Fairfax Parks Joins 2022 Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz, September 16th through September 25th

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Photo: National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)

Article from the Fairfax County Park Authority, Park News September 7, 2022

The Fairfax County Park Authority is taking part in this year’s Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz and is actively looking for volunteers to participate. Parks for Pollinators is a national campaign focused on raising public awareness of the diversity and importance of pollinators as part of our ecosystem.

This volunteer event takes place Friday, Sept. 16 and runs through Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. Participation in the BioBlitz is as easy as going outdoors in your neighborhood, backyard or local Fairfax County park, and snapping pictures of wild pants, insects, bats and hummingbirds using the iNaturalist app. iNaturalist is totally free and available as both a phone app and internet-based web app.

Volunteers can sign up on the Park Authority’s website and log observations in any of the 429 Fairfax County Park Authority parks. Registrants will receive links to virtual trainings and may log their volunteer hours through the Park Authority’s system. For more information about participation in this fun and engaging volunteer opportunity, visit the Fairfax County volunteer website.

The Parks for Pollinator BioBlitz is organized by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). For more information about pollinators and current threats facing them, please visit the National Recreation and Park Association’s Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz website.

Kite Flyers Reminded of Dangers of String, Filament Left Behind

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Photo: FCPA, Susan Laume

Article from the Fairfax County Park Authority, Park News September 7, 2022

Flying a kite seems simple, but there are strings attached to this fun activity. If you fly a kite and leave behind kite string filament, you may be responsible for injuring or trapping wildlife. You may also impede park maintenance and damage equipment, and you may even potentially injure people who get tangled in kite string.

This summer, there have been groups and individuals flying kites above Laurel Hill Park, the Central Green and Laurel Hill Golf Club. Generally, kite flying is a welcomed activity and fairly benign; however, over the past few months, several incidents have occurred that cause concern.

Kite string filament is being found in trees and on the ground. Park patrons, wildlife managers and Park Authority staff are regularly documenting harm to birds, reptiles and other wildlife caught in kite line. FCPA site maintenance expenditures are rising due to kite string being wrapped up in mowers and other site-specific vehicles. Animal Control has been called on occasion to free animals trapped by the line and tend to their injuries. Even people can be at risk of injury while pulling the string out of trees or running into kite filament dangling from trees.

So how can you assist in solving this problem? The Fairfax County Park Authority is in the process of developing signage to communicate kite-flying rules and safety information, providing more trash cans in the area, and trying to contact any groups or individuals who may be flying kites at Laurel Hill Park.

Signage will remind groups or individuals flying kites that they cannot undertake this activity in any park if it is going to cause littering or damage to county property. Those with kites need to fly them in open areas only. They should fly them no closer than 75 feet to trees, power lines, light poles, parking, people or facilities. The use of monofilament line for kite string is prohibited. And, they must dispose of all kites or kite string if not taking it with them when they leave the park.

Once signs are in place, those witnessing violations of the kite-flying rules will be asked to contact police at the non-emergency number 703-691-2131.

For more information, call the Park Authority Public Information Office at 703-324-8662.

Community Entranceway Landscaping

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Article, Photos, and Images: Courtesy of Plant NOVA Natives: Water’s Edge at Fair Lakes Homeowners Association 

The Audubon-at-Home program in partnership with Plant NOVA Natives obtained a grant from Dominion Energy to award seven matching mini-grants to community associations for converting their entranceway landscaping to all Virginia native plants. The mini-grants stipulated that the landscaping be designed so that the community’s standard landscape company could maintain it. The projects were installed in the fall of 2021. The “after” photos are from Spring 2022. Below, the organizer from Water’s Edge at Fair Lakes Homeowners Association shared some thoughts about their experience that may help other communities.

​Note: Any community or individual in Northern Virginia who wish to use their property for wildlife sanctuary is encouraged to invite an Audubon-at-Home volunteer to walk their property with them and strategize.

In Fairfax County, The Water’s Edge at Fair Lakes Homeowners Association participated in the program.

From the Water’s Edge Organizers:

It is so exciting to see these plants come back this year! We have several signs that you will notice in the pics. Besides the Native Plants sign, there are some smaller signs as well. The smaller green one requests that the plants not be sprayed. There are also small signs with numbers. The numbers correlate to the educational piece, which is the QR codes in multiple places, which invite people to learn more about the plant that is there. This is something we said we would have by this spring. We are still looking into other educational opportunities for the community and will take any chance to share the work that has been done and the benefits associated with planting natives. Since the entrance is located on a walking path in the area, the QR codes are placed so that anyone walking by has the opportunity to learn more about any of the plants. On our part, having this done and engaging with the work has prompted us to consider only natives in other parts of the neighborhood as trees need to be replaced, beds need to be rebuilt, and our own properties need plantings. The invasives that were in the area, such as the lilies, have been difficult to remove, and they came back in full force this year. Hands Dirty came back to remove more of them, and we will continue to monitor the need for removal. During bouts of hot and/or dry weather, we are watering by hand or hiring the landscaping company to water the plants at the entrance as well as other native plantings we are working to establish.

Additional articles about this program and participants:
Welcoming Visitors with Native Plant Landscaping — Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (audubonva.org)
https://www.plantnovanatives.org/entranceway-landscaping

Plant List:
​
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatam ‘Shenandoah’
Southern Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Eastern Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana)
Pennsylvania Sedge) (Carex pensylvanica)
Wood Aster
Woodland Phlox (Phlox diviracata) ‘Sherwood Purple’
Native azalea
Meadow Anemone
American Strawberrybush (Euonymyous americanus)
Aromatic Sumac (Rhus aromatica)
Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata) ‘Emerald Pink’
Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
Black-eyed Susan
Culver’s Root
False Blue Indigo (Baptisia australis)
Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea)
Mountain Mint
Beebalm
Sundrops

 

Before Picture and After Pictures:

Courtesy of Plant NOVA Natives: Water’s Edge at Fair Lakes Homeowners Association

 

Courtesy of Plant NOVA Natives: Water’s Edge at Fair Lakes Homeowners Association

 

Courtesy of Plant NOVA Natives: Water’s Edge at Fair Lakes Homeowners Association

 

Courtesy of Plant NOVA Natives: Water’s Edge at Fair Lakes Homeowners Association

 

Winter Sparrow Identification Workshop, October 14th

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Image/photo: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Friday, October 14, 2022
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

This is a Zoom event.

Cost: $10 ($8 for Friends of Clifton Institute)

Click here for ticket purchase and additional information.

Every season brings its own challenges for birdwatching. In winter similar-looking sparrows can be hard to tell apart and birding by ear becomes more difficult as birds start singing less and calling more.

This program is intended for both beginner and advanced birders. This program will take place over Zoom.  They will send a link closer to the date.

Native Seed Collection and Propagation Workshop, October 8th

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Image/photo: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Saturday, October 8, 2022
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Road, Warrenton, VA
38.775154, -77.798197

Registration is FREE.

Click here to register.

Collecting and propagating native seeds is a great way to help spread native plant populations, add 100% native species to your gardens, and learn about the native plants in your backyard.  Executive Director Bert Harris and Earth Sangha Nursery’s Matt Bright will lead participants in learning when seeds are ready to collect, how to collect and store seeds, and how to propagate them.

Volunteer Days: Invasive species removal, Saturdays in October

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Image/photo: Courtesy The Clifton Institute

Please click the date and time links below for more details and sign-up information.

Saturday, October 1, 9 – 12 am

Saturday, October 8, 9 – 12 am

Saturday, October 22, 9 – 12 am

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Road, Warrenton, VA
38.775154, -77.798197

Date and time subject to change dependent on weather. Please check your email for updates on the morning of the event.

The Clifton Institute Bird Walks, Fall 2022

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Image/photo: Courtesy The Clifton Institute

Please click the date and time links below for more details.

Saturday, September 24, 7:30-9:30 am

Wednesday, October 12, 8 – 10 am

Saturday, October 22, 8 – 10 am

Wednesday, November 9, 8 – 10 am

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Road, Warrenton, VA
38.775154, -77.798197

Both beginner and experienced birders will enjoy this guided 1-2 mile hike to look for the many species of birds that can be found on the field station. You will explore successional fields, meadows, lake edges, and forest. Don’t forget to bring your binoculars!

Native Plant Sale

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Image/photo: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Saturday, September 24, 2022
11:00 pm – 2:00 pm

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Road, Warrenton, VA
38.775154, -77.798197

Click here for more information.

Native plants provide better food for insects, which in turn provide food for birds. You can make a huge difference for wildlife by planting native species on your property. At the plant sale we will sell seedlings grown from these seeds of a variety of perennial wildflowers, native grasses, and a few trees. Some of our favorites include butterflyweed, upland ironweed, scaly blazing star, narrow-leaf mountain-mint, and gray goldenrod.

The Clifton Institute hopes to see you there!