Entries by Janet Quinn

The Future of Climate Change: What Three Generations of Climate Scientists Revealed, Webinar, February 18th

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 […]

Community Associations and Environmental Leadership

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 […]

The Phenomenon of Tree Suds

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 […]

Saving Coral Reefs in the Sunshine State, with Mote Marine Laboratory, Webinar, January 21st

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 […]

Dreaming of Forests

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 […]

Let Dead Plant Material Lie

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 […]

13 Species Added to Virginia Invasive Plant Species List

Photo: Nandina (Nandina domestica) Press release and photos provided by Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Gardeners encouraged to plant alternatives to Italian arum, nandina and others RICHMOND, VA, October 8, 2024 — Thirteen more species that pose a threat to the state’s ecosystems have been added to the Virginia Invasive Plant Species List. The […]