Great Lakes Water Conference, “Water in the Courts,” webinar November 6th

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Photo by Jack Anstey on Unsplash

Friday, November 6, 2020
9 am – 12:30 pm
Registration by November 4th required.

Water-related cases of international, national, regional, and local import will be the focus of the 20th Annual Great Lakes Water Conference. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s conference will be conducted virtually online as a live webinar.

Titled “Water in the Courts,” the half-day conference will feature six legal experts addressing litigation about the Enbridge oil pipeline underlying the Straits of Mackinac; an interstate groundwater allocation case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court; the Court’s recent County of Maui decision affecting permitting under the Clean Water Act; challenges to the new federal “waters of the United States” rule, high water levels and flooding in and around Lake Ontario; and the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.

This conference is sponsored by The University of Toledo College of Law and its affiliated Legal Institute of the Great Lakes.

Registration for the conference is free for the public. The deadline for registration is November 4, 2020. For more information and to register, visit the conference webpage.

Friends of Mason Neck State Park Owl Moon Program, Zoom session October 17th

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Saturday, October 17, 2020
7 pm
FREE
Register here

It’s nearly time for the Friends of Mason Neck State Park’s annual presentation of OWL MOON! This year, they will be bringing the event to you right in your own home using Zoom.

You will meet and learn about all the owls from raptor rehabilitator Secret Garden Birds and Bees, their favorite presenter. A special treat will be the introduction of Phantom – a beautiful barn owl. Find out what makes him unique as you also explore the life of a barred owl, great horned owl, and screech owl.

You will be able to ask questions about all the raptors in the program.
Get the whole family together. This event is appropriate for all ages and is open to the public. Registration is only $10 per person or family, which will help to offset the cost of the program. Don’t miss it!

After you register, they’ll provide you the instructions you’ll need to join the program.

Planning for a Pollinator Landscape, videoconference October 22nd

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Thursday, October 22, 2020
11:00am-12:00pm
Register here.

Join Landscape Designer Barbara Ryan as she addresses questions about creating a good design for a pollinator landscape. Submit your questions on the registration page, and please send photos of the area in question to [email protected]. This videoconference will be recorded and posted to YouTube.

Birds and Culture with Bill Young, Six online sessions, November 16th – December 1st

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Parc de Belleville, Julien Malland

November 16, 17, 23, 24, 30; December 1, 7:00 to 8:00 PM
6 one-hour sessions, 7 — 8 pm
Fee: $40
Register here

Birds have inspired the imaginations of people from prehistoric times to the modern era. They have influenced the development of human language, religion, music, literature, art and many other areas. Audubon Society of Northern Virginia‘s Birds and Culture will examine these relationships in a 6-part course. Birders of all skill levels will be able to understand the content.

Instructor: Bill Young is a writer who lives in Arlington. He is the author of The Fascination of Birds: From the Albatross to the Yellowthroat. He is the co-creator of the MPNature.com website, which contains information about birds, plants and other aspects of natural history at Monticello Park in Alexandria. Bill also makes nature videos, and his YouTube channel has had over half a million views.

Join Project FeederWatch: Learn how with Greg Butcher and Dixie Sommers, October 29th

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Photo: Feederwatch Kit

Thursday, October 29,2020
7 — 8:30 pm
FREE
Register here

Project FeederWatch is the easiest citizen science you will ever do! From the comfort of your home, you simply count the winter birds that visit your feeders and report your data to Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

This FREE Audubon Society of Northern Virginia workshop will cover a bit of the history of Project FeederWatch, its purpose, tips for identifying birds, and the protocols to be followed while counting.

Instructors: Greg is the Migratory Species Coordinator for U.S. Forest Service International Programs. He is a Ph.D. ornithologist who has worked for the National Audubon Society, American Birding Association, Partners in Flight, Birders World (currently BirdWatching) magazine, and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Greg is a recognized public speaker and interpreter for bird conservation and ecology worldwide. He welcomes the opportunity to contribute to Audubon’s environmental mission at the local level.

Dixie Sommers has been an Audubon member since 1986 and became a serious birder after moving back to the Washington area from Ohio in 2006, adding to her long interest in nature photography and travel. She is an avid e-bird user and enjoys using photography to help learn the birds, and sharing her photos on www.ddpix.smugmug.com.

In addition to favorite places in Virginia, her recent birding travels include Colombia, Tanzania, Texas, California, and Mexico. She is also a board member for the Virginia Society of Ornithology and the Friends of Dyke Marsh. Dixie lives in Alexandria, Virginia and retired from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics after a long career of counting jobs and workers. Now she counts birds!

Little Brown Jobs: Online Workshop with Larry Meade, October 22nd

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Fox Sparrow photo by David Boltz/Audubon Photography Awards

Thursday, October 22, 2020
7 – 8:30 pm
Fee: $15
Register here

Have you been wondering about all those “little brown jobs” in your backyard? Could you use a little help distinguishing between the House Finches and the Pine Siskins? Song Sparrows and Savannah Sparrows? This Audubon Society of Northern Virginia workshop will concentrate on identification skills for some of the finches, sparrows, and other similar birds in our region, including both residents and migrants, just in time for the arrival of our cold weather birds.

Instructor: Larry Meade, a member of the ASNV Education Committee, is president of the Northern Virginia Bird Club and a former board member of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. He has served as a sector leader for a number of years for several local Christmas Bird Counts and is an avid nature photographer.

NVSWCD Green Breakfast, Youth Conservation Leaders, October 10th

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Saturday, October 10, 2020
9 — 10:30 am

Email [email protected] for login information.

Young Conservation Leaders
Over the past year, several Fairfax County high school students have worked with the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District as part of the Youth Conservation Leadership Institute to develop summer independent research projects. Join us from the comfort of your home and be prepared to be inspired as you learn about their environmental conservation and stewardship projects:
The Danger of Microplastics – Carolyn Rohr
Water Quality in Accotink Creek – Nimesh Rudra
The Efficacy of Different Erosion Prevention Methods – Cynthia Ma
Effect of Microhabitats on Insect Biodiversity in Northern Virginia – Nimesh Rudra
Water Quality and Buffered Stream Banks: What’s the Connection -Becca Jeffries

What is the Youth Conservation Leadership Institute?
The Youth Conservation Leadership Institute (YCLI) is a Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts recognition program for students in 9th- 12th grade that focuses on volunteer service and environmental stewardship. YCLI began as an expansion of Youth Conservation Camp in an effort to keep students engaged in the environmental topics introduced at camp. YCLI offers high school students interested in environmental conservation and stewardship an opportunity to build leadership skills and connect with local mentors involved with environmental issues.

Volunteers as Chesapeake Stewards (VoiCes) virtual course, October 6-November 17th

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Tuesday Evenings*
October 6–November 17, 2020
7–8:30 pm
Zoom links will be sent ahead of each class
*except Tuesday, November 3

Register here.

Join Chesapeake Bay Foundation and advocates from across Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania for their first ever virtual Volunteers as Chesapeake Stewards (VoiCes) course.

In the weekly class, you’ll hear from speakers about topics ranging from the challenges facing Bay restoration to steps you can take in your own community to improve the health of your local waterways.

The course will include 1–2 hours of pre-recorded materials to watch at your leisure each week before coming together as a class over Zoom for a brief overview and Q&A with speakers. Some classes will be watershed-wide, while others will be region specific.

Free Event: An Afternoon with Dr. J. Drew Lanham, October 2nd

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Friday, October 2, 2020
1-30 — 2:30 pm
Register here

Virginia Conservation Network is proud to invite you to An Afternoon with Dr. J. Drew Lanham. The virtual event is FREE to the public and space is limited. 

A native of Edgefield, South Carolina, J. Drew Lanham is the author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature, which received the Reed Award from the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Southern Book Prize, and was a finalist for the John Burroughs Medal. He is a birder, naturalist, and hunter-conservationist who has published essays and poetry in publications including Orion, Audubon, Flycatcher, and Wilderness, and in several anthologies, including The Colors of Nature, State of the Heart, Bartram’s Living Legacy, and Carolina Writers at Home. An Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University, he and his family live in the Upstate of South Carolina, a soaring hawk’s downhill glide from the southern Appalachian escarpment that the Cherokee once called the Blue Wall.

Fascinating Facts about Bears (Virtual), October 15th

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Photo (c) Barbara J. Saffir

Thursday, October 15,2020
7 pm
Register and learn more.

Join Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s Jenny Swiggart as she discusses the many fascinating and interesting facts about bears native to the area. Registration required. Participants will receive a link via email to this live-streamed program.