How to identify plants on iNaturalist
Are you thinking about supporting the City Nature Challenge? Here’s a super easy-to-follow-video to learn how.
No need to say more–just watch.
Review of The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions, by Peter Brannen
Reviewed by Tami Sheiffer
Studying mass extinction events from tens or hundreds of millions of years ago shows us that life on Earth is both precarious and resilient. In The Ends of the World, science writer Peter Brannen vividly describes the five past mass extinction events: End-Ordovician, Late Devonian, End-Permian, End-Triassic, and End-Cretaceous, and the lessons we can learn from them. This book offers something of interest to anyone interested in natural history, paleontology, geology, climatology, ecology, or evolution.
Brannen paints vivid pictures of life and destruction eons ago, interwoven with his personal tales of travel around the country talking with scientists and visiting paleontological sites. You can preview Brannen’s writing in one of his science articles, like this one titled “A Climate Catastrophe Paved the Way for the Dinosaurs’ Reign,” published in The Atlantic. Occasionally, Brannen’s storytelling risks anthropomorphism, as when he describes the first fish to walk on land in the Devonian as “bold explorers” and “brave pioneers.” However, Brannen’s engaging writing makes this book enjoyable reading for a broad audience.
By studying the causes of past mass extinctions, we find that most were caused by climate change. The Earth’s climate has changed naturally in the past, but drastic changes were violent and caused massive destruction. Life is ultimately resilient, and, eventually, surviving species evolved to repopulate a new Earth, but life after the extinction looked very different from life before. In the most deadly mass extinction, the End-Permian event, nearly all life was wiped out. This extinction event was caused in part by volcanic activity in the Siberian Traps burning underground coal basins and releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Our present day fossil fuel activity has a similar effect of releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but at an even faster rate than in the end-Permian extinction. The overarching theme of the book is that past mass extinctions can teach us lessons for the present, as we find ourselves in the midst of a sixth mass extinction. This time, human activity is the cause of the extinction–beginning tens of thousands of years ago with the loss of megafauna like marsupial lions, giant kangaroos, woolly mammoths, mastodons, and giant ground sloths due to hunting, and continuing today due to habitat loss and human-induced climate change. This book is ultimately a cautionary tale: learn from the past so we can avoid a catastrophe on the same scale today.
On March 20, 2019, Peter Brannen will be speaking at an event at the Library of Congress called “Climate Change, Nature, and the Writer’s Eye”, along with distinguished authors Annie Proulx and Amitav Ghosh. The authors will discuss environmental change and a writer’s responsibility to the issue. This event is approved for FMN continuing education credit. The event is free but registration is required.
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Turning the tide on plastic waste
The Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge, a key component of National Geographic and Sky Ocean Ventures’ partnership to reduce plastic waste, asks problem solvers from around the globe to develop novel solutions to tackle the world’s plastic waste crisis.
More than 9 million tons of plastic waste end up in our oceans each year, and without interventions, this number is expected to almost double to 17 million tons per year by 2025. The Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge will focus on three strategic ways to address this growing crisis: designing alternatives to single-use plastic, identifying opportunities for industries to address plastic waste throughout supply chains, and effectively communicating the need for action through data visualization.
Teams will compete for aggregate prize purses of up to $500,000, and qualified participating teams may have the opportunity to receive a minimum of $1 million in aggregate investment from Sky Ocean Ventures.
Frying Pan Farm Park Pollinator Garden: Community Partnerships in Action
Kim Scudera
In 2011, Frying Pan Park did not have a pollinator garden.
By October 2012, they did, and Fairfax Master Naturalist volunteers are the reason. Here’s the story.
Frying Pan has a long history, and hosts thousands of visitors each year, many of whom are the future stewards of our environment: young children. My own children had participated for years in summer camps at Frying Pan, learning about farm life and farm animals, making butter, playing outdoors.
In July of 2012, Ashley Stanton, then service project chair for FMN, put out a call for the development of a pollinator garden, as a “thank you” to Frying Pan for hosting our annual meeting.
Sarah Mayhew, FMN Class of ‘07, pulled together a team of people from Frying Pan Park, the Fairfax chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist program, and representatives of the Virginia Native Plant Society (Potowmack Chapter) and Earth Sangha. Without her strong leadership, this project could not have happened. Carmen Bishop, FMN ’07, served tirelessly as liaison to the park.
A site was chosen near the historic farmhouse: the location wraps around the south and east sides of the park’s Dairy House, where a neglected garden, created by a Girl Scout troop about ten years back, was in need of a major retrofit.
With lots of input from Carmen, Sarah, Cindy Morrow, Amol Kaikini, Terrence Liercke, Alan Ford, and Lisa Bright from Earth Sangha, I designed the pollinator garden in August 2012. By September, garden preparation was complete, and plants were donated by many FMN’ers, and by VNPS Potowmack and Earth Sangha.
Why did VNPS and Earth Sangha choose to become involved? Expanding our understanding of the value of native plants, and putting those plants into the hands of Virginia homeowners, schools, and businesses, are key elements of the missions of these two organizations. Personal connections matter, too: for example, then-VNPS Potowmack President Alan Ford is a Fairfax Master Naturalist, and these personal connections brought volunteers and donations of plants to the garden.
Two planting days were all it took to get the garden established. The garden includes many plants important to bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects, including goldenrods, bee balm, and milkweed.
It’s one thing to get a garden started; the real challenge is keeping it going. Since 2012, I have donated over 275 hours of time caring for this garden, with help from the park (big thanks to Patrick McNamara and Marge Landis) and from FMN members. Cindy Morrow and Cynde Sears have been exceptionally helpful.
The scope has expanded from the original Dairy House planting to maintenance and expansion of the herb garden around the Smoke House adjacent to the Dairy House.
The herb garden was already a real magnet for pollinators of all sorts: bees, butterflies, flies, wasps, and more. It was already home to a substantial stand of our native mountain mint. Adding more native plants with culinary uses was an obvious addition to our mission at Frying Pan, and Girl Scout Rachel O, along with her sponsor Kay Fowler, added many of these plants in 2016.
The garden has filled in well since it was first planted:
Dairy House before planting
Herb Garden before planting
Garden right after planting
Garden as of Summer 2015
Garden as of summer 2017
These photographs document the growth that made possible a dramatic increase in beneficial insects and their larvae in the garden: butterflies and moths (e.g., skippers, fritillaries, monarchs, cecropia moths) have been most prevalent.
The garden has not only attracted more flying visitors—it has encouraged a considerable increase in two-legged traffic as well. The pollinator garden has hosted Brownie and Scout troops, summer campers and school groups for presentations on the value of pollinators and the plants that host them, and a steady stream of park visitors now have an interesting destination right next to the historic farmhouse, and en route to the chickens.
In addition, at the park’s major events, FMN has hosted information tables which reached dozens of park visitors. These tables were staffed by Marilyn Schroeder, Joe Gorney, Valerie Lamont, Barbara Whayne, and me.
Tending the garden—which I have done since inception—is a labor of love. I plan to not only keep it going, but to make it a service project of choice for the chapter (look for S109 if you’re a member). There’s still so much to do: more edging, pruning, planting, signage, weeding, formal certification by Audubon at Home, National Wildlife Federation, Xerces… And as my mother and grandmother always said, “Many hands make light work!”
Join us!
Help clean up Fairfax County Parks April 5th-20th
Join The Nature Conservancy and Fairfax County Park Authority to clean up your watershed! This spring cleaning will remove tires, plastic bottles, cans and other debris from local waterways, preventing trash from reaching the nation’s largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay.
1,000 volunteers are needed to help cover 21 parks! This event is ideal for families, service groups, Scouts and individuals.
Dates and locations are subject to change. Registration for the 4th annual cleanup event will open on March 1, 2019.
5 APRIL 2019
Providence RECenter, Falls Church—25 volunteers needed
6 APRIL 2019
Cub Run RECenter, Chantilly—105 volunteers needed
Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, Chantilly—35 volunteers needed
George Washington RECenter grounds, Alexandria—45 volunteers needed
Hidden Oaks Nature Center at Roundtree Park, Falls Church—55 volunteers needed
Hidden Pond Nature Center, Springfield—55 volunteers needed
Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria—50 volunteers needed
Lake Accotink Park, Springfield—105 volunteers needed
Lake Fairfax Park, Reston—30 volunteers needed
Lemon Road Park, Falls Church—45 volunteers needed
Middleridge Park, Fairfax—45 volunteers needed
Ossian Hall Park, Annandale—45 volunteers needed
Pine Ridge Park, Annandale—45 volunteers needed
Royal Lake Park, Fairfax—45 volunteers needed
Sully Historic Site, Chantilly—30 volunteers needed
Woodglen Lake Park, Fairfax—45 volunteers needed
13 APRIL 2019
Riverbend Park, Great Falls—45 volunteers needed
Scott’s Run Nature Preserve, McLean—30 volunteers needed
20 APRIL 2019
Arrowbrook Park, Herndon—45 volunteers needed
Dulles Rock Hill Park, Chantilly—45 volunteers needed
Merrybrook Run Stream Valley Park, Fairfax—45 volunteers needed
iNaturalist identification party, Feb. 28th
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
Virginia Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, VMN CE Webinar, Feb. 28th
Webinar Highlights:
- tick ecology
- tick species you may encounter in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic
- how to identify these ticks
- illnesses and conditions associated with each species
- methods of tick control and their varying success
- ways to protect yourself from tick bites, and what to do in the event you do get bit.
Please come prepared with any and all tick questions, and the presenter will do her best to answer them.
Presenter:
Alexis White is a senior PhD candidate in the Ecological Sciences PhD program at Old Dominion University, working in Professor Holly Gaff’s lab. Lexi is part of the ODU Tick Research Team; a joint venture between Professors Gaff and Hynes who take a multidisciplinary approach to understanding ticks and tick-borne pathogens in Virginia. She completed her Bachelor’s in Wildlife Biology at Unity College in Maine. Her dissertation focuses on exploring local, finite time control of ticks using both mechanical and biological means.
Webinar Details
When: Thursday, 28 February 2019, 12 pm
Meeting Number: 557-678-365
Link to join: Join Webinar
(This link will connect you to the video feed, but you will need to connect your audio separately to hear the speaker. Zoom will prompt you to do that once you have connected the video feed. For technical help visit the Zoom Support Center.)
Link for recordings of this and past webinars: VMN Continuing Education page
Build-Your-Own Rain Barrel Workshops, various dates
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
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
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.