Friends of Wolf Trap host City Nature Challenge (and training!)

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As urban development in Northern Virginia continues to accelerate, the management of open spaces becomes more important than ever. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, which encompasses more than 130 acres with 2.7 miles of trails, forests, native gardens, streams and a pond, contains important natural, recreational and historical resources for the community. As a not-for-profit organization, the Friends of Wolf Trap (FOWT) contributes to community awareness and assists the National Park Service with providing educational programs, recreation, and preservation through centralized volunteer efforts.  The FOWT are interested in increasing involvement from Fairfax Master Naturalist members in conducting citizen science projects and promoting the Park’s natural resources to the public.

Please register for one or more upcoming events listed at http://friendsofwolftrap.org/events/  and mark your calendars and join us for the following upcoming events:

  • Sunday, April 7, 2019 (10:00 am to noon):  iNaturalist Training and Hike at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts; Using iNaturalist to document and learn about nature is easy! Learn how, then participate in #CityNatureChallenge April 26-29.  In preparation for the 2019 City Nature Challenge, please join Deborah Barber, Director of Land Management from The Nature Conservancy, who will provide brief ‘classroom’ instruction in using the iNaturalist app before leading the group through the Park’s trails and gardens to obtain practical field experience using the app.  Be sure you have a fully charged smart phone and have already downloaded and signed in to the app.
  • Sunday, April 28, 2019 (1:00 pm to 4:00 pm): City Nature Challenge ‘Hike and Explore’ at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts; Take part in the 2019 City Nature Challenge at Wolf Trap! 130 cities across 6 continents are vying to prove that their area has the most nature and the most nature-loving residents – and we want the DC Metro Area to win! https://citynaturechallengedc.org/  Join us for a group hike or strike out on your own to explore the Park’s 130 acres including forests, trails, streams, ponds, meadows and gardens as you take pictures of Parks many plants and animals while taking part in the City Nature Challenge.  We will start with a brief introduction of how to use the iNaturalist app, so be sure you have a fully charged smart phone and have already downloaded and signed in to the app. (C260 is the appropriate service code)

Sign up to be trained as an Audubon at Home Ambassador

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Are you a bird lover who wants to create habitat to attract birds to your or your neighbors’ yards?  Are you a native plant lover?  Are you intrigued by observing wildlife in your own yard?  Do you lament the prevalence of English ivy, and sterile, conventional landscapes and lawns in Fairfax County suburbs?

If so, this is the gig for you!  Sign up to be trained as an Audubon at Home Ambassador and help transform the landscape of Northern Virginia, one yard at a time.

A training/orientation session will be offered Saturday, April 1, at the National Fish and Wildlife Federation headquarters at 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, from 10 a.m. to 1.  Bring a bag lunch.

Please email Betsy Martin at [email protected] by Tuesday Feb. 26th if you’d like to sign up. 

Audubon at Home Ambassadors visit properties and provide advice to homeowners on what natives to plant, what invasives to remove, and how to improve wildlife habitat in peoples’ backyards.  We certify properties as Wildlife Sanctuaries when homeowners adopt Best Habitat Practices, and when beneficial Sanctuary Species actually show up and use the yard. (Our motto is, “Let the animals decide.”)  You can learn more about the Audubon at Home program at http://audubonva.org/audubon-at-home-1 .

On April 1, Betsy Martin (Fairfax County Audubon at Home Coordinator) will give a presentation on the program and its philosophy, the role of Ambassador, and resources that will help you research and advise clients on native plants and habitat improvements.

After lunch, Charles Smith of Fairfax County Stormwater Planning Division will lead a walk on the beautiful and natural NFWF grounds, showing trainees how to read a landscape, what to look for when assessing its habitat value, and how to think about creating wildlife habitat.

Audubon at Home is an approved FMN service project.  You will receive 3 hours of Continuing Education credit for attending this training session and service credit for each home visit.

iNaturalist identification party, Feb. 28th

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National Geographic
1610 M St NW,Washington DC 20036
Thursday, 28 February 2019
5:30-8 PM

Be prepared to help with this year’s City Nature Challenge by helping to  identify last year’s iNaturalist observations! The group will meet in the cafeteria at National Geographic. Pizza provided! *Bring a laptop* and any field guides you want to reference.

Enter via the courtyard from M Street. From the courtyard, enter the building on the left, then inside turn left to the cafeteria.

Schedule
5:30-6 Arrival & check in
6-6:15 Welcome & tips for identifying on iNaturalist
6:15-7:30 Identifying observations!
7:30-7:45 Check in on progress, sharing of learning
7:45-8 More identifications, goodbyes

Register here please.

Build-Your-Own Rain Barrel Workshops, various dates

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Sunday, 10 March 2019, 2-4pm, Hollin Meadows Elementary School, Alexandria
Saturday, 30 March 2019, 10:30am-12:30pm, Walter Reed Community Center, Arlington
Saturday, 25 May 2019, 10 am-12 pm, Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, Fairfax

As a part of a regional initiative, the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District will once again offer build-your-own rain barrel workshops this spring. During the workshop, you will learn how to install and maintain a rain barrel and take one home! Registration is required for all programs. Learn more!

From Garlic Mustard to Japanese Stiltgrass: Non-Native Invasive ID and Control, Mar. 14th

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A Talk by Patrick Whitehouse, Fairfax County Park Authority
Green Spring Gardens
4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria, VA 22312
Thursday, March 14
7:30 – 9 pm

VNPS programs are free and open to the public.
No reservations are necessary for lectures
FMN members: Earn one hour CE

Invasive plants are non-native species that degrade our natural ecosystems. They can tolerate a wide range of habitats, generate many offspring, mature quickly and spread. They out-compete native species, reducing or eliminating them. This can lead to fewer native birds and wildlife.

Please join the Potowmack Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society for a talk by Patrick Whitehouse, an ecologist for the Resource Management Division for the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) who will discuss non-native plant identification and control, as well as information on the Invasive Management Program at Fairfax County Park Authority. Patrick has worked for the FCPA first as a naturalist, then as an ecologist, earning his bachelor’s degree in Forest Management from West Virginia University.

Habitat restoration such as the Invasive Management Area (IMA) project can support the success of native plant species. The IMA Project began in 2006 and now manages more than 35 acres in Fairfax County. The Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) program is another county effort that finds new invasive species through surveys, then eradicates them before they cause harm. This data on invasive species is tracked across the county. Fairfax County offers many resources about invasive plants to the general public including a pamphlet entitled Invasive Forest Plants
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/sites/parks/files/assets/documents/naturalcultural/invasive%20forest%20plants%20brochure.pdf

and a booklet entitled, Non-native invasive ID and control https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/sites/parks/files/assets/documents/naturalcultural/non-native-invasive-id-control-booklet.pdf

Native Plants: Advancing Our Dialogue with Nature, March 30th

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U.S. National Arboretum Visitor Center, Washington, D.C.

Main gate by the visitor center is 2400 R Street NE, which will bring you to the R Street gate- use this address for GPS directions

8:30 am – 3:30 pm

Fee $95 ($76 for Friends of the National Arboretum members).  More information and register here.

Learn to look at cues from nature, whether it is pinpointing the best grasses and sedges to control storm water or combining natives to reduce maintenance.
Hear about newly discovered native species, visit an Arboretum restoration project, discover how pesky invasives can help produce alluring art, or learn about plants toughing it out in some unexpected places.

Talk Topics/Speakers 

LOOKING to NATURE for BEAUTY with LESS MAINTENANCE
C. Colston Burrell, principal,  Native Landscape Design and Restoration,

THE NEW WORKHORSES of the GARDEN: Native Grasses & Sedges
Shannon Currey, marketing director, Hoffman Nursery

TWO SIGNATURE NATIVES: Leather Flower & Wake-robins
Dr.Aaron Floden, botanist, Missouri Botanical Garden.

Concurrent sessions:

ALIEN WEEDS: Art from an Insistent Abundance
Patterson Clark, senior graphics editor, Politico Pro

SPRINGHOUSE RUN RESTORATION
Max Fedeli & Angela Magnan, staff, U.S. National Arboretum

FINDING NATURE in ALL the WRONG PLACES
Dr. Brett McMillan, science teacher, The Bryn Mawr School of Baltimore

Native plant sale: 8:30 to 1 pm.

Apply for Summer internship to support Heritage Habitat by March 15

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It’s an age-old dilemma. College graduates get their diplomas and apply for their first jobs only to find that most jobs require experience. But how do you get experience if no one will hire you?

Virginia Cooperative Extension internships give you the opportunity to explore careers in nutrition, agriculture, environmental science, natural resources, family and consumer sciences or community and youth development. And you get paid.

This summer, the National Park Service, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and Virginia Department of Forestry are jointly sponsoring a summer internship to support the Heritage Habitat project.

Major responsibilities will include field-work, program development & delivery on the Manassas Battlefield National Park and the Conway Robinson State Forest in support of the Heritage Habitat Trails program, a LEAF site in cooperation with Virginia Master Naturalists.

This 12-week internship pays $12/hour. Applications due March 15.

For more information contact: 

Adam Downing (540) 948-6881 [email protected]
Bryan Gorsira (703) 754-1861 [email protected]
Sarah Parmelee (540) 347-6358 [email protected] 

Pull additional details from the flyer

Green Breakfast, Mar. 9th

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Brion’s Grille – 10621 Braddock Rd, Fairfax, VA 22032
Saturday, 9 March 2019
Breakfast begins at 8:30 am, $10 at the door, cash preferred.
No prior registration required.

(Part One) How to Avoid Being Bad, When You’re Trying to Do Good!*
Brandy Mueller, Environmental Compliance Coordinator, Fairfax County Land Development Services

Even the most well-intentioned conservation efforts can sometimes lead to unexpected challenges, when necessary permissions are not received or limits pushed…even those in our own backyards. When we only see the end vision of our projects and backyard or community conservation retreats, we don’t often think of them as land-disturbing activities, certainly not in the same vein as traditional development. But, they can be. A little planning ahead and a general understanding the rules and regulations that are in place and why they exist can help to make your projects great successes.

This is part one of a series of breakfasts in which Brandy Mueller, Environmental Compliance Coordinator with Fairfax County’s Land Development Services will provide a brief overview of the current program and share the vision for the future. Ms. Mueller will discuss some logistics for filing complaints and resources and information that are available online. The complaint response program is undergoing changes in 2019 and Ms. Mueller is interested in your ideas about other information and resources that you may need to support individual and community projects to help make them a success.

Later in 2019, Ms. Mueller will be back to share the lessons-learned and describe updates to the program.

Breakfast includes an all-you-can eat hot buffet with fresh fruit and coffee, tea, orange juice or water. No prior registration required. If you have any questions, please contact the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District at [email protected].

  • This program was originally scheduled for the 12 January 2019 Green Breakfast.

Prince William Master Gardener Vegetable Gardening Series, Feb 16, 23 & Mar 2

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Haymarket-Gainesville Library
14870 Lightner Rd, Haymarket, VA 20169
Saturdays, 16 & 23 Feb and 2 Mar 2019
10:15am-1:15pm

Growing our own food, using nature as a guide and incorporating sustainable practices is good for our bodies and good for the earth. This series of 3 classes cover the essential topics — planning the garden, using organic sustainable techniques to develop healthy productive gardens, and growing good garden soil. These practices are on display at the Prince William Master Gardener Teaching Garden in Bristow and showcased in their Saturday in the Garden programs. Taught by the Master Gardener Cook’s Garden Team. This is a free program, but please register by email or call 703-792-7747.

Helping your stream through citizen science

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Chapman DeMary Trail, Purcellville VA
Sunday, 10 March 2019
2-5 pm

Join Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy for a stream-side demonstration and discussion examining how citizen science surveys can be used to assess local stream quality. You will see how biomonitoring surveys are conducted. You will have a chance to look at the data and at aquatic macro invertebrates. They will discuss how the data is analyzed and how it can be used to improve our streams. At the end, you will have the opportunity to sign up for a spring survey, led by one of Loudoun Wildlife’s citizen science stream monitoring teams. Registration is limited, RSVP to Loudoun Wildlife.