Lead a storm drain education project

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Volunteering to lead a storm drain labeling project is a fun way to give back to the community and help protect our natural world. Each project focuses on a neighborhood, informing people who live there about the dangers of dumping anything into a storm drain. Storm drain labeling is an effective, low-cost method of educating residents about water quality problems in our streams, lakes, rivers and the Bay. The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District is currently recruiting volunteers to lead storm drain labeling projects. Click here for more information.

Watch VMN webinar, Coyotes in Virginia, 25 July

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This presentation:

  • highlights the history, biology, and ecology of coyotes in Virginia
  • offers suggestions for reducing coyote-human conflicts in both rural and urban environments
  • discusses a coyote research project being conducted in the Appalachian Mountain region of western Virginia
  • will increase your understanding of, and perhaps dispel a few myths related to one of the world’s most adaptable mammals. Although coyotes are a relative new comer to Virginia, they are here to stay and we must learn to coexist with them.

Presenter: Mike Fies, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

Mike Fies works as a wildlife research biologist for the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries.  His office is located in the Shenandoah Valley just north of Staunton.  Mike is the state Furbearer Project Leader with job responsibilities that include conducting research, monitoring populations, developing management recommendations, resolving wildlife conflicts, and providing information to the public related to Virginia’s furbearer species. He has statewide responsibilities. Wildlife species included in his job duties include bobcat, fox, coyote, raccoon, skunk, opossum, weasel, beaver, muskrat, mink, otter, and nutria.

Webinar Details

When: July 25, 2018, 12:00 pm

Meeting Number: 450 486 470

Link to join: Join Webinar

(This link will connect you to the video feed, but you will need to connect your audio separately to hear the speaker.  Zoom will prompt you to do that once you have connected the video feed.  See the technical information below for details on connecting your audio.)

Link for recordings of this and past webinars*: VMN Continuing Education page 

*Please note that Virginia Tech is in the process of moving our recordings to a new system, and the recordings are currently unavailable while they work out some technical details.  We hope to have them all back on line soon!

Technical Support

If you have not successfully used Zoom before or if you have made any recent changes in your web browser, we suggest that you try a test meeting well beforehand.  This will prompt you to download the Zoom software that you will need to fully participate.  There is an option to participate just via your web browser, but please be aware that it does not have the same level of functionality.

We will open the webinar at least 30 minutes prior to the start time, and we encourage you to log on early to make sure the system is working for you.

Audio Connection

Please be aware that connecting to Zoom using the link provided allows you to see the presentation, but you will have to then connect your audio separately so that you can also hear the presenter.  Zoom will prompt you to do that once you join the meeting.  We recommend that you join using your computer audio if you are able.  For this option, click the “Join Audio Conference by Computer” button under the “Computer Audio” tab in the audio window that pops up when you join the meeting.

If you can’t call using computer, you can call in by phone at US: +1 669 900 6833  or +1 929 436 2866.  The meeting identification number is 450-486-470.  Long distance charges apply; this is not a toll-free number.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Please note that this Zoom service allows audio and other information sent during the session to be recorded, which may be discoverable in a legal matter. By joining this session, you automatically consent to such recordings. If you do not consent to being recorded, discuss your concerns with the host or do not join the session.

If you have specific technical questions, try the Zoom Support Center.

Earn your stream monitoring certification at workshop August 18th

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NVSWCD stream monitoring.

Want to take your volunteering to the next level? Become a Certified Stream Monitor and adopt your own site to monitor quarterly! Candidates for certification must have attended at least 3-4 monitoring workshops/sessions or have other prior experience. The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation workshop will consist of a morning review of invertebrates and watersheds, followed by time for the written portion of the test. In the afternoon, certification candidates will be observed as they perform a stream monitoring at Young’s Branch. Those not seeking certification are welcome to attend as well. Other activities and a lunch break will be offered while the certification test is underway. To RSVP and for more information, please contact Dan Schwartz at dan.schwartz@fairfaxcounty.gov or Veronica Tangiri at waterquality@pwswcd.org.

Manassas Battlefield National Park, Park Headquarters

Saturday, 18 August 2018

9 am – 3 pm

Check out Fairfax County Parks’ Open House, 21 July 2018

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The Fairfax County Park Authority will celebrate National Parks & Recreation Month with free open house events across Fairfax County on July 21st. Stop by one of the eight free events and find that “A Lifetime of Discovery” awaits you in Fairfax parks.

Hike to Burke Lake Park 

Explore South Run ReCenter

Outdoor Yoga & Pilates

Tours of Colvin Run Miller’s House

House Tours at Sully

Footgolf for Kids

Tai Chi on the Lawn

Youth Golf Clinic

Various times

Multiple parks throughout Fairfax County

July Green Breakfast: The Revitalize, Restore, Replant Program

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Join the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District for a hot buffet breakfast and an illuminating talk by ecologists from Fairfax County’s Stormwater Planning Division. They will discuss their Revitalize, Restore, Replant Program, an initiative to turn schoolyard stormwater management facilities into hands-on, outdoor classrooms. The cost is $10, payable at the door. Cash preferred and no RSVP needed.

Location: Brion’s Grille, 10621 Braddock Road, Fairfax, in the University Shopping Mall

Saturday, 14 July 2018

8:30 – 10 am

Stream monitoring events in July: Plan now to attend

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Sunday, 8 July 2018

Prince William County Stream Monitoring Session: Woodbridge
Time:   11 am – 1:30pm
Location: Off of Springwoods Dr, Woodbridge

Join certified volunteer monitor Janis Cook at her adopted site along Airport Creek in the Lakeridge neighborhood. For directions and to RSVP, please contact Janis at [email protected].

Saturday, 14 July 2018

Pohick Creek Monitoring Workshop: Springfield/LortonPohick
Time: 9 – 11:30 am
Location: Pohick Creek Stream Valley Park, Springfield
Help monitor big and beautiful Pohick Creek as it winds through its rocky valley just north of I-95 and Lorton. Please RSVP to Dan Schwartz at dan.schwartz@fairfaxcounty.gov or sign up through Fairfax County’s online Volunteer Management System (initial registration required).

Sunday, 15 July 2018

Prince William County Stream Monitoring Session: Haymarket
Time: 10 am – Noon
Location: James Long Park, 4603 James Madison Hwy, Haymarket. Park at the Old Library parking lot.
Join longtime certfied volunteer monitor Elaine Wilson at her beautiful adopted site on Catharpin Creek in the Gainesville area. This site has some outstanding and unique critters. Spots are limited. For information and to RSVP, contact Elaine at elaine.wilson@dcwater.com.

Saturday, 28 July 2018

Reston Association Stream Monitoring Workshop: Reston
Time:  8 am
Location: Reston Association Property, exact stream to be determined
Join Will Peterson of the Reston Association and help monitor the health of one of the many beautiful streams on Reston Association common land. Please contact Will at wpeterson@reston.org for RSVP instructions and directions to the site.

Saturday, 28 July 2018

Difficult Run Stream Monitoring Workshop: Great Falls
Time: 9:30 am
Location: Difficult Run Stream Valley Park near Leigh Mill Rd
Help monitor beautiful Difficult Run as it flows through leafy parkland just upstream of Great Falls National Park. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Dan Schwartz at [email protected] or use Fairfax County’s online Volunteer Management System (initial registration required).

Sunday, 29 July 2018

Stream Monitoring Session: South RunSouth
Time: 1:30 – 4 pm
Location: Parkland behind South Run Rec Center, 7550 Reservation Dr, Springfield
Join certified volunteer monitor Veronica Tangiri as she monitors her adopted site along beautiful and healthy South Run as it flows under a leafy canopy of trees between Burke Lake and Lake Mercer. Please RSVP to Veronica at vera.tangiri@gmail.com for directions.

Life in the Soil: A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners, by James B. Nardi

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Reviewed by Kathleen Luisa

I have a fairly extensive library of naturalist books and field guides subjects from geology to space to weather to worms to seashells. I even have a field guide to fields!  Many of them really don’t lend themselves to being read cover to cover, but Life in the Soil: A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners, by James B. Nardi, does.  This is one of the best, most thorough, and most thoroughly enjoyable books I’ve read on, well, dirt.  And everything that lives in dirt.

The book is laid out well, much like an outline for a college course would have been years ago.  It starts from the general (and most minuscule components of the soil) and moves progressively through to the more specific and larger inhabitants. The first of the three parts of the book explains how soil forms from rocks and organic materials through  chemical and weathering processes.  The second part is a wonderfully in-depth explanation and description of the members of the soil community and their relationships. The third part covers how we can work in partnership with all of the foregoing to increase and maintain the health of the soil for the benefit of all without chemicals, and how to prevent many of the problems we enable through erosion and the unfettered use of fertilizers.

The author’s style is engaging, often humorous, and I feel like he’s talking right to me. He clearly has deep affection and admiration for his subject, and he conveys complex information in a way that is easy to understand without sacrificing the scientific quality.  One thing in particular I really like is that the soil community part introduces each new organism with a box that identifies its place in the taxonomic system, its place in the food web, size and its impact on gardens. The illustrations and photos are great, too.

Want to review a resource? We’d love to hear from you. Instructions for submission await your click and commitment.

Looking for continuing education opportunities?

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The statewide Virginia Master Naturalists website has a wealth of webinars approved for continuing ed.

There is often an opportunity for a live webinar.  Or, you can review recorded webinars.  A wide variety of topics is available, such as:  Poisonous Plants in Virginia, Butterfly Identification, overviews of several service opportunities like Virginia’s Big Tree Program, and many more.

Learn more: Continuing Education Resources: Webinar Series page of the VMN website

If you are a master naturalist, you can record your CE hours as VMN Continuing Education Webinar Series.

You can also review the classes for Curated Resources and get service hour credit. Good deal.

Volunteer opportunities at Earth Sangha

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Founded in 1997, the Earth Sangha is a nonprofit public charity based in the Washington, DC, region. Their mission is ecological restoration as a form of socially engaged Buddhism. Volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and the work is secular and science-based.

In the DC area, they operate a volunteer-based program to propagate local native plants, restore native plant communities, and control invasive alien plants. The Wild Plant Nursery is the region’s most comprehensive effort to propagate native plants directly from local forests and meadows. Nursery and office addresses are different. Click here for directions to the Wild Plant Nursery.

The summer nursery workdays are Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9 AM to Noon.  Please be sure to bring a water bottle and stay hydrated.  There is no indoor space, air conditioning or even fans at the nursery.  Keep a close eye on the volunteer calendar.  For safety reasons, they may have to cancel volunteer workdays and nursery hours on short notice because of high temperatures, poor air quality, and thunderstorms.  Contact Matt Bright, Conservation Manager, to RSVP to volunteer or for questions or concerns at [email protected] or at his cell: 703-859-2951.

Volunteers can help with watering, weeding, pot preparation, transplanting, and sowing seed.  Gloves and tools will be provided.

In addition to environmental work, Earth Sangha hosts weekly meditation sessions in Alexandria, Virginia, along with discussions of what it means to live in a responsible way. These sessions are free and open to all.

Earn Stream Monitoring Service Hours at Holmes Run

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Earn FMN service hours by volunteering as a stream monitor at Holmes Run in Annandale. Participants will collect live samples of benthic macroinvertebrates, then sort, count and report on their findings to determine the stream’s current health. No previous experience is required.

If you are interested, please contact Valeria Bertha at [email protected] for more details. For master naturalists: This ongoing project is listed in the service project catalog as: C020 – NVSWCD Biological Stream Monitoring.

Holmes Run, Annandale
Sunday, August 5
9.00AM-12.00PM