A hand holds a cluster of green leaves.Photo courtesy of Lynde Dodd, USACE

Invader Detective—Using iNaturalist to Save the World: Citizen Science with Dr. Sara Tangren

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Photo courtesy of Lynde Dodd, USACE

Thursday, September 8, 2022
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

If we could detect invading species before they became widespread, we could prevent a lot of ecological damage and save billions of tax dollars. That’s where community science can play a role. Dr. Tangren will show participants how data from citizen science apps, like iNaturalist, are used to detect invading species, map their distributions, and organize management responses.

Participants will discuss a variety of early-phase invaders and how you can help by reporting them. The presentation will include an update on the status of the two-horned trapa or water chestnut (Trapa bispinosa).

Dr. Sara Tangren is Coordinator at the National Capital Region Prism. She earned her Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Conservation from the University of Maryland.

Register here.

Stream Monitoring: Citizen Science & Training Opportunities – August and September

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Photo by J. Quinn

Below is a list of Stream Monitoring Citizen Science, Workshops, and other monitoring opportunities in the area for August and September.

 

*NVSWCD Workshop*
Difficult Run Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Sunday, August 21, 10:00am-12:30pm
Where: Difficult Run Stream Valley Park, Great Falls

This quiet site is known for numerous macros and a relatively high stream score. In spring we found a high number of midges – will we find the same this visit? Space is limited, please register for the workshop here.

*NVSWCD Workshop*
Horsepen Run Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Saturday, August 27, 9:00-11:30am
Where: Horsepen Run Stream Valley Park, Herndon

This stream site parallels the park trail and is a favorite with local runners, bikers, and dog walkers! This site scored higher in the spring monitoring than it had in past years – join us to see if this positive trend continues! Space is limited, please register for the workshop here.

Creek Critters Count and Catch Program

When: Sunday, August 28, 1:00pm
Where: Chapman DeMary Trail, Purcellville

Join the Purcellville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Purcellville Tree and Environment Sustainability Committee and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy to get up close and personal with the creek critters living in the South Fork of the Catoctin Creek at the Chapman DeMary Trail. Loudoun Wildlife Stream Team members will discuss the natural history of these critters, help participants learn how to identify them, and explain how they can help us determine the health of a stream. Registration required through Purcellville Parks and Recreation website. Learn more here.

Friends of Accotink Creek Biological Stream Monitoring

When: Saturday, September 10, 9:30-11:30am
Where: Lake Accotink Park, Springfield

Volunteers assess ecological conditions in the stream, based on the presence and abundance of bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Meet at the parking lot behind Lake Accotink Park Administrative building. RSVP.

*NVSWCD Workshop*
Wolftrap Creek Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Saturday, September 10, 1:00-3:30pm
Where: Wildwood Park, Vienna

This site was recently made available for adoption after it’s monitor moved away for college. Come see how sites are monitored and how you can join our volunteer team! Space is limited, please register for the workshop here.

*NVSWCD Workshop*
Cub Run Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Sunday, September 25, 9:00-11:30am
Where: Cub Run Stream Valley Park, Centreville

This stream site had great stream health scores in the spring – come see if the trend continues! As a bonus treat, this site often has delicious pawpaws ripening this time of year… Space is limited, please register for the workshop here.


More Training and Stream Monitoring Opportunities

The Northern Virginia Water and Soil Conservation District (NVSWCD) is very excited to contribute their stream data to state and national datasets. If you’d like to see data from all the NVSWCD regional stream monitoring team’s active sites, you can find our organization on the Clean Water Hub. Keep in touch with NVSWCD on our Facebook and Instagram.

 

Help Celebrate 50 Years of Coastal Zone Management

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Image Courtesy of the VMN Partner: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

Help Celebrate 50 Years of Coastal Zone Management
–By Virginia Witmer, Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

The diversity of our ocean and coasts is as great as its people. They provide places to live, work, and play, drive our nation’s economy, and support a wealth of biodiversity. They are an integral part of our national heritage and character.
In Virginia, our coast encompasses thousands of miles of beautiful shoreline and coastal habitats in all of the cities, counties and towns that touch on tidal waters. It includes the waters of tidal rivers, the Chesapeake Bay, Back Bay and out to the 200 nautical mile boundary in the Atlantic Ocean.

50 years ago, Congress passed banner legislation designed to protect our nation’s ocean and coasts. The 1972 National Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) shaped our past 50 years and will continue to shape the future.

The versatility of the CZMA, administered by NOAA, provides for the management of the nation’s coastal resources. It outlines the National Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Program to balance competing land and water issues through state coastal management programs, such as the Virginia Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Program.

The Virginia CZM Program, established in 1986, is a network of state agencies and local governments led by DEQ that administer the enforceable laws and regulations that protect our air and water quality and coastal habitats.  Read more about the coastal resiliency, restoration and conservation efforts of the Virginia CZM Program being funded through the CZMA.  Visit https://www.deq.virginia.gov/coasts.

This federal and state partnership approach works.

But it also needs you.  Please help raise awareness about all that our ocean and coasts do for us.  Share the 50 ways (and more!) Virginians can show their love for our ocean and coast. There are many actions, big and small, from which to choose when at home and work, out and about, volunteering, in the garden, on vacation, at play, and in school and volunteering!

More Resources
50 ways to love your Ocean and Coasts video
50 ways to love your ocean and coasts webpage
50 years of ocean and coast legislation webpage
50 years of accomplishments and successes administering ocean and coastal conservation policy webpage
Prevent Balloon Litter Campaign
Plant Virginia Natives Initiative

Late Summer Wildflower Walk, September 10th

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Photo: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Saturday, September 10, 2022
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Road, Warrenton, VA
38.775154, -77.798197

RSVP Now

Come and see the fields at their best! The fields called Lower and Upper Woodcock are unplanted and naturally dominated by native plants. Participants will look for Gray Goldenrod, Slender Lespedeza, Green Milkweed, Field Thistle, Upland Ironweed, Elliott’s Bluestem and Little Bluestem in the drier areas, and Great Blue Lobelia, New York Ironweed, and Indiangrass in the moister areas. Executive Director Bert Harris will lead this walk through one of the most interesting habitats and teach participants about Piedmont prairies and how to identify grassland plants.

 

Creatures of the Night, September 10th

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Image courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Saturday, September 10, 2022
7:30 pm – 9:00 pm

 

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Road, Warrenton, VA
38.775154, -77.798197

RSVP Now 

Join Clifton Institute Executive Director Bert Harris to look and listen for creatures of the night! Participants will start by listening to the evening chorus of cicadas and birds. A gentle walk through fields and woods is also planned to look for nocturnal animals. Late summer is an ideal time to observe several species of katydids and crickets. Participants will also look for beavers, reptiles and amphibians, and other animals. Back at the farmhouse, it will be interesting to see what kinds of moths and beetles are attracted by black lights.

 

Dragonfly Biology and Identification, August 4th & 6th

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Photo: Banded Pennant by FMN Don Coram

Classroom presentation: Thursday, August 4, 2022
7-8:30 pm
Field trip: Saturday, August 6, 2022
9:45 am-1 pm
Register by email to [email protected] or by telephone 703-476-9689 ext. 5
Walker Nature Center
11450 Glade Dr., Reston, VA

Join FMN Don Coram, instructor, for a course on dragonflies covering their beauty, physiology, behavior, ecological role, and identification. The course includes a classroom presentation followed by a field trip to identify and count dragonflies in Reston. The count is part of an ongoing data collection effort that began in 2009. Although they do count and record the dragonflies that they observe, most of the participants are still learning about dragonflies, and the count is more of an educational field trip than a scientific wildlife survey.

Natural Filters in the Anacostia River: The Recovery of an Urban Waterway, webinar August 16th

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Photo: Eric T. Gunther, Anacostia River near Kingman Island

Tuesday, August 16, 2022
7-8 pm
Register here.

For more than three decades, the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) has been working on recovering the Anacostia River’s ecosystems, especially its natural filters. After decades of restoration, education, and advocacy AWS is seeing a great recovery of the biodiversity of the aquatic ecosystems in the Anacostia River.

Jorge Bogantes Montero, Natural Resources Specialist for AWS, will present a virtual tour of the river and speak about the recovery of this once-neglected urban waterway in the nation’s capital. An in-person field trip and boat ride will take place on Saturday, August 20, 2022 for 20 participants.

“Restoring the Little Things that Run the World,” webinar with Doug Tallamy, September 25th

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Photo: Doug Tallamy

Sunday, September 25, 2022
3 – 5pm
Virtual
Fees: $10 + fees
Register here.

Doug Tallamy is an entomologist, ecologist and conservationist, a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, and a successful author. Tallamy will deliver a talk for us titled, “Restoring the Little Things that Run the World.” A recent UN report predicts that as many as 1 million species will disappear from planet earth because of human activities. Many of these are insects and nearly all species at risk rely on insects. A world without insects will be a world without humans! So, how do we create beautiful landscapes brimming with life – landscapes that support the butterflies, caterpillars, bees, beetles and other insects that run the ecosystems we depend on? Tallamy will remind us of the essential roles insects play, and describe the simple changes we must make in our landscapes and our attitudes to keep insects on the ground, in the air and yes, on our plants.

Help Tackle Invasive Plants with Friends of Dyke Marsh (FODM), July & August

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Photo: Janet Quinn, Invasive plants
Saturdays, July 16 and 30, August 13 and 27, 2022
9:00-11:00am

Dyke Marsh, Alexandria
Haul Road Trail directions and parking information – click here.
(GPS coordinates: 38.777739, -77.050540)

For more events and information click here.

Help protect native plants by pulling and clipping invasive plants. FODM will train volunteers to identify the five or so target plants. Sign up by sending an email to [email protected]. Put “invasive plants” in the subject box Invasive plants can threaten and outcompete native plants.

Bat Night, August 13th

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Photo by Rick Reynolds on dwr.virginia.gov
Saturday, August 13, 2022
7:30-9:30pm

Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, Purcellville
11661 Harpers Ferry Road
Purcellville, VA 20132 United States + Google Map

Registration required. Learn more and register here.

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy is excited to present Bat Night led by The Bat Lady, Dr. Susanne Sterbing, world-renowned bat expert and research professor at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Sterbing will present a fascinating audio-visual presentation followed by a question-and-answer period. You don’t want to miss Dr. Sterbing’s description of the strange feeding rituals of vampire bats! The lecture will be followed by a live bat viewing (hopefully) down at the pond. Family friendly; wear good walking shoes and bring flashlights and bug repellant.