Behavior-centered design for the environment training

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Rare Center for Behavior and the Environment
1310 N. Courthouse Road, Suite 110, Arlington, VA, 22201
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 703.522.5070

October 16 & 17, 2019
9:00 am–5:00 pm

Register now

Want the key to unlocking greater impact from your environmental programs?

Environmental and conservation organizations have deep expertise in the natural sciences. But if human behavior is the biggest threat to the environment, we need a better understanding of what motivates people. Join Rare for an interactive behavior-centered design training, and gain tools and techniques for moving people toward more sustainable behaviors.

What is Behavior-Centered Design (BCD)?

A process that blends insights from the behavioral sciences and approaches from design thinking to build breakthrough solutions to environmental challenges.

Who is this training for?

• Conservation and environmental practitioners

• Program designers and policy staff

• Sustainability professionals

Why would a BCD training help you?

• Behavior is at the root of both conservation problems and solutions

• Strategies that incorporate human behavior can achieve larger and lasting impact

• BCD holds the potential for unlocking fundraising opportunities

• It provides a step-by-step process for identifying target behaviors and developing strategies       to achieve them

What will I leave the training with?

• Applicable skills and easy-to-use tools

• Hands-on experience with a behavior-centered design process

• A tutorial on Rare’s behavior change toolkit

• A  membership in a learning network of practitioners

 

Upcoming programs at the gorgeous Clifton Institute

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Six exciting programs are coming up at The Clifton Institute:

Creatures of the Night

Walk with A Naturalist

Bugscaping: Regenerative Landscaping for the 21st Century

Colors of Clifton: Preserving the Palette of Autumn

Mindful Naturalists: Nature Yoga

Nature Journaling with Joyce Andrew

 

Some are free, some have a small fee, all require registration.

Beginning woodland owners’ retreat, 20-21 Sept., register by Sept. 6th

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New Kent Forestry Center, Providence Forge, VA
20-21 September 2019

Eastern Virginia landowners can learn more about actively managing their forestlands.

These retreats:
are geared towards landowners who are new to forest management
provide information on both hardwood and pine forest management
offer chances for interaction with natural resource professionals from various agencies in Virginia, as well as with other landowners
provide information on estate planning, management planning and certification
provide hands-on experience with tree identification, forestry equipment, and more…

Topics include forest stewardship planning, pine management, timber sales, wildlife management, tree identification, and more. A tour of local properties will showcase forest management in action.

Full retreat registration, including materials, meals, and lodging on Sept. 19 and 20 is $95 per person or $170 per couple. For those who live nearby, a commuter option, including materials and meals only, is $55 per person or $90 per couple.

To register online or download a mail-in brochure, visit www.forestupdate.frec.vt.edu. The deadline to register is September 6.

For more information, contact Jennifer Gagnon at 540-231-6391 or [email protected]. Or go to the Virginia Forest Landowner Education website and click on the retreat, then agenda.

Hidden Oaks Nature Center offers art classes for adults, Sep., Oct., & Nov.

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Photo (c) by Barbara J. Saffir

Hidden Oaks Nature Center
7701 Royce St., Annandale VA
Various dates and times (see below)

Naturalist and artist Avery Gunther will be leading these classes.

Drawing Animal Eyes (16- adult)
Thursday, September 12, 2019, 7-9pm. Code- FD1.1092

Animal eyes are so varied and intricate. If you draw an animal’s eye realistically, your drawing of an animal comes to life. Practice drawing individual animal eyes up close from photographs and live animals. Watch a demonstration, then try drawing eyes using pencil, colored pencils and/or watercolors. A suggested list of supplies will be provided when you sign up. $5 material fee due the day of class.
Meet at the Nature Center.

Ferns of Hidden Oaks- Hike and Draw (16 – adult)
Saturday, October 5, 2019, 1:00 – 3:00 pm. Code – 22B.1C7D

Learn some tips to identifying ferns that live in local woods on a hike. Then spend time drawing ferns in the Hidden Oaks shelter or on nearby trails. A suggested list of supplies will be provided after you sign up. Meet at the Packard Center Parking lot in Annandale Community Park. Go to the Annandale Community Park entrance off Hummer Road. Once you turn in, proceed to the right and follow the signs to the Packard Center. The instructor will meet you at the parking lot.

Illustrating Your Nature/Travel Journal (16- adult)
Thursdays November 7, 14 and 21. 7 – 9pm Code – 7BB.9F97

Learn how to take your field sketches and turn them into a journal page. Starting with a pencil sketch you can add fine line marker, water colors or colored pencils. Participate in a lesson of how to use various art media each class. Discover ways to add photos and mementos to your journal. A suggested list of supplies will be provided when you sign up. Meet at the Nature Center.

Please register online through the Fairfax County Park Authority Parktakes:
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/parktakes.  Then pick “go directly to search.”
Next fill in the “search text/catalog ID “ and plug in the program code above, then hit the “search activities” button and it will pull up the class.  Scroll down to see the class and sign up.

Fundamentals of Avian Biology: The Study of Birds, Fall Session (6 classes)

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Classroom Instruction:National Wildlife Federation
11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, VA 20190
Thursdays, 7:00 – 9:00PM; Oct. 3, 10, 17; Dec. 5, 12, 19

Field Trips: October 12; December 14 (location TBD)

Dr. Chris Haney, Founder and President of Terra Mar Applied Science

Limit: 30 students. Don’t delay, this class will sell out quickly.
Fee: $250 members, $275 non-members

Register here.

Audubon Society of Northern Virginia is pleased to present this in-depth course about birds, designed for all skill levels. Experienced birders and novices will improve their understanding of birds and birding skills through classroom sessions and field trips.

Fundamentals of Avian Biology: Fall Session, will feature close scrutiny of the modern theory and field methods used to interpret the life of birds. Topics to be covered will encompass basic avian biology, life histories, evolution, behavior, ecology, geography, migration, and human socio-cultural relationships. Whenever appropriate, contrasting perspectives will be offered, including some controversial views, and distinctions made between different historical approaches of professional ornithology and birding. Classroom presentations will include PowerPoint slides, auditory or video supplements, and some participatory exercises.

Instructor: Dr. Chris Haney’s expertise straddles the fields of ornithology, including: marine science, climate change, wildlife biology, ecosystem management, and conservation policy. His projects and scholarly work have taken him to Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Bahamas, Lesser Antilles, several countries of southern Africa, and the former Soviet Union. He has authored over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and technical notes, and over 150 reports, abstracts, and testimony. He has delivered more than 150 seminar, conference, and workshop presentations. Dr. Haney’s knowledge and enthusiasm in the classroom is contagious!
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This course is designed and presented at a university introductory level in two separate sections (Fall and Spring) with a total of 12, two-hour classroom sessions. The two sections are independent and field trips will focus on birds that are present during the season. The Spring Session will begin in late winter 2020, there is no prerequisite for this section. 

Birds, Blossoms, and the Bull Moose: A Natural History Hike of T.R.’s Memorial in the Potomac, Sep. 15th

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Theodore Roosevelt Island
Sunday, 15 September 2019
1-3 pm
Wear shoes that can handle mud
Free but registration required

Trek around Theodore Roosevelt Island, an 88-acre living memorial to the first president to make conservation a centerpiece of his presidency. Meet our 26th president — or rather a 17-ft. bronze statue of him — the rich Manhattanite who became known as the protector of more than 230 million acres of public land. Saunter around the island to sample its natural and not-so-natural history.  See the plants and critters that thrive on this 88-acre island in the Potomac River.

FMN quarterly chapter meeting Sept. 16th, Fairfax County recycling program

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Hidden Oaks Nature Center
7701 Royce St., Annadale VA
Monday, 16 September 2019
7:30 – 9 pm

Our chapter will have a brief meeting, enjoy some food and drink, and learn from a presentation on recycling in Fairfax County by Erica Carter, Fairfax County Solid Waste Management Program, Recycling Coordinator.

There’s been a lot of talk about recycling these days – what can we recycle? Where does it go? Is China still buying? More importantly, what can you do to minimize the amount of waste that you and your family create? We’ll take a quick look at the current state of waste management in Fairfax County and answer everyone’s questions about what they can and cannot recycle.

Fairfax Master Naturalists earn one hour of continuing education credit for this event.

Celebrate the Diversity of the Piedmont: Virginia Native Plant Society Annual Conference

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Friday, Sept 27-Sunday, Sept 29, 2019 

Hikes, lectures, and classes are scheduled for all day Saturday and half day Sunday, with check-in, dinner, and speaker on Friday night.

One price for the whole weekend, to include meals from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch. This year, it is based in Front Royal.

Go to the VNPS website here for everything you want to know, and to register.

Questions? Contact:

Email [email protected]

Phone: 540-837-1600

Love to feed birds? Take The Cornell Lab feeder course

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Learning who’s who at your feeders will help reveal the fascinating dramas that unfold outside your window.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s online course covers orioles, flickers, finches, hummingbirds, and much more!

Enroll in Feeder Birds: Identification and Behavior.

Try Nest Quest Go to help the Cornell Lab

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In the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s new crowdsourcing project, you’re invited to delve into decades of handwritten nest data cards and the valuable information they hold.

You can help them digitize these cards while taking a trip back in time and peeking into the stories inside birds’ nests.

Just sign up for the project via Zooniverse—even a few minutes is really helpful. Our current project is on American Kestrels, with more species lined up for the future (we can even send you notifications about new projects).

Check out Nest Quest Go and start on your first nest card!