Nature’s Notebook Mobile App Course

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The Observer Certification Course provides instructions to help you get started using Nature’s Notebook, or provide a refresher if you need one! The organization just released the second module which provides step-by-step instructions on how to use the Nature’s Notebook mobile app. You will learn how to use the app to set up your account, create sites, add plants and animals, and enter and review observations. You will need to be logged into your Nature’s Notebook account to take the course.

Take the course 

Create an account if you do not have one

National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation

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The National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI) is launching a new training opportunity: The NNOCCI Crash Course!

This is a 6-week, 25-hour, fee-based online course for those interested in gaining strategic framing skills. 

NNOCCI is a partnership between climate scientists and informal science educators who have public trust and large audiences, and who are dedicated to using our platforms to have productive conversations about climate action.

We operate as a supportive community of practice using and teaching evidence-based tools to inspire hope and action. Together, we can change the national conversation around climate change to be more positive, productive and solutions-focused.

In the Crash Course, participants will learn basic framing elements including why framing matters, values, metaphors, and solutions. These framing techniques are all based on rigorous social science and have been extensively tested across the United States. Participants will create a final project to demonstrate their framing skills and practice critiquing communications with the framing skill rubric. This course is ideal for those who have an interest in learning more about strategic framing to incorporate these techniques into their personal or professional communications. For more information on NNOCCI Training Offerings, visit www.climateinterpreter.org/training.

Benefits of the NNOCCI Crash Course 

1.    Gain skills to engage others on climate change. Training includes a series of online video modules, facilitated webinars, and practice assignments to provide a comprehensive introduction to strategic framing, an overview of NNOCCI tools and messaging, and access to experienced trainers to support you in crafting impactful climate messages.

2.    Accessible from anywhere. This online, 6-week, 25-hour module provides a comprehensive overview of strategic framing tools from the comfort of your home/office.

3.    Network with like-minded individuals across the country. Expand your professional network and explore the challenges, opportunities, and best practices of climate communication within a supportive community of practice.

4.    Join the NNOCCI Network. NNOCCI has built and fostered a community of practice to help scientists and science educators share best practices and challenges of communicating climate research. NNOCCI’s reach is broad, with a network of more than 440 individual members from 184 informal science learning centers across 38 states.

Course Offerings:

  • Summer Course taking place the weeks of July 12th through August 16th, 2020
  • Fall Course taking place the weeks of October 11th through November 15th, 2020

Course Sizes: Courses will range in size from 20 to 40 participants. For courses with 30+ participants, the cohorts may be divided into smaller groups.

Additional Program Details: The cost of the course is $249/person with additional discounts for attendees joining in groups of 5 (5%), 10 (10%) and 20 (20%) people.

How to Apply: Applications are live. Please reach out to [email protected] with questions in the meantime.

More info and FAQs: https://climateinterpreter.org/content/nnoccis-new-online-crash-course

Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeS8r2pIoO0igoey_T6awUer6xuARSv24mQd3gXRmSSBpgavw/viewform

A Chance for Some Fun!

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Do you work in the Natural Resources field? Do you think you know a lot of about Natural Resources? Do you want a chance to test your knowledge? 

Due to Covid-19, the 2020 Virginia Dominion Energy Envirothon competition was cancelled and pivoted to an online testing week where 9th-12th graders from all of Virginia tested their knowledge in Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife and Water Resource Management.

But seeing the interest, the Virginia Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts Educational Foundation wanted to offer a chance for adults to test their knowledge in Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife, and Water Resource Management.

WHAT: The Natural Resources (Adult) Test Week will be 5 tests. Each test will have a 25-minute time limit.

Test Areas include:

  • Aquatics
  • Forestry
  • Soils
  • Wildlife
  • Water Resource Management: Local Control and Local Solutions

You can sign up to take one or all of the tests.

HOW: To sign up to take the tests, visit this link to register.  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7H6T585

If you register, you agree to not look up answers.

WHAT THEN? You will receive links to the test(s) on Monday, June 22, and must complete the test(s) by midnight on Sunday, June 28. Top scoring participants will be recognized by the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (VASWCD) Facebook page.

Please share this email with anyone you know who would be interested in testing their natural resources knowledge.

QUESTIONS: Please email Bonnie Mahl: [email protected]

Website www.vaswcd.org

DEQ Environmental Justice Webinar, June 17

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Wednesday, June 17, 6-8 p.m

The DEQ webinar will share perspectives on Environmental Justice and will be held in both English and Spanish. This will be followed with a survey to gather additional community perspectives.

DEQ is currently doing an environmental justice study and will be holding a webinar (in both English and Spanish) to share feedback and perspectives from statewide interviews that Skeo Solutions has conducted thus far. Informed by best practices of other state and federal regulatory agencies, the Skeo team has conducted more than 70 interviews with a wide cross-section of stakeholders across Virginia, including representatives from EJ communities and organizations, environmental organizations, regulated agriculture and industry, local government, state environmental boards and DEQ staff. The interviews focused on understanding different experiences with EJ and DEQ’s programs, as well as perspectives on potential challenges and opportunities to advance EJ within DEQ programs.

Following the webinars, a public survey will be available to gather additional community perspectives.

Please share this information with anyone who would be interested in joining the webinar, or in these materials afterwards. See DEQ’s news release below for more details. You will need to register for the webinar to receive a link. 

The webinar will also be recorded and posted to the DEQ website below, along with the survey link and the slide presentation for anyone wishing to provide additional feedback on how DEQ can effectively support and advance environmental justice through their programs. www.DEQ.Virginia.gov/ConnectWithDEQ/EnvironmentalJustice.aspx

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

Questions? Greg Bilyeu, Director of Communications

1111 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219

(804) 698-4107

 [email protected] 

Nature in a Time of Crisis: A Conversation with Melanie Choukas-Bradley

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Jun 12, 2020, 1:00 PM

Join Capital Nature and Park Rx America for a timely discussion with naturalist and author Melanie Choukas-Bradley. Inspired by her new book: Resilience: Connecting with Nature in a Time of Crisis, the program will explore how a relationship with nature can nurture and support our wellbeing during COVID-19 and other crisis times.

Melanie will share highlights from her interviews with aspiring and seasoned naturalists across the country. She will offer practical advice for: “how to establish a wild home; how to develop nature connection as a mindfulness practice such as integrating meditation, yoga and tai chi; how to become a backyard naturalist and weave nature appreciation and study into your home schooling and how to develop new ways of seeing and being in the world.” We will also hear from DC-area residents who have found new ways to engage with nature for their own wellbeing and the wellbeing of their families.

This event is co-hosted with Park Rx America. We invite you to listen in and join us for the conversation!

Register here

Become a Virginia Master Gardener, Fall 2020!

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Green Spring Gardens Master Gardeners Unit is seeking applicants for their upcoming Fall 2020 training session. Due to COVID restrictions, they’ve developed a training program that is COVID compliant and meets the Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener basic training for Master Gardener certification criteria. If you like gardening (you don’t have to be expert at it), if you like volunteering outdoors and/or providing outreach and education to promote eco-savvy sustainable horticultural practices, and you want to join a great group with a purpose, become a Green Spring Master Gardener! They have a wide range of projects for all abilities and interests across the county.

Green Spring Gardens, a Fairfax County Park which focuses on demonstration gardens, sponsors an Extension Master Gardener (EMG) program in cooperation with Virginia Cooperative Extension. Go online to: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/green-spring/master-gardeners and learn what EMGs do.

They are planning for a blended Master Gardener training program this fall with Covid-19 safety protocols in mind. Online modules will be part of the program so a computer or tablet with good internet service are required tools for the success of the program. They will also have weekly get-togethers via Zoom platform with speakers, labs and Q & A sessions. If they meet for hands-on labs, it will be with social distancing in mind for the safety of all participants. If you are interested in joining the Green Spring Master Gardener Training Program, please contact Pamela Smith, EMG Coordinator at [email protected] for an application and further information. Classes begin September 17.

Mathematical Patterns in Nature: Online Talk

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Thursday, Jun 11, 2020, 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Recorded webinar here

This program is co-hosted by the Fauquier County Public Library

Mathematics gives us a powerful tool for looking at and studying nature. Math can help us understand why plants and animals build their structures in certain ways and why some numbers and shapes are more common in nature than others. The Clifton Institute’s Managing Director, Eleanor Harris, Ph.D., will talk about some of the mathematical patterns that can be found in the forests and fields of northern Virginia and about how you too can look at nature mathematically. She will also present a fun craft that you can do with kids to get them thinking about math in nature. No specialized mathematical knowledge will be required to enjoy the talk.

Please use the button below to register by noon on the day of the talk. We will send you a link to join the Zoom meeting via email at that time, so please make sure your email address is correct when you register. The talk is recorded for those who registered late or missed the live presentation.

Register

If you are an FMN member, this presentation is on the Continuing Education calendar for credit.

Upcoming Webinar: Social Marketing as a Behavior-Centered Design Tool

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On June 10, Dulce Espelosin, Senior Trainer at Rare’s Center for Behavior and the Environment, will lead two webinars hosted by the International Social Marketing Association. Tune in as she shares the unique opportunities and challenges of supporting community-led, behavior change campaigns.

Working in remote places presents many challenges when it comes to nature conservation, beginning with communicating with its inhabitants. The most effective tool has been behavior change design embedded within a social marketing strategy. In this webinar, Ms. Espelosin will share the strategies she used with a community in Mozambique to make a sustainable change.

Fairfax County hosts a diverse community of people who will respond differently to the messages they hear. Tune in to discover how you might change your approach and increase the likelihood that you will succeed.

Webinar 1: 12:00pm-1:00pm Register

Webinar 2: 8:00pm-9:00pm Register

For FMN members: This learning opportunity is on the CE calendar.

Firescaping-A Virtual Training, May 14th

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Zoom training
Thursday, 14 May 2020
10am – Noon
Please contact Holly Campbell for link and password.

Wildfire season is fast approaching. This is occurring amid reports of the highest temperatures on record in some parts of the country and the continued megadrought in the southwestern U.S.- which is reported as one of the worst droughts in 1200 years! As well, extreme weather and other factors continue to fuel tragic wildfires every year across the country. For these reasons and more, it’s imperative that communities better prepare for wildfires. A new USDA-NIFA funded training was developed recently, Preparing for Wildfires with Firescaping, to teach naturalists and gardeners about fire-resistant landscaping so, through their outreach and education efforts, they can help reduce their communities’ wildfire risk.

This free, Zoom training on fire-resistant landscaping, or firescaping, will teach naturalists about what firescaping is and how to implement it in their communities. Specifically, participants will learn about fire history and behavior and ways to prevent home ignition through understanding plant flammability and firescaping design. The presentation will also address ways to maintain wildlife habitat with firescaping. This Zoom training will include presentations, “interactive” activities, and a discussion period.

Speaker: Holly Campbell, Public Service Assistant, University of Georgia, Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources. Project Manager for the USDA-NIFA Smith-Lever funded project, Preparing for Wildfires with Firescapin

Conservation Advocacy 101 for HOAs and Condo Associations

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Do you live in an HOA or Condo Association? Have you been thinking about how you can better our natural world through work in your community and/or on the common property of your association? Maybe you’ve been considering a tree planting or tree replacement policy, thinking about better lawn maintenance practices, or wanting to install a pollinator garden.

Join Renee Grebe through the Audubon Naturalist Society (ANS) and attend their Conservation Advocacy 101 Workshops. They’ll be holding this two times – pick whichever date works best for you. They will cover some key introductory advocacy skills like identifying issues and ideas for solutions, researching and communicating ideas, developing an action plan, talking to decision-makers, and building community partnerships to broaden support for your issue.

You’ll get a chance to think about your own community, begin developing your own action plan, and participate in breakout discussions. Please RSVP to ensure you get a Zoom link prior to the webinar.

Thursday May 14th – 10am – 11:30am – https://anshome.org/events/advocacy-101-for-hoas-may2020/
Wednesday June 17th – 7pm – 8:30pm – https://anshome.org/events/advocacy-101-for-hoas-june2020/

ANS is asking for a nominal donation of $5-$15 to support their conservation work for this webinar, but it will be worth your while! There is much to learn about a long-term successful approach to driving change locally. This webinar will be geared toward community associations, but the skills are translatable broadly for advocacy work you seek to do on your own.