Stream Monitoring Citizen Science & Training Opportunities, October and November Dates

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Photo by FMN J. Quinn, Stream monitoring at Pohick Creek.

 

Little Difficult Run Stream Monitoring Field Training

When: Saturday, October 21, 2023
9:00-11:30am
Where: Fred Crabtree Park, Herndon

This beautiful stream site is located a short hike into the woods and has a large diversity of macroinvertebrates. A visit to this site is highly recommended for anyone looking to practice their macroinvertebrate identification skills, for their VASOS certification or for fun! Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

Sugarland Run Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Monday, November 6, 2023
2:00-4:30pm
Where: Sugarland Run Stream Valley Park, Herndon

This site is lovely in the fall, and we usually find some fun hellgrammites and crayfish. This site is also close to one of the largest great blue heron breeding and nesting grounds in the region, and we may see some visitors from their northern range in the area. Pretty neat! Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

 

Pohick Stream Monitoring Field Training

When: Wednesday, November 8, 2023
2:00-4:30pm
Where: Pohick Creek Stream Valley Park, Springfield

This site has a greater flow and wider stream than any of our other sites. Does more water mean more macros? Only one way to find out… Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

Big Rocky Run Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Saturday, November 11, 2023
1:00-3:30pm
Where: Cabell’s Mill, Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, Chantilly

Join us for our last stream monitoring of the fall season! Volunteers at this site often visit and enjoy the park’s nature center and interpretive trails. Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

More Training and Stream Monitoring Opportunities

The NoVa Soil & Water Conservation teams are  very excited to contribute their stream data to state and national datasets. If you’d like to see data from all the NVSWCD regional stream monitoring team’s active sites, you can find our organization on the Clean Water Hub.

The “Birdman” Behind the Migratory Bird Treaty Act with Will McLean Greely, November 2nd

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Image courtesy of Will McLean Greely

Thursday, November 2, 2023
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Virtual Meeting

Registration is required.

Fee: ASNV Members, $10; ASNV Non-members, $15

Join the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) for an author event and learn about the man behind the ground-breaking, 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It’s one of the country’s first and most important conservation laws and has saved billions of birds.

Will McLean Greeley will provide an overview of his new biography, A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington: Senator George P. McLean, Birdman of the Senate. This is the story of how Connecticut’s George P. McLean helped establish lasting legal protections for birds that is still in effect today. Greeley, McLean’s great-great-nephew, puts McLean’s victory for birds in the context of his distinguished forty-five-year career marked by many acts of reform during a time of widespread corruption and political instability.

Will McLean Greeley grew up in western Michigan with a passion for American history, politics, and birds. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan, followed by a master’s degree in archives administration. After retiring from a thirty-five-year career in government and corporate market research, he embarked on a three-year journey of research and writing to produce the story of his great-great-uncle George P. McLean and his legacy. Greeley, married and the father of two sons, and twice a grandfather, lives in Midland, Michigan. A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington is his first book.

Science Saturday: Grass Identification Workshop and Survey, November 18th

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Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Saturday, November 18, 2023
 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Rd
Warrenton, VA 20187

Fee: FREE, but registration is required

Register here.

Since 2019, The Clifton Institute has been working to restore a 100-acre field that was dominated by Tall Fescue into a diverse native grassland. In cooperation with Virginia Working Landscapes and the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, they are conducting an experiment to test which of eight methods are best for establishing and maintaining native plants. In this workshop, participants will be given a brief introduction to the restoration experiment and an introduction to common grass species identification. Then attendees will walk about half a mile out into the grassland where they will practice their grass identification skills while learning about the methods the scientists use to study the results of the different treatments.

Cost: Free!

Age:  Adults and children accompanied by an adult.

Weather policy: Rain or shine except in case of extreme weather (e.g. thunderstorm or significant snow fall).

COVID-19 Information: This program will be entirely outdoors (an outside porta potty will be available). Please do not attend if you are experiencing or have experienced in the last two weeks any symptoms associated with COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc.).

Registration is REQUIRED.


Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let The Clifton Institute know as soon as possible so that they can open your spot to someone else.

By registering for this event, you are affirming that you have read and agree to The Clifton Institute liability release policy.

Lichens of Wildcat Mountain, November 11th

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Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Saturday November 11, 2023
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Registered attendees will be emailed the address and directions.

Fee: FREE, but registration is required

Register here.

On this program Executive Director and amateur lichenologist Bert Harris will lead participants on a tour of the greenstone barrens and adjacent oak-hickory forests of Wildcat Mountain in Fauquier County. The full-sun greenstone outcrops and mature hardwoods at this site host a diverse and beautiful community of lichens and mosses, as well as rare vascular plants that specialize on rock outcrops.

Beginners with no lichen experience are welcome! Bert will go over the basics of lichen identification in the field.

Participants will be walking off-trail, on uneven terrain. Registered attendees will be emailed the address and directions.

Cost: Free!

Age: Adults and children 12 and older accompanied by an adult.

Weather policy: Rain or shine except in case of extreme weather (e.g. thunderstorm or significant snow fall).

COVID-19 Information: This program will be entirely outdoors. Please do not attend if you are experiencing or have experienced in the last two weeks any symptoms associated with COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc.).

Registration is REQUIRED.

Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let The Clifton Institute know as soon as possible so that they can open your spot to someone else.

By registering for this event, you are affirming that you have read and agree to The Clifton Institute liability release policy.

 

FREE Bird Feeding Webinar on November 29th

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Photo: ASNV, Northern Cardinal by Alexis Hayes

Wednesday, November 29, 2023
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Virtual, hosted by Audubon Society of Northern Virginia

Fee: FREE, but registration is required

Register here.

Greg Butcher will offer tips about increasing the number and variety of birds that visit your backyard this winter. In addition, he will introduce you to Project FeederWatch, a program of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology that allows you and your family to contribute to science. After the presentation they will test your backyard bird identification skills with a Kahoot!

Greg Butcher is a retired Ph.D. ornithologist and former ASNV board member. In addition to the U.S. Forest Service, Greg has worked for the National Audubon Society, American Birding Association, Partners in Flight, Birder’s World magazine, and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Greg is a lively and informative public speaker and interpreter for bird conservation and ecology worldwide.

What’s For Dinner? Reconnecting Our Food With Our Climate

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Photo: SERC

Tuesday, October 24, 2023
7 pm
Zoom, hosted by Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)
Register here.

Our food systems have become increasingly fragile in the face of climate change, ongoing conflicts and the long-tail of the COVID-19 pandemic. More frequent—and more intense—extreme events challenge food production, storage and transportation. At the same time, how we grow, process, package and transport our food often harms the environment, further accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss. Fixing this requires bridging the gap between food policies and climate policies. Join Dr. Jessica Fanzo for a look at sustainable food practices for a hotter, more turbulent world. Fanzo directs the Food for Humanity Initiative at the Columbia University Climate School. In this talk, she’ll reveal the must-do actions to nourish 9.7 billion people by 2050.

The Mysterious Migrations of Cownose Rays, webinar September 19th

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Photo: SERC

Tuesday, September 19, 2023
7 pm
Zoom, hosted by SERC

Register here.

Cownose rays are enigmatic, and sometimes controversial, summertime inhabitants of Chesapeake Bay. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s Fisheries Conservation Lab has been tagging cownose rays and tracking their long-distance migrations since 2014. On Sept. 19 Dr. Matt Ogburn, head of the Fisheries Conservation Lab, will reveal some of the discoveries from this 9-year tracking effort. Their studies have uncovered the rays’ overwintering habitat, documented the different migration patterns of males and females, and revealed the environmental cues that help rays know when to start migrating. These findings are helping support conservation and management of this often misunderstood and overlooked stingray.

This webinar will be recorded! Closed captioning will be available during the live event and on the recording. By signing up on Zoom, you’ll be able to join live and receive a link to the recording approximately one week after it airs.

Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Mushroom Walk, October 14th

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Saturday, October 14, 2023
2:00 – 4:00 PM

FREE

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Rd
Warrenton, VA 20187

Registration is REQUIRED.

 

Come to the Clifton Institute for a  fung-tastic afternoon with friends at the Mycological Association of Washington, DC to learn about mushrooms! This program will include a presentation on mushroom biology and identification followed by a walk where we’ll see how many species we can find.

Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult.

Weather policy: Date and time subject to change dependent on weather. Please check your email for updates on the morning of the event.

 

Photo credit: https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/bats/

Discovering Bats in the Night Sky, October 1st

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Photo credit: https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/bats/

Sunday, October 1, 2023
7:00 – 8:30 PM

Where: Dyke Marsh,
Alexandria, Virginia
Click here for map and directions.

Registration required: Please visit the Better Impact website to register.

Discovering Bats in the Night Sky with Deborah Hammer, Interpretive Guide

Join us as we explore bats in the night sky at Dyke Marsh in Alexandria, VA with expert Deborah Hammer – this is open to any FMN member – and limited to the first 12 registrants! This event is eligible for one and a half continuing education hours. https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/bats/

Did you know that there are over 1400 different species of bats, about 17 of which live in Virginia? Or that bananas, agave, mango, durian and guava are among the many plants pollinated by bats? If you would like to learn more fun facts, join us for an evening walk to learn all about the amazing lives of chiroptera (“hand-wing,” a.k.a. “sky puppies.”)

Using a sonar detector, participants will be able to hear the bats echolocating as they hunt for insects.

Deborah Hammer is a Fairfax Master Naturalist and serves on the boards of Bat Conservation and Rescue of Virginia and Friends of Dyke Marsh. She is also an autism/low-incidence specialist with Arlington Public Schools.

Photo FMN Deborah Hammer

Photo FMN Deborah Hammer

Registration: Please visit the Better Impact website to register.

Instructions for signing up for a hike via BI:

  1. Login to BI and click on Opportunities -> Opportunities Calendar
  2. Find event in the calendar (October 1) and click it.
  3. Click on the Sign-Up box- this will automatically register the FMN member and will put the event on your calendar.

Note: To claim CE hours: use All Continuing Education -> FMN All other Chapter Training

On day of event:

  • Please arrive by 6:45 PM to check in – We will meet at the entrance to the Haul Rd. Trail at Belle Haven Park/Dyke Marsh. The hike will begin promptly at 7:00PM.
  • Bring insect repellent. If they have a red-light flashlight, that is preferable to a traditional light.
  • Dress for the weather – wear protection as needed (e.g., rain)
  • Wear sturdy hiking shoes – we may be hiking on some trails that are wet &/or rocky
  • Bring drinking water
  • Bring a flashlight (red is preferred)

Questions? Contact Laura Anderko FMN VP and Program Chair at [email protected]

Afternoon at the Smithsonian II

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This announces the second CE tour of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History developed and tailored for VMNs by FMN John Kelmelis.
What:
Interpretive Tour of the Museum of Natural History for Virginia Master Naturalists
When:
September 27, 2023 at 3:00pm
Where:
National Museum of Natural History in DC
Meet in the rotunda at the information desk beside Henry, the big elephant.
How long:
Approximately 2 hours.
Group limit.
6 individuals
To register:
1. Login to BI and click on your ‘Opportunities’ tab.
2. Select ‘Opportunity Calendar’ from the pull-down list.
3. Find event in the calendar and click on it to display event details.
4. To sign up, Click on the ‘Sign Up’ box in the lower right. This automatically signs you up and puts the event on your personal BI calendar.
5. To claim 2 CE hours: use All Continuing Education -> FMN All other Chapter Training

Once the tour fills, the event disappears from the Opportunity Calendar but remains on the Opportunity List and your personal BI calendar.
Feel free to take notes but no audio recordings please.

FMN Dr. Kelmelis will guide an interpretive tour of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History relevant to Virginia Master Naturalists.  This tour will identify the relationship of some exhibits to the natural environment of Virginia including the geologic history, mineralogy, entomology, osteology, evolution, mammalogy, and many other topics.  Some of the take-aways will include an introduction of how the NMNH’s display collection can be used to enrich the naturalist’s understanding of science, the scientific method, and some techniques that are applicable to naturalists’ domain of interests; as well as some facts related to the natural condition and history of Virginia.

Dr. Kelmelis is former Chief Scientist for Geography for the U.S. Geological Survey, Senior Counselor for Earth Science at the U.S. Department of State, former Professor of Science, Technology and International Policy, and Founding Faculty of the School of International Affairs at Pennsylvania State University.  He holds a BA in Earth Science; MS in Engineering; and Ph.D. in Geography.  He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has held positions in many national and international scientific organizations.  He is a volunteer and docent at the Smithsonian Institution and a Virginia Master Naturalist in the Fairfax County chapter.