FMN Quarterly Chapter Meeting and Bluebird Box Monitoring presentation, Mar. 16th — CANCELLED!

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Hidden Oaks Nature Center
7701 Royce St., Annandale VA
Monday, 16 March 2020
7:30 pm

The Fairfax Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists will hold a short quarterly chapter meeting which will be followed by a presentation from volunteers who monitor bluebird boxes. They work on behalf of the Virginia Bluebird Society which was founded in 1996 to promote bluebirds and other native cavity nesters. Volunteers record data and ensure that boxes are clean and free of pests to promote bluebird breeding success.

The meeting is free and open to the public. Please join us to learn about this worthwhile project and how you can become a nest box volunteer.

Parking at Hidden Oaks is limited, but there is overflow parking at the Fred M. Packard Center, 4022 Hummer Rd., Annandale, VA 22003. It is just a short walk along a wooded trail to the Hidden Oaks Nature Center from the parking lot.

Master naturalists earn one hour of continuing education credit for the presentation and can record service hours under code C034: Bluebird Trails if they participate in the project.

“Audubon at Home” program presentation, Mar. 21st

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Jammes House
Mason Neck State Park
Saturday, March 21, 2020
2 pm

The Audubon Society of Northern Virginia and Plant Nova Natives will present “Creating a Wildlife Sanctuary on Your Property: The Audubon at Home Program” at 2 PM on March 21. The program will explain the importance of native plants to restoring and maintaining a balanced ecosystem and give guidance on how to do it.

The program is free and is open to everyone. The Friends of Mason Neck State Park, which is hosting the program, will provide light refreshments. Registration for the program will open on February 15. Space will be limited, so be sure to register as soon as you can.

Let’s Get Growing Symposium, March 21st

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Leesburg Community Church
835 Lee Avenue, SW, Leesburg VA 20176
Saturday, 21 March 2020
9 am – 4 pm

Join the Loudoun County Master Gardeners at their 11th Annual Gardening Symposium featuring noted speakers, knowledgeable practitioners, plant sellers and vendors of garden related items The Symposium is a great way to get motivated and jump into the spring gardening season with new information and refreshed enthusiasm.

More information and registration here.

Getting to Know and Love Your Ferns, Feb.13th

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A talk by Kit Sheffield

Green Spring Gardens 
4603 Green Spring Road 
Alexandria, VA 22312 
Thursday, February 13, 2020
7:30 – 9:00 pm 

Please join the Potowmack Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society for a talk by Kit Sheffield, who will answer the following
questions: What is a fern and what makes it different from other organisms? What is a “fern ally”? How do ferns grow and reproduce? How can you tell ferns apart from each other?

Kit Sheffield is a Virginia Master Naturalist who has led fern-related hikes for the Virginia Native Plant Society, the Audubon Naturalist Society, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, the Fairfax Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists, and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

Earth’s Climate: Present, Past, and Future, VNPS Annual Workshop, Mar. 14th

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Piedmont Virginia Community College
V. Earl Dickinson Building Theater, 444 College Dr., Charlottesville VA
Saturday, 14 March 2020
9 am – 3:15 pm

Many are concerned about climate change and no longer need to be convinced that it is real. But we can always learn something new about the study of climate and its changes and impacts on Earth’s ecosystems. This Workshop will focus on climate changes at different periods of time, how it might relate to our current climate, and inform our thoughts about today’s changes.

The speakers this year will cover more than 50 million years of Earth’s climate history. From the present state of our coastal ecosystems, to climate perturbations during the historic period, to the glacial ages and their influence on eastern forests, and finally to the fossil record far in the past, we will explore environmental changes in our world.

More information, workshop brochure and registration here. Brought to you by the Virginia Native Plant Society.

Certified Interpretive Guide course, Feb. 24-27th

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Green Spring Gardens
4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria VA
Monday, 24 February – Thursday, 27 February
8:30 am – 5 pm
28 February a possible snow make-up day
$230

A Certified Interpretive Guide course is being offered by the Fairfax County Park Authority. This certification workshop focuses on the skills needed to interpret natural and cultural resources to an audience allowing them to not just learn about resources but connect to and care about them.
This is a national certification program offered by the National Association for Interpretation hosted by the Fairfax County Park Authority for its staff. It requires no prior knowledge or training.
There are 5 spots open to the public. You can register online.
Here is the link:

https://www.interpnet.com/nai/nai/_events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=CIG022320

The course is 32 hours and meets 8:30am-5pm for 4 days, more details will follow after registering. Remember to indicate whether you want the certification option.
For more information about the course, please contact Patricia Dietly at [email protected] or call (703) 642-0128.

Fireflies: Hosting Nature’s Light Show into Your Garden, program Feb.3rd

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American Legion
400 N. Oak Street, Falls Church VA
Monday, 3 February 2020
7:30 pm
Free

Lightning bugs (aka fireflies) are part of the magic of growing up in the eastern United States, yet most people know very little about them. Nature education specialists Kris and Erik Mollenhauer have studied fireflies, seen “blue ghosts” and “synchronizing fireflies,” and explored some of the dark secrets of the Night Country. This program explores the “fairies of the night” and how we can create habitat in our gardens to keep them flashing for years to come.

BIO: Erik and Kris Mollenhauer are retired educators but committed volunteers. Erik taught high school science for 15 years, then worked as an educational program developer for 24 years. He developed a program with Costa Rica based on songbird migration as well as an international teacher exchange program that led groups to several countries, including Russia, Australia and Japan. For 5 years he helped National Geographic improve geography education in NJ schools; for 30 years, he’s used a portable planetarium to teach the night sky to people of all ages in the US, Canada, Russia and Japan.

Kris was an elementary school teacher for 14 years, then spent 12 years as a Reading Recovery teacher, teaching struggling students how to read. Working with the Monarch Teacher Network, the Mollenhauers have taught monarch butterfly workshops across the US and Canada for the past 20 years and guided groups to the winter monarch colonies in Mexico and California. They’ve also developed many educational projects together, including the East Coast Vulture Festival, the Mad Hatter’s Tree Party, the Gloucester County Bird Quest and, most recently, the Gloucester County Firefly Festival.

Bringing Peregrine Falcons Back to Virginia’s Mountains, Mar. 1st

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Mount Vernon Government Center
2511 Parkers Lane, Alexandria VA
(Near U.S. 1 and a mile from The George Washington Memorial Parkway)
Sunday, 1 March 2020
2 pm
Free, open to the public

National Park Service biologist, Rolf Gubler, will give a talk about the Peregrine Falcon restoration project at Shenandoah National Park.

A team brings at-risk Peregrine Falcon chicks from bridge nest sites in eastern Virginia to Virginia’s mountains, once part of their historic range. They hope the birds will imprint on the park’s cliffs and return as breeding adults. This project boosts mountain peregrine populations and aids in the survival of bridge nest peregrine chicks where fledging is often difficult due to insufficient updrafts.

Peregrine Falcons were used for hunting or falconry as early as 2000 B.C. in China and Egypt and in World War II, both the British/U.S. and the German armies had a falcon corps to intercept their opponent’s homing pigeons. Peregrines are found in rural and urban environments and on every continent except Antarctica.

Winter Birds with Larry Meade, Mar. 5th

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National Wildlife Federation
11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, VA 20190
Thursday, 5 March 2020
7-9 pm
Field trip: Saturday, 7 March 2020, TBD
Cost: $30 ASNV member/$40 non-member

March can offer spectacular birding, marking a transition between winter and spring. Many of our winter birds, such as waterfowl and sparrows, are still around, but they are joined by early migrants returning to breeding territories. In this workshop, the presenter will discuss birds that occur here at this time of year, with a special focus on species that are migrating into our region and their arrival dates. An ancillary field trip offers a chance to encounter many of these birds in their natural settings.

Larry Meade, Audubon Society of Northern Virginia Education Committee and President of Northern Virginia Bird Club, will lead.

Register here.

Drawing Winter Weeds, Nature Journaling, Feb.6th

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Hidden Oaks Nature Center
7701 Royce St., Annandale VA
Thursday, 6 February 2020
7-9 pm
Cost: $15

Some flowers, ferns and grasses persist in winter as dried stalks and provide food for wildlife. Learn about local winter weeds and try drawing some from our collection. Ink pens work especially well with this subject. See a brief demonstration, then try it yourself using our collection of dried plants. A suggested list of supplies will be sent upon registration.
Code F3B.F818

To sign up use this address: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/hidden-oaks/classes or google Hidden Oaks Nature Center and click on the programs section, or call 703-222-4664.