Trail Care Academy: In-Person Maintenance Workshop, July 12th (Registration mid June)

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Photo: Ly Le, National Park Service

Saturday, July 12th, 2025
8:30 am – 12:30 PM

Location: Turkey Run Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway
*Exact location details will be provided following registration

 

Please keep a lookout for registration details for the in-person, half-day workshop event on Saturday, July 12th in mid-June.

Announcing  Trail Care Academy‘s in-person, half-day workshop on Saturday, July 12th from 8:30 am – 12:30 PM at Turkey Run Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway. This event will guide participants on tools and techniques for key maintenance topics, including:
  • Trail safety
  • Vegetation management
  • Tread drainage and water dynamics
  • Blazing
  • Blowdown reporting

Further details, including materials to bring and final workshop agendas, will be provided following registration confirmation and closer to the workshop dates. Please note that signing a waiver will be required, as is the use of a supplied hard hat and eye protection. Registration opening in mid-June! Check website page.

Please feel free to contact Rebecca Murphy if you have any questions regarding the workshops or broader Trail Care Academy programming.

Rebecca Murphy
Coastal Program Manager
Northern Virginia Regional Commission 

Phone: 703 – 642 – 4625

Stream Monitoring Citizen Science & Training Opportunities, May and June Dates Available

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Photo: By FMN J. Quinn, Stream monitoring

Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD) Spring stream monitoring season is in full swing! They hope you’ll be able to join them at one of the upcoming stream monitoring workshops.

Are you interested in obtaining a Virginia Save Our Streams Stream Monitoring certification? This certification is not required for the workshops, but it allows you to monitor your own site if you wish. The certification consists of three parts – watching online webinars, passing an online macroinvertebrate ID exam, and taking an in-person field protocols exam.

Field Certification Event at Cub Run

When: Sunday, June 1, 3:00-6:00pm
Where: Cub Run Stream Valley Park, Centreville

To qualify for your field protocol exam, you must have passed the online macroinvertebrate ID test and have attended at least 1-2 stream monitoring sessions. Learn more about the VASOS Stream Monitoring certification here. For questions or to register, please email Ashley. Please DO NOT sign up for the field certification event using the general workshop signup below – the field certification event and workshop will run concurrently, but registration is separate. Thanks!

Pohick Creek Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Thursday, May 29, 4:00-7:00pm
Where: Pohick Creek Stream Valley Park, Springfield

The stream monitoring site on Pohick Creek is located on the cross-county trail, popular with runners, dog walkers, and families. This is the largest and deepest stream monitored in these public workshops. This is an accessible stream site, which can be reached by wheelchair and/or other assistive tools over a paved path (there may be some uneven spots). Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

 

Cub Run Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Sunday, June 1, 3:00-6:00pm
Where: Cub Run Stream Valley Park, Centreville

This site features some of the largest hellgrammites we find in Fairfax County! (Haven’t heard of them? Be sure to research this super cool macroinvertebrate!). Just a stone’s throw from the parking area, this site is very popular, and you can certainly see why! Learn more and register for this workshop and others here. Want to get your stream monitoring certification here? Please email Ashley instead of registering.

 

Accotink Creek Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Wednesday, June 11, 4:00-7:00pm
Where: Long Branch Stream Valley Park, Fairfax

Help explore this new stream site! Adopted this spring, this stream is tiny but mighty. Monitors found a lot of diverse macroinvertebrate populations the last time we visited this site! This site is located within a short walk from the parking area over a paved trail. Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

 

Sugarland Run Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Saturday, June 14, 9:00am-12:00pm
Where: Sugarland Run Stream Valley Park, Herndon

This site is located near one of the largest great blue heron rookeries (breeding/nesting areas) in the eastern US. Monitors often find plenty of newly hatched young crayfish in the spring. This is also the most accessible stream site, which can be easily reached by wheelchair and/or other assistive tools over a paved path. Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

 

The NVSWCD is 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 the organization on the Clean Water Hub.

For The Spring FMN Basic Training Students, DIRT Was a BIG Deal!

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Photos: Provided by the 2025 FMN Students in the Spring FMN Basic Training Session – Riverbend Field Trip

If the purpose of a field trip is to provide students with a hands-on, experiential learning opportunity outside of the classroom, then the May 5th trip to Riverbend Park was certainly a success.

The park, located along the Potomac River in Great Falls, provided an opportunity to learn about the geology of the Potomac Gorge. Riverbend was a uniquely suitable site for the students to explore and observe the concepts presented in the Geology/Soils portion of the training. The FMN Instructors and field trip leaders, Geologist Cynde Sears – Geology, and Soil Scientist Dan Schwartz – Soils, are both very accomplished and skillful guides, who can take the classroom curriculum to the field in a way that was engaging, relatable, and at times, exciting. This was certainly the case when it came to understanding the formation and composition of soil. Cynde Sears explained how over millions of years, rock, composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, is broken down into soil by the chemical processes of lichen. Dan Schwartz described how soil is composed of varying amounts of sand, silt, clay and a surface area of rich organic material forming layers or horizons.  The class took soil samples from a low-lying moist area away from the trail. For these students, dirt was a BIG deal, and their energy was fun to share. The attached pictures are a testament to their enthusiasm and understanding of the concepts.

 

The lighter, grainier samples are from the deeper sections of the samples (containing more sand and silt), whereas the darker, thicker samples are from the upper layers (containing more clay and organic material).

Butterfly and Dragonfly Surveys, April-October

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Photos: Top: L-R Sam Schaen – Monarch Butterfly, Juan Gonzalez, Peck’s Skipper
Bottom: L-R Photo by Ana Ka’ahanui – Halloween pennant dragonfly, Ana Ka’ahanui -Blue Dasher dragonfly

Butterfly and dragonfly surveys are carried out in temperate months (April-October), normally on Friday mornings, at one of four sites ( listed below) around Occoquan Bay, all within the 15-mile diameter circle established for the annual North American Butterfly Association’s Annual Count.

The results of these surveys are made available to the participants and other interested individuals and agencies, including the Fairfax County Park Authority, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, and agencies of the U.S. Interior Department. The results of the butterfly-dragonfly surveys are summarized, along with the results of the general surveys, in an annual report.

 

Survey: Occoquan Regional Park Butterfly and Dragonfly
Friday, May 30, 2025
8:30 AM 12:00 PM
Occoquan Regional Park
9751 Ox Road, Lorton, VA, 22079 United States

Participation is limited. Email us to make a reservation here.

Survey: Metz Wetlands Butterfly and Dragonfly
Friday, May 23, 2025
8:30 AM 12:00 PM
Metz Wetlands
15875 Neabsco Road Woodbridge, VA, 22191 United States

Participation is limited. Email us to make a reservation here.

Survey: Meadowood Butterfly and Dragonfly Survey
Friday, June 6, 2025
8:30 AM 12:00 PM
Meadowood Recreation Area
10406 Gunston Road Lorton, VA, 22079 United States

Participation is limited. Email us to make a reservation here.

Survey: Occoquan Bay NWR Butterfly and Dragonfly
Friday, June 13, 2025
8:30 AM 12:00 PM
Occoquan Bay NWR
13950 Dawson Beach Road Woodbridge, VA, 22191 United States

Participation is limited. Email us to make a reservation here.

“Distillation” on the Trail

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Charcoal Trail Greenstone Outcrop at Catoctin Mountain Park

Article, photos & illustration by FMN Stephen Tzikas

A few months ago, I prepared a roadside chemical engineering field trip to the Catoctin Iron Furnace in Maryland, for the local chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.  One of the features on that excursion was a discussion of nature’s “distillation column.” While chemical engineers study distillation at university, nature has its own type of “distillation column.”

The Bowen Reaction Series

Geologists call it the Bowen Reaction Series. The Bowen Reaction Series is a set of reactions that occur when molten igneous rock cools, usually on its way to the surface.  These reactions can be rather gradual (“continuous”) or abrupt (“discontinuous”). Virginia has many igneous rocks, often delivered to the surface as a consequence of past orogenies, or mountain building collisions with land masses off the East Coast, over the period of the last billion years.  Locally, one can find igneous rocks at Great Falls Park and its museum, as well as the outside massive rock collection surrounding the property of USGS in Reston.

A little further west and north of Fairfax County is mountainous terrain.  One finds a lot of greenstone, such as the old greenstone lava flows of Shenandoah National Park, or those rocks of Catoctin Mountain Park. Greenstone, a term for dark green metamorphic rocks, is primarily composed of altered mafic igneous rocks like basalt and gabbro. These basalt and gabbro rock textures would likely have olivine, pyroxene, and calcium plagioclase in them.  When these rocks underwent metamorphism, secondary minerals formed like chlorite, actinolite, and epidote, contributing to the green color.  Specifically, about 500 million years ago molten lava rose up through fissures on the Earth’s surface creating the igneous rocks like basalt. Through metamorphic processes that occurred afterwards, this rock was transformed into metabasalt greenstone.  Hence, the greenstone you will see all around at nearby Catoctin Mountain Park is a result of “natural distillation” processes initially originating from the Bowen Reaction Series.

Charcoal Trail Greenstone Rock Samples at Catoctin Mountain Park

Felsic and mafic rocks are two main types of igneous rocks.  Basalt and gabbro rocks are known as mafic rocks.  A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Mafic rocks often also contain calcium-rich varieties of plagioclase feldspar. Basalt is an extrusive rock, while gabbro is intrusive. Extrusive rock refers to the mode of igneous volcanic rock formation in which hot magma from inside the Earth flows out onto the surface as lava or explodes violently into the atmosphere to fall back as pyroclastics. In contrast, intrusive rock refers to rocks formed by magma which cools below the surface.

At the other end of nature’s “distillation column,” we find felsic rocks, such as granite, that are high in light-colored minerals, including feldspar and quartz.  They are high in silica (SiO2), while mafic rocks are low in silica.  Felsic rocks are also enriched in the lighter elements such as silicon, oxygen, aluminum, sodium, and potassium.

Celebrating Warblers: Yes, That’s a Warbler Too!, Webinar, May 20th

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Photo: Ovenbird by ABC

Tuesday, May 20, 2025
4 – 5 pm
Free webinar
Register here.

Did you know that North America is home to 53 species of warblers? While many are easily recognized by their name, other species like redstarts and waterthrushes might surprise you. These vibrant songbirds are not just beautiful to observe; they play crucial roles in our ecosystems.​

Unfortunately, warblers are among the many bird species facing significant declines, with some species even experiencing a loss of over 50% in population since 1970, according to the 2025 U.S. State of the Birds report. Habitat loss is a primary driver of these declines.

Join American Bird Conservancy (ABC) for a special “Warblinar” to learn more about warblers — whether by name or not, their songs are just as sweet! We’ll explore what defines them, their ecological importance, and the critical challenges they face. They’ll also discuss ABC’s conservation efforts and how you can take bold action to help conserve these remarkable birds.​

You’ll hear from ABC experts and partners, including:

Anne Mini, Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture Science Coordinator
Linnea Rowse, Great Lakes Private Lands Director
Jordan E. Rutter, Director of Communications, American Bird Conservancy

If you can’t make the webinar live, RSVP now and they’ll send you a recording to enjoy when the time is right for you!