Feature photo: Stream Bubbles along the Turquoise (Glade) Trail stream in Reston. Bubbles and soap films are made of a thin layer of water, sandwiched between two layers of soap molecules. Article and photos by FMN Stephen Tzikas During your outdoor activities, you may have seen soap suds in a trail stream. While there is […]
During construction projects in Northern Virginia that include deforestation, the sites are required to have perimeter erosion control measures, often black plastic silt fence, often reinforced with chain link. Most of the displaced wildlife can escape by climbing, jumping, or flying out, but what about the turtles? Eastern box turtles often get barricaded in where […]
Photo: SERC Tuesday, February 18, 2025 7 pm Register here. In 1987, the Smithsonian launched a futuristic experiment that would transform how we think about climate change. Inside small experimental chambers, a few scientists doubled the amount of carbon dioxide to see how wetland plants would cope. Today, that project is the world’s longest-running experiment […]
Photo and article by Plant NOVA Natives Community associations are familiar local institutions. They serve residents by enacting and enforcing community rules, managing any common areas, and enhancing the neighborhood’s quality of life. In addition, in recent years, a number of community associations in Northern Virginia have chosen to expand stewardship of their lands to […]
Photo: Earth Sangha Earth Sangha Office at 5101-i Backlick Road, Annandale VA 22003 Sundays 2/2, 2/9, 2/16 & 2/23 and Mondays 2/3, 2/10, & 2/24 9 am – 12 pm Register here to volunteer. After a busy year of seed collecting, it’s time to go inside for some seed cleaning! Take a seat around the […]
Photo: Suds ring on exposed tree root. Photos and article by FMN Stephen Tzikas Recently I noticed my Hornbeam tree was oozing suds. These bubbles appeared near the base of the tree while it was raining. The chemical reactions occurring in a tree that “foams” is very similar to what occurs when creating soap. A […]
Photo: Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) by James G. Douglass via iNaturalist (CC-BY-NC-4.0) Tuesday, January 21, 2025 7 – 8:30 pm Register here. Florida’s coral reefs have lost over 95% of their living coral cover over the last 50 years and are on the brink of functional extinction. In Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s (SERC) first evening […]
Photo: Vernal pool by Michael Hayslett Thursday, February 13, 2025 7 – 8:30 pm Register here. Join Virginia Native Plant Society Potowmack Chapter and vernal pool expert Michael Hayslett who will present “Vernal Pools from Ice Age to Space Age.” A vernal pool is a form of temporary, freshwater wetland that contains water for a […]
Photo: Induction Ceremony, FMN Janet Quinn* Article by FMN Stacey Remick It is possible to save and celebrate forests. I know it does not seem possible when you see so many tracts of beautiful trees destroyed for roads and further development. I am here to tell you that you can dream big and bring your […]
Photo and article by Plant NOVA Natives Our splendid native plants are going dormant for the winter and leaving behind their seed heads and dead stalks as a reminder of growing season glory. Many of us are inclined to perceive these remnants as unsightly “garden debris” that should be cut and cleared sooner rather than […]