Photos by Celia Boertlein By Celia Boertlein and Mary Ann Bush FMN Celia Boertlein has a beautiful story. It involves some new neighbors of the four-legged variety. Celia says, “This past winter, the foxes had moved their den over to the neighborhood pool which is adjacent to my yard. They were in and out of […]
Photo courtesy of FLAP Lake Accotink Park7500 Accotink Park RoadSpringfield, VA Friends of Lake Accotink Park invite you to help with their pollinator garden or learn how to create your own. CARING FOR THE POLLINATOR GARDENWHEN: 2nd Sunday of every month TIME: 10:30amWHERE: Lake Accotink Park Margaret Kinder Pollinator Garden – Adjacent to the Marina.ACTIVITY: […]
Sunday, September 26, 20213-4:30 pmOnlineRegister here. Join Audubon Society of Northern Virginia for their fall Audubon Afternoon! Their guest speaker will be Sam Hoadley, Manager of Horticultural Research at Mt. Cuba Center. You’ll learn about the amazing native plant trial gardens at Mt. Cuba, how they evaluate plants and related cultivars for horticultural and ecological […]
Photo: Comma and Question Mark, Gary Meyers Butterfly Identification Workshop, September 16, 20217-8:30 pmOnline.Register here. The sight of butterflies fluttering around on a warm day is one of the most iconic signs of our warm weather months. These beautiful insects usually only live for a few weeks as adults, but they make quite an impression […]
Water’s Edge planting plan by Hands Dirty; Image and article courtesy of Plant NOVA Natives This spring, Audubon at Home partnered with Plant NOVA Natives to invite homeowners’ and civic associations to apply for funds to beautify their neighborhood entrances using low maintenance native plants. The mini-grant program was funded by Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation’s […]
Wednesday, July 28, 2021NoonRegister here. Northern Virginia Conservation Trust‘s Changemakers series returns with Jason Samenow of the Washington Posts’ Capital Weather Gang along with NVCT board member John Hopewell as they lead a discussion and Q & A on Today’s Weather, Tomorrow’s Climate. Join the webinar as these meteorological wizards discuss our region’s unpredictable and increasingly severe weather and how NVCT’s work protecting natural […]
Review by FMN Janet Quinn A collection of 28 essays on topics ranging from catalpa trees to fireflies, reading this book did indeed fill me with wonder! I Googled a photo of a Southern Cassowary, listened to the call of the Potoo, and researched more about the delightful axoloti. Nezhukumatathil‘s prose is full of fascinating […]
Photos: Susan Laume By FMN Susan Laume A Virginia Master Naturalist led effort, supported by over two dozen amateur gardeners, literally bloomed to fruition this spring in Laurel Hill Park in Lorton. Many of the volunteers had done no gardening of any kind before, and had no knowledge about native versus non-native plant species. However, […]
Photo: Jill Spohn There have been 41 observations on iNaturalist of Hammerhead Worms (subfamily bipalinae) in Fairfax County. There are more than one species, all nonnative and feeding on earthworms. One recent sighting was a thin, foot-long worm with the distinctive hammer head. Cutting them or smashing them may result in regeneration. They also emit […]
Photo: Ron Grimes By Julie Shaw, Spring 2021 Graduate The Fairfax Chapter Master Naturalist training program saved me from the grim claustrophobia brought on by the pandemic in the winter and spring of 2021. While avoiding the news in December 2020, I came across a notice about the training in the Fairfax Master Naturalist Newsletter […]