Entries by Jerry Nissley

Mason Neck Chapter Project – 2026 Plan

The FMN Chapter Stewardship Project is restarting in mid-March 2026. This project is for the long-term maintenance of Mason Neck State Park’s Pollinator Gardens. The volunteers on this project are providing long term care and maintenance of the 2 main pollinator gardens on the grounds of Mason Neck State Park and the beds around the […]

Enhancing Our Understanding of Ecology

Enhancing Our Understanding of Ecology – By FMN Mike Mixon National Geographic defines Ecology as, “the scientific study of how organisms interact with each other and their unique physical environments”. As Virginia Master Naturalists we acquired a fundamental understanding of Ecology while undergoing the chapter’s basic training program. If  you would like to enhance your […]

DWR Living with Coyotes

The Department of Wildlife Resources in cooperation with VMN, is offering to train Master Naturalists via a statewide program on “Living with Coyotes”. Recordings: As with all of our VMN CE Webinar Series, this session was  recorded and posted on the CE Webinar Series page of our website. Viewing the recorded session counts as VMN […]

Spotted Lanternfly – The Fight Continues

It is increasingly hard nowadays to avoid running into a Spotted Lanternfly (SLF). They are in our parks, backyards, and favorite public spaces. However, efforts to stomp, squash, and smash the spread of this nuisance invader has a stalwart champion in FMN Susan Laume. Via a pilot program under Fairfax County’s Urban and Community Forestry […]

Native Tree and Acorn Collection Results – It Went NUTS.

The VA Department of Forestry (VDoF) Acorn and Seed Collection Program was established several years ago to help sustain the native tree population in Virginia by collecting native seeds and acorns, raising trees on VDoF farms, and reforesting areas that may have been destroyed by fire or disease. In 2025, VDoF again partnered with Potomac […]

VDoF Acorn and Seed Collection – 2025

The VA Department of Forestry (VDoF) Acorn and Seed Collection Program was established to sustain the native tree population in Virginia by collecting native acorns, raising trees on farms, and reforesting areas that may have been destroyed by fire or disease. This year VDoF has again partnered with Potomac Conservancy’s Tomorrow Tree’s Program, Fairfax Tree […]

FCPA Landscape Legacy and Sustainability Program

Written by FMN Katy Johnson The Fairfax County Park Authority has over 420 parks; 82 of those parks, comprising 13,341 acres, are designated/classified as resource-based parkland. Resourced-based parkland does not usually contain recreational facilities and is managed to protect the biological communities and cultural resources in environmentally sensitive and significant lands. The Landscape Legacy and […]

Big Thank You to Founder Marilyn Schroeder

The Fairfax Chapter (FMN) has one official Cooperative Agreement (CA). A mutual agreement between FMN and Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) agreeing to provide mutually beneficial resources. The CA was originally signed in 2007 with a revised version of the CA was signed in 2022 by VCE Exec Dir. Micheal Cutter (for FMN) and FCPA […]