Habitat Network, Citizen Science talk, October 4th

Green Spring Gardens
4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria, VA 22312

Thursday, 4 October 2018
7:30 – 9 pm

Meet Megan Whatton and learn about her work with Habitat Network, which is creating a movement to transform yards and urban landscapes to functional diverse habitat to support wildlife and connect people to nature in communities around the world.  It is a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The Network is powered by YardMap, a citizen science mapping tool used to capture data about ecologically relevant practices and to search for local information when planning for and improving a yard, school, or other greenspace.

Megan is the Habitat Network Project Manager for The Nature

Conservancy, where she works with scientists, partners, private landowners, citizen scientists and volunteers to re-imagine their properties and urban properties as habitat for the benefit of wildlife and people. Megan has an M.S. Degree in Environmental Science and Policy from George Mason University.

Sponsored by the Virginia Native Plant Society (VNPS).  All VNPS programs are free and open to the public.   Continuing education credit for master naturalists!

 

How to help the magnificent monarchs

National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston VA

Saturday, 22 September 2018

1-3 pm

Monarchs and their amazing migration to Mexico are in peril for many reasons. Learn about the

Georgina Chin, Class Instructor

monarch life and migration cycles, how you can attract them to your home garden or favorite public space, and how to raise them to send them on their fall journey. Resources for milkweed and garden design also included. The class instructor, Georgina Chin, is an elementary school teacher with a passion for monarchs and an instructor with Monarch Teacher Network. Learn more and register for the class through the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia. Paid Event.

What’s in your water? Fairfax County Well Water Clinic

Virginia Cooperative Extension

12011 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax

Monday, 17 September 2018

7 -9 pm

Do you know what’s in your drinking water? While public water supplies are tested daily for contaminants, most private water supplies, like wells and springs, are rarely tested. It is recommended that well owners test their water at least annually for bacteria and nitrates. Learn more about the quality of your water and how to care for your water system at the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) Fairfax County Well Water Clinic. At this brief informational meeting, you will pick up sample kits and get instructions on how to collect your sample. For more information, please contact VCE at 703-324-5369 or visit the website for more information.

FMN Quarterly Meeting-Forest Bathing!

Hidden Oaks Nature Center

7701 Royce Street, Annandale, VA

Monday, 17 September 2018

7:30-9:00 pm

FMN Chapter Meetings are informative, fun, good for networking, and count for 1 hour of continuing education credit! Come reconnect with friends and fellow naturalists.  They are open to the public.

Clare Kelley will be leading a Forest Bathing session outdoors.  We will not be washing trees, but learning how time spent in nature can benefit our mood and immunity.

Happy Farm Happy Barn Manure Management Workshop

Frying Pan Farm Park

2709 West Ox Road, Herndon, VA  20171

Wednesday, 5 September 2018

6:30-8:30 pm

Come hear subject matter experts talk about horse farm waste management options, the do’s and don’t’s of waste management, composting techniques, benefits of “recycling” manure waste in pastures, and the available financial assistance to build a waste composting/storage facility right on your horse-keeping site. Presented by Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District‘s Senior Conservation Specialist, Willie Woode. Light dinner provided and registration is required. Visit the event website to learn more and register. Free event.

Green Breakfast presents green initiatives in schools

Brion’s Grille – 10621 Braddock Rd, Fairfax, VA 22032

Saturday, 8 September 2018

Breakfast begins at 8:30 am, $10 at the door, cash preferred

The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD) presents its 94th Green Breakfast!  Meet Dr. Scott Brabrand,  Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools.

Fairfax County Public Schools’ slogan is engage, inspire, thrive. Come for a discussion on the green initiatives taking place in Pre-K-12 indoor and outdoor classrooms with Fairfax County Public Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Scott Brabrand, who was appointed by the Fairfax County School Board in July 2017.

Dr. Brabrand began his career in FCPS as a social studies teacher in 1994, a career changer who was inspired by doing volunteer work in the schools. In addition, he has served as the Assistant Principal at Herndon High School and as an Associate Principal at Lake Braddock Secondary School before being named principal at Fairfax High School in 2005. He also served as a Cluster Assistant Superintendent in Fairfax County and more recently spent five years as Superintendent of Lynchburg City Schools. He is a graduate of Georgetown University, George Washington University, and received his doctorate in educational administration as part of Virginia Tech’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 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 NVSWCD at [email protected].

Owl Moon program, September 22nd, registration open now

Gunston Hall Visitor Center

10709 Gunston Road, Lorton VA 22079

Saturday, 22 September 2018

7 pm

Friends of Mason Neck State Park present their annual Owl Moon event.  Secret Garden Birds and Bees will present a program on Winter Owls.  You’ll learn about the short-eared owls, long-eared owls, saw-whet owls and snowy owls that make the Virginia, Maryland and DC area their homes for the winter.  The stars of the show will be several rescue owls that live here year-round, which you can photograph and view up close.

Owl Moon is open to members of the Friends of Mason Neck State Park and their families, and registration is required.  Members can register at Register for Owl Moon.  There will be a short annual meeting and refreshments will be served.  If you aren’t a member, you can join for as little as $20 for a full year, and bring up to 4 other family members to Owl Moon as well as other Friends events.  You can become a member at Join the Friends of Mason Neck State Park and then register for the event.

Will mice be served as refreshments?

Attend workshop: The future of our forests, 29 September

Join the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal for a series of talks by leading experts on the eastern deciduous forest biome and a tour of SCBI’s research forests. Walter Carson, Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh), Jenny McGarvey, M.S. (Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay), and Bill McShea, Ph.D (SCBI) will cover topics including deer browse, fire, invasive species, water quality, climate change and more. A detailed agenda and speaker bios are available on our website.

Do not miss the opportunity to learn from and interact with researchers who are investigating the future of our forests. This workshop is free, but registration is required. Space is limited.

Saturday, 29 September 2018
9:00AM – 2:00PM

Doors open at 8:30AM, program begins promptly at 9:00AM. Optional lunch with speakers and attendees from 12:45PM-2:00PM. Lunch not provided but available for purchase (see registration page for details).

Register online or contact Charlotte Lorick (540-635-0038, [email protected]) for more information and to register by phone.

Late summer wildflower walk at Clifton Institute, 1 September

Asters and agrimony, louseworts and lobelias! Join Clifton Institute Board member Jocelyn Sladen for a delightful walk in search of late season wildflowers in the warm season grass fields and pond edges of Clifton Farm. Waterproof hiking shoes, hats, binoculars, cameras, water bottles, and insect repellent are recommended. RSVP required. Please register here https://cliftoninstitute.org/evrplus_registration/?action=evrplusegister&event_id=43  or by emailing [email protected].

Saturday, 1 September, 10:00am to 12:00pm. Date and time subject to change based on weather.

The walk will be held at the Clifton Institute. The address is 6712 Blantyre Road, Warrenton, VA 20187. From points north (I-66 at Marshall) take US 17 going south for about 7.5 miles and turn left on Blantyre Rd. From the south (Warrenton) take US 17 going north, go 2 miles north of the 17 bypass and turn right on Blantyre Rd. Once you turn on Blantyre, go 1.2 miles to 6712 Blantyre Rd. and turn left into one of our two driveways. The second driveway has a Clifton Institute road sign. Follow the driveway all the way to the pink house (the driveways connect before reach.

Raising monarchs, National Wildlife Federation, 22 September

Monarchs and their amazing migration to Mexico are in peril for many reasons. In this informative session, learn about the monarch life cycle, migration, cycle, how you can attract them to your home garden or favorite public space, and how to raise them to send them on their fall journey. Resources for milkweed and garden design come with the program.

Instructor Georgina Chin is an elementary school teacher with a passion for monarchs and an instructor with Monarch Teacher Network.

National Wildlife Federation

11100 Wildlife Center Drive Reston, VA, 20190

22 September 2018

1:00-3:00 PM

Cost: Audubon Society of Northern Virginia members: $18; Non-members $22

Counts for continuing education credits for FMN members