Job opportunity: Interview fishermen!

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The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) is seeking to fill a position at Burke Lake Park, 7315 Ox Road, Fairfax Station VA. It is a Creel Clerk job and requires interviewing fishermen. It is a temporary position, hourly wage of $15/hour or maybe a bit more, no benefits.

The job entails 24 hours per week average with heavy weekend commitment. The season is April through September. The schedule is already set, but small adjustments can be made as needed. Retired folks interested in being outside and/or fishing who enjoy interacting with the public are welcome to apply!

Interested persons please contact John Odenkirk at (540) 845-9661.

Ornithology Topics: Avian Biology, Spring Session (The Study of Birds)

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National Wildlife Federation
11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, VA 20190
Tuesdays, 24 March – 5 May 2020
7 – 9 pm
Cost: $250 ASNV members, $275 non-members

Join Dr. Chris Haney for a new class, “Ornithology Topics: Avian Biology, Spring Session.” There is no prerequisite for this course and it does not repeat the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia’s fall session of Ornithology but offers all new material.

This course is designed and presented at an introductory, university level in 6 parts, with each classroom session 2 hours long. Ornithology Topics: Avian Biology will feature major underpinnings to ornithology within the fundamental context of U.S. national history. Topics covered in Part 2 of this class will encompass: bird song; avian diet and foraging; mate selection and social behaviors of birds; breeding biology (incubation, chick-rearing, post-natal care); bird populations; and avian conservation and sustainable management. Instructional presentations will include PowerPoint slides, auditory or video supplements, and some in-class participatory exercises. Each night’s classroom lecture will be made available to all participants in PDF format by the following day.

Required textbook: Manual of Ornithology: Avian Structure and Function, 1993, Procter and Lynch, ISBN-10: 0300076193

Optional textbook: Handbook of Bird Biology (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), 3rd edition, 2016, Lovette and Fitzpatrick, ISBN-10: 1118291050

Recommended supplement: The National Geographic Society’s Field Guide to the Birds of America, The Sibley Guide to Birds, or a similar guide for field identification

Register here.

Trees for your loved ones?

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Looking for the perfect gift for someone who does not want “things”? Try the gift of trees! With each gift you purchase through the Reforest Fairfax tree gifting program (www.reforestfairfax.com), five (5) native seedlings planted in Fairfax County will be dedicated in honor of your recipient. Your recipient will receive a certificate informing them of the gift, which comes with a unique certificate number that can be used to identify where the trees were planted using our online Tree Map. The trees are planted by Fairfax ReLeaf (www.fairfaxreleaf.org) and proceeds go directly to support education, outreach, and promotional efforts for native plant restoration through the Plant NOVA Natives campaign (www.plantnovanatives.org).

Sustaining America’s Aquatic Biodiversity: Frog Biodiversity and Conservation

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Virginia Cooperative Extension has just published a refreshed version of this useful 4-page info sheet (Publication 420-527). Good for naturalists, classrooms, and nature centers.

One of the references is to a site that US Geological Survey sponsors on frog calls. Take the quiz–lots of fun.

Mindful Naturalists: Birding Like Buddha

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February 22, 2020 04:00 pm – 05:30 pm

Location: The Clifton Institute, 6712 Blantyre Road, Warrenton, Virginia

In February, join The Clifton Institute for an evening of ‘birding like Buddha.’ For this particular bird walk, we will prioritize the experiences we have watching individual birds and our connection to them instead of trying to identify species or maximize the number of birds we encounter. We will sit often and watch quietly as the waterfowl on our ponds live out their unique and fascinating lives. What new things can we learn about birds from watching them in this way?

Please dress for the weather. No birding experience required! Please feel free to bring: a comfy portable chair (though we may spend some time in the blind), a travel mug for a hot beverage, and/or binoculars! Click here to register.

Mindful Naturalists is a free program series created to inspire mindful observation and nature appreciation. Each month we will explore a different topic and experiment with a different practice for mindfully experiencing the natural world while enjoying hot tea and a peaceful evening at our beautiful field station.

February Author Lecture: Dr. Doug Tallamy

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February 23, 2020 03:00 pm – 05:00 pm

Location: Manassas Park Community Center, 99 Adams Dr, Manassas Park, Virginia

Join the Prince William Wildflower Society for February’s Author Lecture, given by renowned entomologist and ecologist Doug Tallamy. Dr. Tallamy will have his new book available for signing, Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard. (Timber Press, Available February 4, 2020) 

Doug Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 95 research publications and has taught insect related courses for 39 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His book Bringing Nature Home was awarded the 2008 Silver Medal by the Garden Writers’ Association. The Living Landscape, co-authored with Rick Darke, was published in 2014.  Among his awards are the Garden Club of America Margaret Douglas Medal for Conservation and the Tom Dodd, Jr. Award of Excellence, and the 2018 AHS B.Y. Morrison Communication Award.

For more information, click here.

Invasive Management Workdays at Lake Accotink

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Lake Accotink Park
7500 Accotink Park Rd., Springfield VA
Saturdays, 15, 22 and 29 February 2020
9 – 11 am

Invasive plants prevent us from enjoying our forests. They degrade our natural ecosystems. Ever get stopped in the woods by climbing vines or shrubs with thorns? They may have been invasive species. Some of them, like multiflora rose, can completely swarm over a section of woods and block out everything else. However, invasive can be thwarted.

Join Fairfax Master Naturalists Elaine and Beverly as they combat invasives at Lake Accotink. No experience is necessary, this is a great opportunity to learn and everyone is welcome.

They have work gloves and equipment but please bring your own drinking water as the park’s drinking fountains have been winterized – the restrooms are still open.

If you can join them – even for an hour or so it would be greatly appreciated.

Lastly, the weather at this time of year is so unpredictable, please call or text Beverly at (571) 314-2107 if you are not sure.

Directions: There are several entrances to Lake Accotink Park, but it is easiest to take the Accotink Park Road entrance that comes off Highland Street in Springfield. Once you enter the park, follow the road all the way to the end and you will see the marina, mini golf course and a children’s carousel. There is ample parking. They are working in the area directly behind the children’s carousel but please call or text Beverly if you can’t find them.

Job opportunity: ANS seeks Naturalist Educator

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Audubon Naturalist Society is seeking to fill a position for a Naturalist Educator to work at its headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

The Naturalist Educator plans and teaches natural history classes, field trips, and programs throughout the Washington, DC region primarily for adult audiences with an emphasis on attracting new and diverse audience to ANS programs and serves as a natural history resource for staff, membership, media, and the general public.

See the complete position description and application instructions.

Simple composting for the whole family, Mar. 7th

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Belvedere Elementary School
6540 Columbia Pike, Falls Church VA
Rooms 136/138; Enter at Door #2
Saturday, 7 March 2020
10 – 11:30 am

Curious about composting? Learn how it can work for you and your family. There is something for the children too!

In this family-friendly workshop presented by the Fairfax Food Council, learn how your food waste and shredded office paper can save you money and enrich your property. Fairfax County Extension Agent Adria Bordas will demonstrate the basics of home composting, including how to build simple, inexpensive composters if you don’t want to buy one.

Environmental educators Ivy Mitchell and Stacey Evers will entertain children in the adjacent room, providing hands-on activities with worms, worm composting and gardening basics. Organic waste is the second largest contributor to landfills, so come find out how easy it is to be part of the solution!

Questions? Email Stacey Evers at [email protected].

Please register for this workshop by March 1st.

FMN Quarterly Chapter Meeting and Bluebird Box Monitoring presentation, Mar. 16th — CANCELLED!

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Hidden Oaks Nature Center
7701 Royce St., Annandale VA
Monday, 16 March 2020
7:30 pm

The Fairfax Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists will hold a short quarterly chapter meeting which will be followed by a presentation from volunteers who monitor bluebird boxes. They work on behalf of the Virginia Bluebird Society which was founded in 1996 to promote bluebirds and other native cavity nesters. Volunteers record data and ensure that boxes are clean and free of pests to promote bluebird breeding success.

The meeting is free and open to the public. Please join us to learn about this worthwhile project and how you can become a nest box volunteer.

Parking at Hidden Oaks is limited, but there is overflow parking at the Fred M. Packard Center, 4022 Hummer Rd., Annandale, VA 22003. It is just a short walk along a wooded trail to the Hidden Oaks Nature Center from the parking lot.

Master naturalists earn one hour of continuing education credit for the presentation and can record service hours under code C034: Bluebird Trails if they participate in the project.