Learn what birds eat, December 2nd

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Jammes House, Mason Neck State Park
Sunday, 2 December 2018
2-4 pm

Registration is now open for Swanfall 2018, the Friends of Mason Neck State Park‘s annual holiday party.  They will meet at 2 PM on December 2, 2018 at the Jammes House in Mason Neck State Park.  The Jammes House is a former hunting lodge in Mason Neck State Park, located on the banks of Occoquan Bay.  It will be decorated for the holidays, and has stunning views over the Bay and the Potomac River. The Jammes House is not normally open to visitors, so take advantage of this opportunity to see the house and experience its magnificent setting.  They’ll have lots of tasty treats for you to sample at a light buffet.

After you enjoy the buffet, take a fascinating look into the lives of  birds as you watch Ashley Kennedy’s stunning videos of birds bringing food to their young in her program “What Birds Eat.”  Ashley is a PhD candidate at the University of Delaware’s Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology.  Ashley’s research focuses on determining which insects are the most important in birds’ diets.  Learn what you can do in your own backyard to attract the insects that are vital to a healthy bird population.

Swanfall 2018 is open only to members of the Friends of Mason Neck State Park.  If you aren’t currently a member, you can join the Friends for as little as $20 per year at Join the Friends of Mason Neck State Park.  Once you join, you will be able to register for Swanfall at Swanfall 2018.  Each member can bring one guest.  The cost of the program is $10 per person and includes admission to the Park.

Please register soon.  This event always fills up, and you won’t want to miss this great event!

Diversity Inclusion in Environmental Education webinar

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The United States prides itself as a melting pot and with the current overall demographic shifting, we are seeing more nonnative- English-speaking students engage in both the traditional and outdoor classrooms. However, various stereotypes and misconceptions tend to follow this multicultural student, and it is our job as educators to evolve to meet the needs of all of our students. Whether you are interacting with nonnative English speakers during a school presentation or offering educational programs in a nature center, this webinar focuses on various techniques you can use to better connect with your audience. And, no, you do not need to learn a second language!

Presenter: Mariya Hudick, Tri-County/City Soil & Water Conservation District

Mariya Hudick is an Education Coordinator with Tri-County/City Soil & Water Conservation District. Her primary focus is to educate the local community on soil and water conservation efforts. For the last three years, Mariya worked for the Department of Conservation & Recreation as a Park Ranger where she provided meaningful environmental education opportunities for the general public. Mariya is originally from Russia and immigrated with her family in the early 2000s. As a former ESL student, Mariya has used her experiences to better connect with other non-native English speakers in the hopes of inspiring future stewards. She has been conducting research on the multicultural student in environmental education and has partnered with various Master Naturalists to collect and interpret data on the subject for the last two years.

Webinar Details

When: November 27, 2018, 12:00 pm

Meeting Number: 225-404-939

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.  See the technical information below for details on connecting your audio.)

Link for recordings of this and past webinars:  VMN Continuing Education page 

Native plants for beginners symposium, Feb. 8

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Photo by Barbara J. Saffir (c)

  • Create a beautiful yard
  • Save time so you can enjoy other activities
  • Create habitat for birds & pollinators
  • Save money on fertilizer
  • Improve water quality
  • Reduce erosion
  • Stop mowing, Start growing!

Learn more at the Prince William Native Plant Symposium on Saturday, February 8, 2020 at the Northern Virginia Community College-Workforce Center

2675 College Drive, Woodbridge, VA 22191

9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.  

The $20 fee covers coffee and donuts, lunch, and materials.  

Let us help you to stop mowing and get going on your dream landscape!  

Call 703-792-7070 for more details and register here.

Explore the Clifton Institute in November and December

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Photo: Barbara J. Saffir (c)

YHikes!

Saturday, November 17, 9:00AM – 12:00PM

Our monthly YHikeS! (Youth Hikes) program continues. Children ages 5 and older are invited to come along as we explore the field station and learn about the plants, animals, and fungi that live here. Parents are welcome to drop off their child or they may attend the program.

Monthly Bird Walks

Wednesday, November 14 and Saturday, December 1 at 8:00AM

Novice and experienced birders will enjoy these guided 1-2 mile hikes to look for the many species of birds that can be found on the field station. The ducks are starting to show up and pretty soon our ponds will be full of waterfowl. You never know what we’ll find!

Nature photography, FMN annual meeting, December 7th

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Photo by Fred Siskind

St. Dunstan’s Church

1830 Kirby Drive, McLean VA

Friday, 7 December 2018

7-9 pm

Potluck:  please bring a dish to share

Public invited!  Our Fairfax Master Naturalists board officer elections will be followed by our Fall Basic Training Course graduation.  Candidates for election follow:

President: Joe Gorney
Vice President/Program Committee Chair: Kit Sheffield
Secretary: Shannon Dart
Treasurer: Ron Grimes
Past President: Michael Reinemer

Fred Siskind will then give a presentation on nature photography.  (One hour continuing education credit for Fairfax Master Naturalists.) Fred will discuss macro photography in the field with an emphasis on photographing insects – dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies, caterpillars. He will briefly describe the equipment he uses and cover the essential requirements for producing a good photograph – composition, background and foreground control, depth of field, gardening, and lighting.

Fred is a nature photographer specializing in wildlife. In addition to regularly photographing in Washington area parks, he has traveled to many U.S. national parks as well as game parks in Kenya. He is a longtime member and former President of the Northern Virginia Photographic Society, and a member of the North American Nature Photography Association. He completed the Fairfax Master Naturalist Program in 2016.

His photos have been published in many magazines (Audubon, Birder’s World, Bird Watcher’s Digest, National Geographic Kids, Natural History, Nature’s Best, Outdoor Photographer, Smokies Life), books (American Birding Association, Capstone, Kidsbooks, National Geographic, Western National Parks Association), calendars (Audubon, Shearson, Tildon), and used in exhibits (Huntley Meadows Park, National Park Service, National Arboretum) and brochures and posters (Huntley Meadows Park, Time-Life Books, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). He collaborated with former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis on a poetry/photography book for children titled Face Bug, which can be ordered on Amazon. His photos can be seen at www.agpix.com/siskind.

Earth Sangha needs you, Nov. 10th and beyond

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Native Planting

Marie Butler Leven Preserve
1501 Kirby Road, McLean, VA 22101
Saturday, 10 November 2018
10am – 1pm

Volunteers are needed to help plant over 70 native trees and shrubs, and a few flats of native grasses and forbs. Please bring your own reusable water bottle and we’ll provide tools, gloves, snacks, and water refills. The group will meet in the parking lot and walk to the planting site together. If you arrive late, please call Matt at 703-859-2951. Click here for more information.

Nursery Workdays

Earth Sangha’s fall nursery workdays are Sundays, Mondays, and Thursday, from 9am to Noon. The last nursery workday scheduled for the Fall is Monday, November 19th. They may need volunteers for a day or two in December and will announce those dates separately. Click here for more information.

Meadow planting & Accotink Gorge walking tour, Nov. 10th

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Accotink Gorge
7245 Fullerton Road, Springfield
Saturday, 10 November 2018
9am-1pm and 1:30-4:30 pm

Join Friends of Accotink Creek at this great volunteer opportunity! Bring trowels and shovels to help install a native meadow at a Fairfax County maintenance facility. Afterward take a walking tour of the adjacent scenic Accotink Gorge and spend some time along the way cutting back the alien invasive Chinese wisteria vines that are engulfing this biological gem. We recommend sturdy work shoes, long pants, and long sleeves. Water and work gloves will be available. Free event. RSVP and see this and other volunteer and educational opportunities by visiting the Friends of Accotink Creek calendar.

Stream monitoring, attend and learn Nov. 11th and Dec. 1st

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Accotink Creek Stream Monitoring Workshop

Rutherford Park, 4743 Guinea Road, Fairfax VA

Sunday,  11 November 2018

10 am-12:30pm

Join the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD) and discover aquatic life at Rutherford Park! Sampling will take place at Long Branch, a tributary to Accotink Creek. This official NVSWCD stream monitoring workshop covers watershed health, what macroinvertebrates tell us about stream quality, and what you can do to prevent pollution in your local stream. Registration is limited. RSVP to Ashley Palmer.

Broad Run Stream Monitoring Session

Bristow, VA

Saturday, 1 December 2018, 10:30am-12:30pm

Join a stream monitor at this adopted outdoors science lab to learn more about water quality for more awareness in Prince William County. Registration is limited. RSVP to Sonnie Cuffey.

VMN webinar: Mason Bee Project update

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Are you interested in learning about mason bees? Master Naturalists across the state and mason bee researchers at the University of Virginia’s Blandy Experimental Farm were able to monitor spring-emerging mason bee populations. Over 150 Master Naturalists all over Virginia were involved by deploying bee “hotels” (nest boxes) in 2017 and 2018 and bee bowls (traps) in 2017. This webinar will cover the natural history of spring-emerging mason bees, it will describe our project setup and methodology with a live demonstration, results will be shared, and we will share information for how to participate in the 2019 mason bee monitoring project season. Everyone is welcome to join the webinar.

Kate LeCroy is a Ph.D. student studying ecology in the department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. She is advised by T’ai Roulston, Ph.D., at University of Virginia’s Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce, Virginia. Kate graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama and went on to complete a Master of Science degree in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh studying the community ecology of flower color. Now at UVA, in 2017 and 2018, Kate worked with over 150 Virginia Master Naturalists throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia to document springtime wild bee diversity, particularly the diversity of mason bees (genus Osmia). Kate enjoys interacting with Master Naturalists because of their curiosity, their steadfast commitment to projects, and their enthusiasm for conservation and the natural world. When she’s not out “saving the bees” Kate enjoys spending time in Charlottesville with her husband Riley and their dog, Magnolia.

Webinar Details

When: November 13, 2018, 12:00 pm

Meeting Number: 467-052-749

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.  See the technical information below for details on connecting your audio.)

Link for recordings of this and past webinars:  VMN Continuing Education page 

Nature’s Best Photography on display at Museum of Natural History

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The 23rd Annual Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards exhibition opened on October 29 at the National Museum of Natural History. Named for nature photographer and conservationist Windland Smith Rice, Nature’s Best presents breathtaking fine art prints and short videos that highlight the best of nature photography—and our spectacular planet.

The “23rd Annual Windland Smith Rice International Awards Smithsonian Exhibition” is on view through September 2019, on the second floor of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Entries to the 2019 competition may be submitted beginning November 1, 2018.