Mow Less, Grow More webinar, March 7th

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Photo by Eliza Diamond on Unsplash

Sunday, March 7, 2021
2 – 3:30 pm
Register here.

The Friends of Mason Neck State Park will host a special program, “Mow Less, Grow More.” Their speaker will be Tami Sheiffer, the coordinator of Fairfax County Park Authority’s “Watch the Green Grow” education and outreach initiative.

Learn how you can protect neighboring parks and natural habitat through your yard care by mowing less and growing more. Tami will discuss how to use native plants to expand wildlife corridors and stream buffers as well as help solve landscaping problems such as areas of erosion or poor drainage where grass will not grow.

The program is free, thanks to the generosity of the members and donors of the Friends of Mason Neck State Park. Registration is required, so they can send you the Zoom link for the program.

Introduction to Bird and Nature Photography with Brian Zwiebel, February 18th and 25th

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Thursdays, February 18 & 25, 2021
7 – 8 pm
Cost $25
Register here.

This introductory program is great for beginners but will offer a few nuggets for the intermediate shooter as well. Learn what Brian does and what you should do too, every time you get your hands on a new digital camera. Discover what a histogram is, how to read it and use it to make better exposures. Learn to improve your images with better compositions and backgrounds as well as how to improve your action and behavior images. All of this and much more will be included in the program and each talking point supported by Brian’s award-winning photography. Presented by Audubon Society of Northern Virginia.

Loudoun Wildlife Winter Adaptations for Survival Webinar, February 16th

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Photo by Lori Scheibe

Tuesday, February 16, 2021
7-8 pm
Registration required.

Join Jacob van Schilfgaarde, wildlife conservationist and Facility Supervisor at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, for a Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy presentation on wildlife in Loudoun. He will describe three strategies that wildlife use to survive, and discuss their typical habitats, feeding behaviors and how to identify tracks. 

New Web Tool Helps NoVa Wildlife Gardeners

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Article by FMN Juan Gonzalez and Megan Agosti, originally published in Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s Habitat Herald, republished with permission

Starting a native plant garden always begins with the same set of questions — “What plants work for my space? Which plants are most beneficial and likely to attract wildlife?” For the past few years, Northern Virginia gardeners would start their journey by referencing resources like Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s Planting for Wildlife in Northern Virginia, a thorough book providing information on various native trees, shrubs, flowers, and more. This past year, two volunteers endeavored to make this information even more accessible by creating an interactive web tool for Northern Virginia’s residents. In collaboration with Loudoun Wildlife staff and volunteers, we are pleased to announce the Northern Virginia Wildlife Gardening Database located at www.novawildlifegarden.net.

This web tool provides users with Planting for Wildlife’s full catalogue in a digital format for easy filtering to answer even the most specific questions. Users can use a search function or filter results with seven different plant characteristics, including popular questions like preferred light, soil moisture, bloom month, and wildlife benefits. Favorite plants can be saved in the Saved Plant List which can generate a report summarizing your selections. You can plan for year-round interest, find deer-resistant plants, and start your dream butterfly garden with the Northern Virginia Wildlife Gardening Database.

Filtered table example

To explore Northern Virginia Wildlife Gardening Database’s full catalogue of native plants, go to www.novawildlifegarden.net and select the Plant Library tab. Select the plant type you are interested in from the drop-down menu to begin your search. Here you can filter your selection by specifying preferred light source, moisture level, bloom months/color, plant height/spread, and wildlife benefits. Further refine your selection by utilizing the search bar to make further queries (for example, “fragrant,” “deer resistant,” “hummingbird”).
Once filtered, the table provides additional context for each plant. Users can see the plant’s description and learn more about the wildlife benefits of each. Get detailed information by clicking on scientific names to view the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center entry for each plant. Explore the Glossary tab to define common terms used throughout the database.

Saved plant table example

Users can save their favorite plants using the Saved Plant List feature. To save a plant, click its respective row and then the green Save Selected button on the bottom left. This feature allows for multiple selections, so pick as many as you would like. See your list by navigating to the Saved Plants tab. When ready, generate your report by clicking the blue Generate Report button in the Saved Plants tab. This report summarizes your plant selection and generates tables for the various filters found in the web tool. Use these tables to review your selection or ensure year-round interest in your garden.

Loudoun Wildlife hopes you find this new web tool useful. It has been developed and is maintained by volunteers Juan Gonzalez and Megan Agosti. For any comments or questions please contact them at [email protected].

On February 23 and February 25, Fairfax County Wants to Hear from You on Energy and Transportation

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Did you know, 68 percent of Fairfax County residents believe that individual citizens should do more to address climate change? Climate change is a global problem, but it also stands to impact us locally and we have a responsibility to address it head on. In response, Fairfax County has created a Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan, or CECAP. 

The facts can be hard to swallow: climate change is expected to alter the geographic reach, seasonal distribution, and abundance of disease vectors, like mosquitoes and ticks. Infectious diseases that were once considered tropical or subtropical may become commonplace in our region. On top of that, the economic sector most at risk due to climate change is agriculture. For each degree Celsius our global thermostat increases, there will be a 5 to 15 percent decrease in overall crop production. As supply decreases, and demand remains the same or increases, the price of food could very well rise. 

The good news is no action is too small to make a difference. From changing a light bulb, to choosing to drive an electric vehicle, to weatherizing a home or business, we can all participate in climate action in multiple ways according to our means and abilities. There is no guarantee that our individual actions will directly alter our experience of climate change here in Fairfax County in the short term, but inaction is not an option if we want to see positive change here and elsewhere in our region in the long term. The CECAP is our path forward – a roadmap for our community, showing us the many ways we can start to address climate change locally. 

Please learn more about climate action in Fairfax County. Later this month, online surveys will be available, and the county will host two public meetings to gather community input on climate change mitigation strategies and actions.

February 23, 2021: Virtual public meeting on energy issues. Join via WebEx.

February 25, 2021: Virtual public meeting on transportation, development, and waste issues. Join via WebEx.

Engage with Fairfax County’s Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan

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The Fairfax County Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination is currently working with county residents and stakeholders to develop the first-ever Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan, or CECAP. Here is some information about this initiative and why it matters.

It’s a fact: 97 percent of climate scientists agree that human-driven climate change is taking place now. Climate change occurs when greenhouse gases build up in our atmosphere and trap heat that might otherwise escape, causing shifts in global temperatures and weather patterns over time. In the United States, and in Fairfax County specifically, the two greatest sources of greenhouse gas emissions are the burning of fossil fuels to provide electricity for buildings, and the burning of fossil fuels by vehicles on our roads.

Fairfax County is not immune to the effects of climate change, we already experience stronger storms related to climatic shifts. A single severe storm in 2019 cost Fairfax County taxpayers $14 million. That is money that could have been spent on other county services, programs, and projects. Extreme weather events pose a risk to life and property as well. Many residents stand to lose personal property and real estate as the result of flooding and other weather impacts.

While there are limits to what the Fairfax County government can do to address climate change locally, individual residents can make a major difference. More than 95 percent of local greenhouse gas emissions come from sources other than local government operations – like energy use at home, business operations, and cars and trucks on our roads. The CECAP will define actions we can each take to be a part of the solution.

You can learn more about climate action in Fairfax County. Later this month, online surveys will be available, and the county will host public meetings to gather community input on climate change mitigation strategies and actions. FMN will share more information about opportunities for you to participate in the coming weeks.

RVA Environmental Film Festival – February 12-26, 2021

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Friday, February 12, 2021, 6:15 pm to Friday, February 26, 2021, 8:15 pm
All films are free but require advance registration for each one.
Includes winning films produced by filmmakers from the Old Dominion. That showtime is February 14, 2021, 4:05 to 5:20 pm. Register here.

The Richmond Environmental Film Festival (RVA EFF) showcases films that raise awareness of environmental issues relevant to the Richmond region, our nation, and our planet. There are national, international and Virginia produced films about Africa, the Mexican border wall, and the rising water challenging the military in Tidewater, Virginia, among others.

Review of The Secret Life of Flies, by Erica McAlister

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Reviewed by Kristine Lansing

“Flies. A nuisance at best, a harbinger of death at worst. Regarded by many as a disease-carrier that vomits on our food, it earns nothing more from us humans than feelings of disgust. The little we know about the fly we don’t like.”*

Now, really, doesn’t that introduction just grab you? As master naturalists each of us probably spends more time around flies than we do around any other plant or animal. And yet, what do we really know about these incredible little creatures?

In a mere 240 pages, entomologist Erica McAlister introduces us to the life cycle of flies and to the many varieties we’re likely to encounter in the field, from the pollinators (some closely resemble bees), to the detritivores, the coprophages (yes, there’s dung!), necrophages (and death!), vegetarians, fungivores, predators, parasites, and sanguivores (and even blood!).

“The Secret Life of Flies” is not only packed with information, but it is brimming with humor. Ms. McAlister’s enthusiasm for her tiny subjects is infectious, and leaves the reader wanting to observe them “flirting with one another in front of a good dung pat,”* or dancing and gifting one another during courtship, or locking horns in competition. And if all of this isn’t enticing enough, just wait until you read about flies’ dining habits.

For all of you bibliophiles out there, this BBC Wildlife Book of the Month is beautifully illustrated and lovingly printed on high-quality paper.

Ms. McAlister is a curator of diptera at the Natural History Museum in London.

*All quotes from The Secret Life of Flies, Erica McAlister, 2019, Natural History Museum.

Broadcasting Live Every Other Tuesday: The Circular Economy Show

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Five Universal Policy Goals to Enable a Circular Economy at Scale

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

8 am EST 

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is excited to announce the return of The Circular Economy Show — where guest speakers join live to discuss circular economy solutions to global challenges. The show will be broadcast live at 15.00 GMT (8 am EST) every other Tuesday on the EMF YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter channels. Join them on February 2, when speakers from the World Bank and Inter IKEA will discuss universal circular economy policy goals.

Learn more here

Life in your Wild Garden webinar, February 11th

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Laura Beaty, photo courtesy of VNPS

Thursday, February 11, 2021
7:30-9 pm
Register here

Growing numbers of gardeners are incorporating native plants into their landscapes in an effort to mitigate the growing loss of pollinators and leafeaters. This loss is global and compromises interactions in natural habitats worldwide. Here at home, many gardeners have been surprised by what they are observing in their wild gardens. Join the Virginia Native Plant Society to see inside a wild garden — then look deeper into yours. Presented by Laura Beaty.

Laura Beaty has been working in the great outdoors since she was old enough to hold a rake. She earned a degree in history followed by a degree in horticulture, and worked nearly 20 years for the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the National Parks Conservation Association.

Laura is VNPS Horticulture Chair and serves as the propagation chair at the native plant beds at Green Spring Gardens. She is a popular speaker about native plants to Master Gardener candidates at Green Spring Park, local garden clubs, and occasionally, propagation workshops at the chapter’s beds.

Laura is converting her own property to a “modified meadow,” which includes some trees and shrubs—all native plants. She hopes that her plant installations will soon become easy maintenance. But as all gardeners know, a garden is a life-long labor of love.