The Innovation Toolkit, ’cause you want to make stuff better, right?

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A multi-disciplinary team of engineers from the MITRE corporation curated the MITRE Innovation Toolkit to help the community of innovative thinkers jumpstart the innovation process.

These tools help people understand how, when, and why to innovate, provide best practices and guidance, and jump-start the problem-solving process. They have organized the catalog of tools according to a team’s objective, team size, and style.

Do you ever have to? want to? facilitate problem solving sessions in your work or community of naturalists?

Try Rose-Bud-Thorn to conduct an analysis by visually categorizing positive (rose), potential (bud), or negative (thorn) aspects of a topic (e.g., system, product, process).

Try Lotus Blossom to focus the power of brainstorming using a structured, visual representation of ideas—pushing you to fill out every box with new ideas.

Try Trimming to visually document a someone’s experience through actions, pain points, wins, and opportunities in a process.

There are more tools on the site, and all of the materials are free to download.

Students in Community Science blog posts

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These blog posts are part of Students in Community Science, a series of Thriving Earth Exchange articles featuring students who have had internship, educational or volunteer experiences in community science.

14 September 2018

Haley Gannon – Translating a Pivotal Internship Experience into a Satisfying Career

When I first came to the Thriving Earth Exchange, I was relatively new to the idea of community science. My experience up […]

13 September 2018

Shahan Haq – Adapting to Life after Adaptation Analytics: Reflection from an Intern

During an atmospheric chemistry course I took a few years ago, the professor would pause his lecture before major discoveries in the […]

11 September 2018

Babak J. Fard – Insights from an Interdisciplinary Community Science Experience

The Brookline, Mass. Thriving Earth Exchange project “Building Community Resilience to Extreme Heat” started in February 2016 with several initial meetings […]

10 September 2018

Angela Dapremont – How Studying Mars is Relevant to Helping Earth’s Communities

angela.jpgI was fortunate to have a unique Thriving Earth Exchange internship experience during the summer and fall months of 2015. I started from scratch by familiarizing myself with the definition of community science, and ended up participating in the 2015 AGU Fall Meeting Thriving Earth Exchange events. […]

Earth Science Week: Oct 14-20, 2018

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What is Earth Science Week?

It is an internationally recognized celebration that helps the public gain a better understanding of, and appreciation for, the earth sciences. Organized by the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), this annual celebration has attracted young people since 1998.

This year’s theme: Earth as Inspiration

According to AGI, this theme will engage young people and others in exploring the relationship between the arts and Earth systems and promote public understanding and stewardship of the planet, especially in terms of the ways art relates to geoscience principles and issues as diverse as energy, climate change, the environment, natural disasters, technology, industry, agriculture, recreation, and the economy.

Did we mention the Earth Science Week 2018 “Earth as Inspiration” toolkit?

  • 12-month school-year activity calendar, suitable for hanging
  • New Earth Science Week poster, including a learning activity
  • NASA materials on school resources and planetary exploration
  • National Park Service posters on caves, plants, and geology
  • Geologic Map Day poster dealing with artistic inspiration
  • Mineral Education Coalition “Quarry to Crop” postcard
  • IRIS material on seismology and earthquakes
  • AmericaView poster on exploring America through LandSat
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute poster on global change
  • UNAVCO materials on Geodesy and websites to explore
  • Fact sheet from Critical Zones Observatories
  • Switch Energy Project information on energy science
  • Bureau of Land Management dinosaur coloring page
  • Material on Constructing the Rock Cycle from GSA
  • Water Footprint Calculator information on water science
  • EarthScope material on what it means to be an Earth scientist
  • CLEAN, AMS, TERC, and GPS information and more

Order the 2018 Earth Science Week Toolkit – Earth as Inspiration!

For more info, please download and read the attachment here, and go to the website: https://www.dmme.virginia.gov/dgmr/EarthScienceWeek.shtml

If you have any questions, please contact:

David Spears, State Geologist: [email protected] or 434-951-6350

 

Earth Sangha Fall Native Plant Sale– September 30th

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Earth Sangha Wild Plant Nursery

6100 Cloud Drive in Franconia Park, Springfield VA

Sunday, 30 September 2018

9 am – 12 pm

Many folks could not attend last week’s sale so Earth Sangha is having a second sale!

Fall is really the best time to visit the nursery. In the Spring, the plants are still emerging from winter dormancy, and Earth Sangha cannot offer as many species. The Fall, as experienced gardeners know, is also the best time to plant. Trees, shrubs, and perennials like the cooler weather and greater rainfall lets them establish robust roots. Late blooming annuals can make great additions to your garden, and many will “volunteer” from seed next year. Click here for the Wild Plant Nursery Species List.

If you are interest in volunteering at the sale, please email Katherine Isaacson at [email protected].  There will be a morning shift (9:30 to Noon) and an afternoon shift (Noon to 2:30).

Review of Virginia Herpetological Society Website

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Reviewed by Sarah Mayhew

I’ve had a life-long interest in amphibians and reptiles. My go-to tool for learning about local frogs, toads, salamanders, lizards, snakes, and turtles is the well-organized website maintained by the Virginia Herpetological Society. With a few clicks, you can quickly access the type of herp that interests you, then drill down to the species via lists that are local species only.

Each species has a detailed range map, written description, and multiple photos, along with sound files for species that vocalize. Where the juvenile looks different from the adult, there are photos pointing out the differences, along with descriptions or photos explaining how to tell apart similar species.

The site is kept up to date with name changes, so Eastern Box Turtle is now correctly called Woodland Box Turtle, and descriptions contain the scientific name, too. There are sections on typical habitat and food eaten, too. I find this resource is more complete than a field guide designed for a larger geographic area. After reviewing all this information, I always have a sense that I know exactly what I should be looking for when I go into the field in search of herps. 

VHS is about education in more ways than just “book” learning. If you are fortunate enough to have a picture, you may email the VHS for identification and they will also answer questions without a photo. 

Each year the VHS conducts multiple bio-blitz outings across the state. I find it very interesting to read the list of species that a dedicated group can locate in a single day in a local wildlife refuge or park. It gives me a good sense of what I might be able to find, too.  I haven’t been able to join the VHS on a bio-blitz yet, but hope to do so at some point.

Many VHS members volunteer to help Master Naturalists learn about herps by teaching basic training classes or advanced training, so please let them know if you like their website and Facebook posts.

I’ll close with some simple statistics from the VHS website to whet your appetite to learn more: 

Frogs and Toads:  28 species 
Salamanders:  56 species and subspecies. 
Lizards:  9 native species and two introduced species.
Snakes: 34 species and subspecies; only 3 species are venomous.  
Turtles:  25 species and subspecies; five are sea turtle. 

I hope these statistics tempt you to learn more. Just go to the VHS website!  

Sarah Mayhew is a graduate of the 2009 Fairfax Master Naturalist cohort.

Want to review a resource? We’d love to hear from you. Instructions for submission await your click and commitment.

Habitat Network, Citizen Science talk, October 4th

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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!

 

Plan next year’s staycation now – plant native plants!

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Why go on a safari when a safari could come to you? Imagine yourself sipping lemonade on your

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar demonstrates its “snake tongue” defensive maneuver.

lawn chair while strange and marvelous creatures entertain you. This is what you experience when you turn your yard into a wildlife sanctuary. Fall is the time to put in the plants that will bring this parade to your door.

Most perennials and shrubs and some trees do best when planted in the fall. The cooler, wetter weather puts less stress on the plants while their roots continue to grow well into winter. If you want to enjoy butterflies and birds, choose native plants, as those are the ones that support our local wildlife.

In Northern Virginia, we are lucky to have three native-plant only nurseries, as well as several other commercial nurseries that are labeling their native plants. In addition, September brings several special native plant sales including ones in Herndon, Arlington, Springfield, and Alexandria. You can find all these locations on the Plant NOVA Natives website.

For more inspiration, check out the one-minute native plant “Staycation” video.

Homeowners’ Association (HOA) landscape forum 11 October

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Algonkian Park—Woodlands Conference Center
47001 Fairway Drive, Sterling, VA 20165
Thursday, 11 October 2018
5 pm – 9 pm

Designed to provide practical help and useful information to move your community toward a healthier landscape. This second HOA forum on sustainable landscape management will provide the “why” and “why not” of native and invasive plants, as well as feature local HOA representatives for a discussion of their ongoing efforts and lessons learned. The event is co-hosted by The Piedmont Environmental Council, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, NOVA Prism and the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries.
While this event is free, pre-registration is required due to limited space!

WELCOME TO ATTEND:
HOA leaders
HOA open space or grounds committee members
Landscaping company representatives
Management company representatives
Interested HOA residents

Learn from your peers–Several HOAs in our area have taken up the challenge of making their communities even better through healthier landscaping practices for a more positive impact on their surroundings. You’ll have a chance to learn from others’ experience with practical advice and specific ways to accomplish change in your community.

Help with the Arlington Bioblitz, September 15th

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Glencarlyn Picnic Pavillion #1, 401 S. Harrison St., Arlington VA

Saturday, September 15th

9 am – 4 pm

Celebrate Arlington’s biodiversity by helping us conduct a citizen science inventory of plants and wildlife that will help shape the County’s updating of its Natural Resources Management Plan.
Participating in the Bioblitz is a great way to discover and get to know the wildlife and flora of Arlington. We will team participants with experts to help find, identify and catalog plant and animal life, using a free application called iNaturalist. Novices are welcomed. Please let us know if you would like to be a team leader (what’s your expertise?) or participant.
For more information and to register call Alonso Abugattas at 703-228-7742 or email [email protected].

Check out a tutorial on how to use iNaturalist, which will be the primary recording tool for this project.

Sign up to help with the event.

Hear the candidates on climate change, September 18th

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Virginia Climate Crisis Forum: Solutions to Climate Change

James Madison High School, 2500 James Madison Drive, Vienna VA 22181

Tuesday, 18 September 2018

7:30 PM (doors open at 7 PM)

Join the discussion of how Virginia is being and will be affected by climate change at the Virginia Climate Crisis Forum, hosted by Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions. Featured speakers are the 2018 candidates for U.S. Senator from Virginia: U.S. Senator Tim Kaine; and Corey Stewart, Chairman At-Large, Prince William County Board of Supervisors. Panelists include: Samantha Ahdoot, MD, FAAP, Chair and Co-founder, Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action; Major General Rick Devereaux, USAF (Ret.), Former Director of Operational Planning, Policy, & Strategy, U.S. Air Force and Advisory Board, Center for Climate and National Security; and Fairfax County Supervisor Dan Storck. Moderated by Rev. Dr. Jean Wright.
The forum is open to the public and free of charge. Space is limited. Doors open at 7 PM.  Register here.