Invitation to Third Annual Climate Action Conference – Third Annual Climate Action Conference – Teaming Up to Restore and Protect Healthy Waterways, Oct 18th

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October 18, 2025 
9:00AM – 1:00PM

Lake Braddock Secondary School  in Burke, VA.

Expand your understanding about the impact of climate change on water resources, from the oceans and Chesapeake Bay to the
Potomac River and local streams. No matter where you live or work, your actions matter to protect the quality of water and the resilience
of our communities in this period of climate change.

Please click here for a flyer containing complete agenda and other conference details.

An Afternoon with Filmmaker and Naturalist Kathryn Pasternak, October 7th

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Tuesday, October 7, 2025
3:00pm – 4:30pm

Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library
Tysons-Pimmit Meeting Room 1, Tysons-Pimmit Meeting Room 2

Event is free
Registration is required – click here for more information and registration

 

Emmy award winning photographer and director, Kathryn Pasternak, will share her fascinating work before offering hands on tips to improve your own photography skills. Kathryn is a Fairfax County Master Naturalist and will explore ways you can contribute to your local scientific community through the app iNaturalist. Weather permitting, there may be a brief outdoors field trip to practice your new skills. Please bring a smartphone with camera. Adults.

Read more about presenter Kathryn Pasternak on her website.

 

Worm Composting Workshop,October 4th

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Saturday, October 4, 2025
2:00pm – 4:00 pm

Cost is $10.00 per person (non-refundable)

Green Acres Center
4401 Sideburn Rd., Fairfax VA, 22030

Register at: Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District: Worm Composting Workshop

At this workshop, you will learn tips and tricks for successfully composting with worms and build your own worm composter to take home. See the Northern Virginia Soil and Water District’s (NVSWD) worm composting bin in action and get all your composting questions answered. Each worm composter will include two stacking bins, worm bedding (a mix of compost, shredded paper, and coconut coir), and red wiggler worms. The completed bins will be roughly 15 inches long, 20 inches wide, and 20 inches tall in size. Please make sure you have a place to keep your worm bins inside when temperatures drop (a garage or basement will do). While we will have all the tools at the workshop to build your bin, please consider bringing a cordless drill and drill bits if you have them to speed up the process. You can also bring in a week’s-worth of kitchen trimmings to get your worm composter off to an immediate start! This workshop is co-sponsored by NVSWCD, Clean Fairfax Council, Pollinative, and the City of Fairfax.

This workshop is generously supported with funding from Clean Fairfax Council and City of Fairfax. Please note that workshop registration fees are non-refundable.

 

 

Fairfax County Park Authority graphic of National Public Lands Day

National Public Lands Day – Volunteer at a Fairfax County Park!

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Photo: Fairfax County Park Authority

Since 1994, National Public Lands Day (September 27, 2025) has mobilized volunteers of all ages to engage in a celebration of service and stewardship of America’s public lands. The event is the largest single-day national volunteer effort to preserve, restore, improve and enjoy America’s public lands.

The Fairfax County Park Authority invites you to help celebrate National Public Lands Day by taking part in any of a wide selection of service activities to protect the natural, cultural and recreational resources of the county’s treasured park system. There are a number of locations where you can sign up to help on September 27, ranging from trash cleanup to invasive plant removal.

To learn more, please visit the county’s page on National Public Lands Day or see below.

Who can participate? Anyone 8 and older

For specific park, time and activity, please see below. Each sign-up link provides further details about each location’s activities, including a site contact. You can also look up each activity through the Volunteer Fairfax site.

Location Volunteer Activity Date Time Check-in location VMS Sign-Up
Wakefield Trash cleanup, 20 volunteers Sept 27 9 – 11 a.m. Map Sign Up
Difficult Run SVP Trash cleanup and trimming overgrowth along trail, 10 volunteers Sept 27 9 – 11 a.m. Map Sign Up
Huntley Meadows Park Watershed Cleanup Sept 27 9 – 11 a.m. Map Sign Up
Colvin Run Mill Park Invasive pull Sept 27 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Map Sign Up
Hidden Oaks Invasive pull Sept 27 9 – 11 a.m. Map Sign Up
Laurel Hill Park Removal of vegetation obscuring rail box car feature along Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail (GCCCT) Sept 27 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Map Sign Up
Oakmont Park Invasive Management Area (IMA) site leader will host a Helping Our Lands Heal (HOLH) restoration project Sept 27 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Map Sign Up
Twin Lakes GC Invasive Management Area (IMA) workday Sept 27 9 – 11 a.m. Map Sign Up
Sully Historic Site Trail work, garden clean up & grounds clean up Sept 27 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Map Sign Up
Eakin Community Park Invasive Management Area (IMA) workday Sept 27 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Map Sign Up

 

Article Review: “Ospreys May Be in Trouble Again”, Article by Glenda C. Booth

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Photo: By Glenda Booth, Osprey and their young at the Belle Haven Marina platform nest on June 18, 2025. 

This complete article by Glenda C. Booth appeared in the July 17th edition of the Alexandria Gazette Packet:                       https://www.alexandriagazette.com/news/2025/jul/17/ospreys-may-be-in-trouble-again/

Glenda C. Booth’s article, “Ospreys in Northern Virginia,” is a well-crafted and engaging piece that combines local wildlife reporting with broader environmental concerns. Ms. Booth effectively relates scientific insights and on-the-ground observations from concerned community members to illustrate the troubling decline in osprey populations across Northern Virginia.  She describes the breeding observations at nesting sites like Dyke Marsh and Porto Vecchio. She also mentions potential stressors to breeding success —such as fish shortages, climate change, habitat loss, and commercial menhaden harvesting. The article makes complex ecological issues understandable. Ms. Booth’s article is informative and timely. It surely raises awareness about the challenges ospreys face and the broader environmental implications behind their struggles.

Birding Occoquan Bay, September 30th

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Photo: Rusty Moran, Occoquan Bay

Tuesday, September 30, 2025
9:00AM – 3:00PM

Transportation is provided.
Fee: $35 for Reston Association members and $45 for non-members
Participants will depart the Walker Nature Center:  View Facility 

Registration required-Link: Register on webtrac.

 

On Tuesday, September 30th, Occoquan Bayhas scheduled a trip to the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to search for fall migrants.  The refuge’s grasslands, freshwater tidal marshes and bottomland forests are home to many interesting year-round residents.  There will be approximately 2-3 miles of walking on gently-rolling, unpaved surfaces.

 

The trip will be led by one of WNC’s naturalists and is open to Reston residents and non-residents.  Cost, which includes bus transportation and any park fees, is $35 for Reston Association members and $45 for non-members.  Participants will depart the Walker Nature Center (11450 Glade Drive) at 9:00 am and are scheduled to return by around 3:00 pm.  The time spent birding is eligible for FMN CEUs.

 

Register by September 27th.  If you are familiar with the reston.org WebTrac system, you can register there (search on the keyword “birding”).  Otherwise, you can contact the Walker Nature Center directly at naturecenter@reston.org or 703-476-9689.