The Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) collects a variety of species of acorns and nuts that can be planted at its Augusta Nursery (Crimora, Va.) to grow into tree seedlings that will become the forests of tomorrow. These seeds will produce next year’s hardwood seedling crop, which will be sold to Virginia’s forestland owners. Seedlings […]
Photo: FMN Jennifer Pradas Saturdays, October 8, 15, 22 and 29, 2022 10 am Blake Lane Park parking lot 10033 Blake Ln, Oakton Two years ago, a group of citizens saved Blake Lane from being turned into a school. Now they need to save the park from invasive plants. The area is covered with bittersweet, […]
Feature photo: Bluebird nestling residents of Box 6 (May 21, 2022). What are they thinking? Article and photo by FMN Stephen Tzikas The 2022 Bluebird box monitoring season at Langley Fork Park in McLean was my second year, and first as its trail leader. The trail leader duties came unexpectedly, but it successfully concluded thanks […]
Curious about the Fairfax Master Naturalist Program? Come and join a virtual Fairfax Master Naturalist Quarterly Chapter meeting. It will be held on Monday, September 19, 2022 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. It will consist of a short business meeting followed by a presentation by the incomparable Alonso Abugattas. His talk is entitled “From Reptiles […]
Photo: Margaret Fisher Mason Neck State Park 7301 High Point Road, Lorton VA The Park has three pollinator gardens filled with native plants that attract and nourish pollinators. All three gardens need some help. The Park needs volunteers to help weed and mulch the gardens and to keep the more aggressive native and invasive plants […]
Photo: Dr. Jessica Ware Tuesday, September 6 7 pm Webinar ASNV member $15/nonmember $25 Register here. Join Audubon Society of Northern Virginia after Labor Day for a lively talk on dragonflies by Dr. Jessica Ware. Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) are some of the oldest insects on the planet, and over millions of years they have […]
Friday, November 11 & Saturday, November 12, 2022 6 pm Friday – 3 pm Saturday Northern Virginia Community College in Woodbridge 2645 College Dr., Woodbridge Registration on the VBS website in early September Contact vbs@virginiabluebirds.org for more information Virginia Bluebird Society be celebrating the 25th anniversary of their founding. Whether you are an experienced bluebird […]
Saturday, September 17, 2022 9 am – 4 pm; suggested $3 donation to participate Volunteers are assigned a 15-mile diameter count area Register for count here. Live identification webinar Thursday, September 15 at 7 pm Register for webinar here. The Butterfly Count is an ongoing program of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) to census […]
Feature photo: Wild strawberries along the Turquoise Trail in Reston, Virginia. Methyl and ethyl butanoate and methyl and ethyl hexanoate make up the bulk of the esters produced by fresh strawberries. In addition to these esters, other volatile compounds are present in specific cultivars that gave them characteristic flavors. Article and photos by FMN Stephen […]
Article and photo by Plant NOVA Trees On a recent day, driving out of the sun into a wooded community resulted in a temperature drop from 91 to 86 degrees. We all try to stay in the shade in hot weather, competing for the parking spaces under trees. What we may not realize is that […]