July Green Breakfast: The Revitalize, Restore, Replant Program

Join the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District for a hot buffet breakfast and an illuminating talk by ecologists from Fairfax County’s Stormwater Planning Division. They will discuss their Revitalize, Restore, Replant Program, an initiative to turn schoolyard stormwater management facilities into hands-on, outdoor classrooms. The cost is $10, payable at the door. Cash preferred and no RSVP needed.

Location: Brion’s Grille, 10621 Braddock Road, Fairfax, in the University Shopping Mall

Saturday, 14 July 2018

8:30 – 10 am

Stream monitoring events in July: Plan now to attend

Sunday, 8 July 2018

Prince William County Stream Monitoring Session: Woodbridge
Time:   11 am – 1:30pm
Location: Off of Springwoods Dr, Woodbridge

Join certified volunteer monitor Janis Cook at her adopted site along Airport Creek in the Lakeridge neighborhood. For directions and to RSVP, please contact Janis at [email protected].

Saturday, 14 July 2018

Pohick Creek Monitoring Workshop: Springfield/LortonPohick
Time: 9 – 11:30 am
Location: Pohick Creek Stream Valley Park, Springfield
Help monitor big and beautiful Pohick Creek as it winds through its rocky valley just north of I-95 and Lorton. Please RSVP to Dan Schwartz at dan.schwartz@fairfaxcounty.gov or sign up through Fairfax County’s online Volunteer Management System (initial registration required).

Sunday, 15 July 2018

Prince William County Stream Monitoring Session: Haymarket
Time: 10 am – Noon
Location: James Long Park, 4603 James Madison Hwy, Haymarket. Park at the Old Library parking lot.
Join longtime certfied volunteer monitor Elaine Wilson at her beautiful adopted site on Catharpin Creek in the Gainesville area. This site has some outstanding and unique critters. Spots are limited. For information and to RSVP, contact Elaine at elaine.wilson@dcwater.com.

Saturday, 28 July 2018

Reston Association Stream Monitoring Workshop: Reston
Time:  8 am
Location: Reston Association Property, exact stream to be determined
Join Will Peterson of the Reston Association and help monitor the health of one of the many beautiful streams on Reston Association common land. Please contact Will at wpeterson@reston.org for RSVP instructions and directions to the site.

Saturday, 28 July 2018

Difficult Run Stream Monitoring Workshop: Great Falls
Time: 9:30 am
Location: Difficult Run Stream Valley Park near Leigh Mill Rd
Help monitor beautiful Difficult Run as it flows through leafy parkland just upstream of Great Falls National Park. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Dan Schwartz at [email protected] or use Fairfax County’s online Volunteer Management System (initial registration required).

Sunday, 29 July 2018

Stream Monitoring Session: South RunSouth
Time: 1:30 – 4 pm
Location: Parkland behind South Run Rec Center, 7550 Reservation Dr, Springfield
Join certified volunteer monitor Veronica Tangiri as she monitors her adopted site along beautiful and healthy South Run as it flows under a leafy canopy of trees between Burke Lake and Lake Mercer. Please RSVP to Veronica at vera.tangiri@gmail.com for directions.

Life in the Soil: A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners, by James B. Nardi

Reviewed by Kathleen Luisa

I have a fairly extensive library of naturalist books and field guides subjects from geology to space to weather to worms to seashells. I even have a field guide to fields!  Many of them really don’t lend themselves to being read cover to cover, but Life in the Soil: A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners, by James B. Nardi, does.  This is one of the best, most thorough, and most thoroughly enjoyable books I’ve read on, well, dirt.  And everything that lives in dirt.

The book is laid out well, much like an outline for a college course would have been years ago.  It starts from the general (and most minuscule components of the soil) and moves progressively through to the more specific and larger inhabitants. The first of the three parts of the book explains how soil forms from rocks and organic materials through  chemical and weathering processes.  The second part is a wonderfully in-depth explanation and description of the members of the soil community and their relationships. The third part covers how we can work in partnership with all of the foregoing to increase and maintain the health of the soil for the benefit of all without chemicals, and how to prevent many of the problems we enable through erosion and the unfettered use of fertilizers.

The author’s style is engaging, often humorous, and I feel like he’s talking right to me. He clearly has deep affection and admiration for his subject, and he conveys complex information in a way that is easy to understand without sacrificing the scientific quality.  One thing in particular I really like is that the soil community part introduces each new organism with a box that identifies its place in the taxonomic system, its place in the food web, size and its impact on gardens. The illustrations and photos are great, too.

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

Looking for continuing education opportunities?

The statewide Virginia Master Naturalists website has a wealth of webinars approved for continuing ed.

There is often an opportunity for a live webinar.  Or, you can review recorded webinars.  A wide variety of topics is available, such as:  Poisonous Plants in Virginia, Butterfly Identification, overviews of several service opportunities like Virginia’s Big Tree Program, and many more.

Learn more: Continuing Education Resources: Webinar Series page of the VMN website

If you are a master naturalist, you can record your CE hours as VMN Continuing Education Webinar Series.

You can also review the classes for Curated Resources and get service hour credit. Good deal.

Volunteer opportunities at Earth Sangha

Founded in 1997, the Earth Sangha is a nonprofit public charity based in the Washington, DC, region. Their mission is ecological restoration as a form of socially engaged Buddhism. Volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and the work is secular and science-based.

In the DC area, they operate a volunteer-based program to propagate local native plants, restore native plant communities, and control invasive alien plants. The Wild Plant Nursery is the region’s most comprehensive effort to propagate native plants directly from local forests and meadows. Nursery and office addresses are different. Click here for directions to the Wild Plant Nursery.

The summer nursery workdays are Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9 AM to Noon.  Please be sure to bring a water bottle and stay hydrated.  There is no indoor space, air conditioning or even fans at the nursery.  Keep a close eye on the volunteer calendar.  For safety reasons, they may have to cancel volunteer workdays and nursery hours on short notice because of high temperatures, poor air quality, and thunderstorms.  Contact Matt Bright, Conservation Manager, to RSVP to volunteer or for questions or concerns at [email protected] or at his cell: 703-859-2951.

Volunteers can help with watering, weeding, pot preparation, transplanting, and sowing seed.  Gloves and tools will be provided.

In addition to environmental work, Earth Sangha hosts weekly meditation sessions in Alexandria, Virginia, along with discussions of what it means to live in a responsible way. These sessions are free and open to all.

Earn Stream Monitoring Service Hours at Holmes Run

Earn FMN service hours by volunteering as a stream monitor at Holmes Run in Annandale. Participants will collect live samples of benthic macroinvertebrates, then sort, count and report on their findings to determine the stream’s current health. No previous experience is required.

If you are interested, please contact Valeria Bertha at [email protected] for more details. For master naturalists: This ongoing project is listed in the service project catalog as: C020 – NVSWCD Biological Stream Monitoring.

Holmes Run, Annandale
Sunday, August 5
9.00AM-12.00PM

Hike along Buttermilk Creek Trail in Reston, 8 July

The Reston Association and The Bird Feeder of Reston is leading a hike along Buttermilk Creek Trail to watch for birds, and maybe feeding hatchlings.

Buttermilk Creek
11032 Ring Road Reston, VA, 20190
Sunday,  8 July 8 2018
7:30-10:30 AM

Approved for continuing education credit for certified master naturalists.

Present at American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting; abstracts due 1 August

Join Thriving Earth Exchange for AGU’s Fall Meeting, to be held 10-14 December in Washington, D.C. Abstract submission deadline: 1 August.

The AGU 2018 Fall Meeting provides a special opportunity to share science with world leaders in Washington, D.C. As the largest Earth and space science gathering in the world, the Fall Meeting places you in the center of a global community of scientists drawn from myriad fields of study whose work protects the health and welfare of people worldwide, spurs innovation, and informs decisions that are critical to the sustainability of the Earth.

You will connect with leading thinkers, learn about pioneering research and emerging trends, and use your voice to help drive science’s positive impact on the world.

Connect with the D.C. area’s many scientific institutions and witness the ways that your colleagues are helping to inform solutions to the challenges faced by this region. Recharge by exploring the city’s bustling restaurant and music scene and enjoy the beauty and richness of its national monuments and museums.

Celebrate Science

Launch AGU’s Centennial celebration by observing 100 years of Earth and space science accomplishments and set the stage for the next 100 years of breakthroughs. Recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals who have advanced science, served the community unselfishly and increased public understanding at the Honors Ceremony.

Advance Your Science and Your Career

Come to Fall Meeting to share your research, expand your skills and grow your career, learn from colleagues, and gain visibility and recognition for your own efforts alongside the world’s leading scientific minds. Experiment with new ways to present your research and engage with your colleagues.

Experience Science

See the latest research from every field and gain insights that will enrich your own work. Meet new collaborators as you explore more than 20,000 oral and poster presentations. Hear from renowned science lecturers and be inspired by world-class keynote speakers. Join a field trip to explore the local geology, delve into the many challenges facing the Chesapeake Bay (the largest estuary in the U.S.), or investigate the implications of climate change for the region’s mix of large coastal cities and dense agriculture.

Share Your Science

In the coming weeks and months, watch for announcements about the many ways you can share and stand up for science. By leveraging the D.C. location, the 2018 Fall Meeting offers a special opportunity for you to connect with global and national policy makers and leaders and to showcase our science worldwide.

Visit Your New Home Away from Home

Experience AGU’s newly renovated headquarters building, a model for energy-efficient urban renovation that embodies the spirit and values of scientific discovery and the tells the story of the impact of Earth and space sciences on society. Members are always welcome at the AGU Headquarters.

Thriving Earth Exchange looking for a contractor

Interested in starting, building and implementing community science projects? Want to help scientists make an impact in their communities?

Thriving Earth Exchange is currently looking for a contractor to work with their team.

Read more here

Nominate an all-star for VMN volunteer of the year by 1 August

The Virginia Master Naturalist program’s state office is now accepting nominations for six statewide awards: Volunteer of the Year, Project of the Year (with four subcategories), and Advisor of the Year. These awards will be judged by the VMN statewide office team and one or more VMN Steering Committee members.  The team will announce and distribute the awards at the annual conference, Friday evening, September 7.

To submit a nomination, please send the information requested for that particular award to Michelle Prysby, [email protected].  Nominations are due by August 1 at 5 pm.

You can find this year’s award nomination information below or on the VMN website.

Volunteer of the Year

This award recognizes a volunteer who has made outstanding contributions to natural resource education, citizen science, stewardship, and/or chapter administration.  Criteria include the impacts the volunteer has made on natural resource conservation and education, demonstrated leadership by the volunteer, and impacts the volunteer has made on the local chapter and its volunteers.  There is no minimum requirement for amount of hours or length of service for a volunteer to receive this award.  Our focus is on the past one to two years of service.

In your nominations, please include the following:

  • Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of nominator
  • Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominee
  • Description of why the nominee should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  You may choose to include a description of the individual’s service, specific examples of positive impacts made, aspects that make the individual stand out from other volunteers, and quotes from other volunteers or local partners.  Please place your primary focus on the last 1-2 years of the volunteer’s service.

Project of the Year

Subcategories: Education/Outreach, Citizen Science, Stewardship, Administrative

This award recognizes a project that has made significant and noteworthy positive impacts for natural resource education, citizen science, stewardship, and/or chapter administration within the last 1-2 years. Focus is on projects for which the VMN chapter played a significant, unique role in creation, implementation, and leadership.  VMN gives awards in each of four subcategories:

  1. Education/Outreach – Volunteer service in which VMN volunteers educate the public, such as interpretive programs at parks
  2. Citizen Science – Service projects involving data collection, monitoring, biological inventories, etc.
  3. Stewardship – Service projects to improve habitat or improve the ability of the public to access natural resources through trails, etc.
  4. Administrative – Projects to improve the functioning of a VMN chapter, such as re-vamping of the basic training course, mentorship programs, efforts to streamline chapter processes, etc.

In your nominations, please include the following:

  • Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominator
  • Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation for the primary VMN volunteer contact for the project
  • The primary award subcategory for which you are nominating the project: Education/Outreach, Citizen Science, Stewardship, or Administrative.  The project may include aspects of multiple subcategories and you may describe these aspects in your nomination statement, but you should indicate the primary subcategory under which you want to nominate the project.
  • Description of why the project should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  Please include a description of the project goals, activities completed, and impacts and outcomes for natural resources in your community and/or for your chapter.  Include the roles and contributions of VMN volunteers to the project.  Identify any significant partners for the project.

Chapter Advisor of the Year

This award recognizes a chapter advisor who has made significant and noteworthy contributions to a VMN chapter within the past 1-2 years. In your nominations, please include the following:

  • Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominator
  • Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the chapter advisor
  • Description of why the chapter advisor should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  Please include specific examples of how the chapter advisor has helped the chapter run effectively, make positive impacts in the community, or otherwise achieve its goals.