Fairfax County Park Authority Certified Interpretive Guide classes, 5-8 February 2018: Register now

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This FCPA certification workshop teaches the skills you need to interpret natural and cultural resources to any audience you choose. You will graduate understanding how to connect learners to the value of natural resources so that they care about them and pay the message forward.

This is a national certification program offered by the National Association for Interpretation hosted by the Fairfax County Park Authority for its staff.

Two sessions with five spots per session are open to the public. Register online NLT 20 January for either the session at Green Springs Gardens in Alexandria or the session at Dranesville Tavern in Herndon.

Registration Cost: $230 (Certification is an additional $150). Qualifies for learning hours for master naturalists.

 

World Wildlife Fund hosts The Nature of Change: The Science of Influencing Behavior

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Behavior change has not yet been extensively incorporated into conservation practice planning, design, or overall thinking. This year’s Fuller Symposium, December 4, brings together a diverse array of experts from the behavior sciences to tackle how we can better integrate behavioral strategies and interventions into conservation practice to produce more effective outcomes for nature.

Attend in person at the National Geographic Society’s headquarters, or by by web streaming.

The conference is free and counts toward VMN continuing ed credits

You can attend in person or online. Register here

This year’s winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics, Richard Thaler, was recognized for his contributions to behavioral economics, a critical component in understanding how we make decisions about our health, wealth, etc. (Book recommendation: Nudge, with his coauthor, Cass Sunstein). Dan Ariely, one of the presenters at the symposium, is another prominent behavioral economist, and a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal. (Book recommendation: Predictably Irrational.)

From the Ground Up: Managing and Preserving Our Terrestrial Ecosystems: Free, approved, online course starts November 27

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From the Ground Up: Managing and Preserving our Terrestrial Ecosystems is a new 7-week online course from the SDG Academy about sustainable use of our terrestrial ecosystems.You will learn about the impacts of deforestation, climate change, and more, with a particular focus on the human activities that affect these ecosystems. In studying the interplay of local communities dependent on these natural resources, you will emerge with a deep understanding of how to ensure the long-term health of our global ecosystems.

The course launches November 27th, 2017. Register here. While there are only 7 weeks of course content, the course will remain open until January 29th, 2018. Students can enroll anytime! After January 29th, 2018, the course content will no longer be available.

Course materials each week include pre-recorded lectures, readings, discussion questions, and quizzes. In addition, live webinars are offered throughout the course so that you can ask questions directly to instructors. Each Monday, course materials are made available and remain available for the duration of the course. All course components can be completed at a time that is convenient for students; quizzes can be completed anytime before the course ends.

Time commitment: Approx. 2-4 hours per week

Cost: Free

Requirements: An internet connection. Certificates: Students who successfully complete the course will receive a digital certificate of completion. In order to successfully complete the course, students must score an average of 70% or higher on the quizzes, all of which are multiple choice. Students who score 85% or higher will receive certificates of completion with distinction.

Audubon scholarship to Hog Island, ME, for VA public school educators, at Hog Island, ME

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The Audubon Society of Northern Virginia is taking applications from public school teachers for an all-expenses paid week of professional development plus transportation to National Audubon Society’s Hog Island Camp in Maine. This year’s Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week occurs July 15-20, 2018. Highlights include ospreys, bioluminescent sea creatures, and boat trips to nearby islands, including to a puffin colony. Applicants must be public classroom teachers, specialists, or school administrators working in the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, Leesburg or the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William or Stafford.

Application at http://audubonva.org/hog-island-scholarship

Application deadline: February 1, 2017

Questions? Email ASNV Youth Education Chair Stacey Evers at [email protected]

 

The Trees of Fraser Preserve, Led by Margaret Chatham

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The Potowmack Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society

Saturday, November 18, 2017
10 am to 1 pm

Fraser Preserve
101 Springvale Road
Great Falls, VA 22066

VNPS programs are free and open to the public. Space is limited on walks, so please register at https://vnps20171118.eventbrite.com

Join Margaret Chatham for a tour of the Trees of Fraser Preserve, Saturday, November 18, at 10 am. Some fifty species of trees have been recorded for Fraser Preserve. Come see how many of them we can spot with the help of turning colors, with the certainty of viewing the State Champion American Elm down by the river.
This will be a somewhat energetic hike, downhill and up several times. You might want to bring binoculars and a walking stick in addition to water and the usual dress for the weather.
Margaret is a devoted Fraser Preserve Volunteer Visitation Committee Member who removes invasive barberry shrubs in winter and wavy leaf basket grass in summer and knows the preserve intimately. She is also editor of the VNPS Potowmack News newsletter, a volunteer at the VNPS propagation beds at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, and an Arlington Regional Master Naturalist.

September 19th: Creek Critters at Webb Sanctuary

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You will learn how to find and identify creek critters (macroinvertebrates) living in Popes Head Creek, and generate Stream Health Reports based on your findings using the Creek Critters smartphone app. The stream site is a 10-minute downhill walk from the parking area. Participants will work in shallow water (less than 10 inches deep).

This is a FREE event, but registration is required. Children over 10 years old are welcome to participate.

September 19th  |  11am-1pm  |  Webb Sanctuary

September 9th Green Breakfast:  Fairfax County’s Environmental Vision Update

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Fairfax County’s Environmental Vision Update Kambiz Agazi, Fairfax County Environmental Coordinator Fairfax County’s environment is resilient, but not indestructible. It is the county’s overarching vision to attain a quality environment that provides for a high quality of life and is sustainable for future generations. While it is not an action plan, Fairfax County’s Environmental Vision is important because it helps to guide the county’s environmental sustainability initiatives and programs. Set aside the morning of the 12th and enjoy a hot buffet breakfast while listening to a great presentation on an ecological topic. $10 payable at the door, no need to RSVP.

September 9th | 8:30-10am  |  Brion’s Grille, Fairfax

Learn more

Hog Island Scholarship

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Audubon Society of Northern Virginia is pleased to offer a full scholarship and transportation to “Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week,” July 16-21, 2017, at National Audubon Society’s Hog Island Camp in Maine.

Application Deadline: Feb. 24, 2017. Applications available at audubonva.org 

Scholarship Announcement: March 17, 2017

Application: http://audubonva.org/hog-island-scholarship/

Questions: [email protected] or contact Mary McLean, Youth Education Chair. For further information about Hog Island, visit the Hog Island Website.

Applicants must be classroom teachers, specialists, or school administrators working in: Alexandria City, Falls Church City, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun or Prince William counties.

The winner is expected to develop a new or enhance an existing conservation-themed project for students. Past projects have included: developing wildlife-friendly habitat at schools, building and maintaining a Bluebird Trail and conducting nature-themed in-service programs for teachers. ASNV will assist the winner in completing their project by offering resources, professional advice, and program support as needed.

Participants in Educator’s Week learn practical approaches to environmental education during this action-packed program. Experienced and enthusiastic instructors share their favorite approaches, methods, and activities for engaging both children and adults with nature.

Workshops using art, music, theater, journaling and other disciplines will be presented, as well as a host of classic Audubon Camp field trips, including a boat trip to the restored Atlantic Puffin and Tern colony on Eastern Egg Rock, intertidal explorations and hiking through Hog Island’s unspoiled spruce-fir forest. These experiences provide a wonderful opportunity to learn outside in a beautiful setting, while considering how to use this new knowledge with your students back home. During the week educators will explore citizen science methods, creating inquiry-based lessons on birds and other topics and demonstrating both low and high-tech methods of teaching.

2016 Winner, Kate Sydney, Glebe Elem., Arlington
2017 Winner, Morgan Ochuizzo, Fairfax Schools

Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) are available for completing the course from the University of Southern Maine