the stops will involve a short hike but nothing too strenuous.

Participants can EITHER meet at Clifton at 9 a.m. and carpool to Front Royal, OR meet the tour in Front Royal around 10 a.m.

Sangha Stewards Applications Open Now!

/in , /by

Image courtesy of Earth Sangha

Sangha Stewards Application here.

Earth Sangha is excited to announce that they’re opening applications for their Sangha Steward program! The Sangha Stewards is a way for volunteers looking for more independent and technical work to join them at their nursery, field sites, and office to help them manage more complex tasks and receive extra training.

Sangha Stewards will be invited to work more closely with their staff and to join their monthly staff training sessions (they’ll have snacks!). Days and times are more flexible and they’re looking to work with their Stewards to develop their skills and what sort of work they’re most interested in.

They have four categories for Sangha Stewards:

Nursery and Propagation: While they already do a lot of potting up, they frequently have species that need a little bit more detailed care: perhaps it’s a tray with mixed species, maybe they have delicate seedlings that need to be teased apart, or they need someone with a keen eye and a steady hand to remove weeds among rare or sensitive native plants. Or maybe you just want to relax and help them hand water through the summer. This is work that can be done independently or as part of our regular volunteer days.

Building and Infrastructure: They always have a backlog of maintenance and construction tasks at the nursery, whether it’s adjusting irrigation lines or helping them build more oak and hickory rodent exclosures. If you’re handy with tools, they could use the help here!

Invasives and Field Sites: The invasives never sleep, so they could use an extra set of eyes and hands out at some of their field sites. This could mean checking sites periodically for Early Detection Rapid Response species or even doing a little bit of independent pulling or helping them lead volunteers at their field days. They’ll make sure to familiarize you with their sites and train you on the species and areas they’re looking to target. Keeping invasive vines off their Habitat Refuges will be one of their top priorities.

Office: For those of you who would rather be inside, they do need periodic help at their office. It may not be as frequent as the other categories, but printing labels and helping them organize their Acorn newsletter mailings would be a big help!

If you’re interested in joining, they’ve put together a Google Form you can fill out (see link above) and Michaelanne will be in touch soon. (If you have any questions, please see the volunteer page of our website or email Michaelanne at [email protected].) As they’re beginning this program, they’re going to limit the number of spots; as they grow, if folks are interested, they can open up this opportunity to more people.