Help clean up Fairfax County parks this fall

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Clean-up events run throughout the Fall at park locations around the county. The sites include:

Saturday, October 5: Ossian Hall Park, 8-11 am

Saturday, October 12

  • Huntley Meadows Park, 9-11:30 am
  • Lake Accotink Park, 9 am-noon
  • Lake Fairfax Park, 9 am-noon
  • Riverbend Park, 10 am-noon
  • Scott’s Run Nature Preserve, 9-11:30 am

Friday, October 18: Providence RECenter, 9-11 am

Saturday, October 19: Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, 9-10:30 am

Saturday, October 26

  • Backlick Park, 9-11 am
  • Hidden Pond Nature Center, 9 am-noon
  • Cub Run RECenter, 9-11:30 am

Saturday, November 2: South Lakes Drive Park, 9 am-noon

Saturday, November 16: John Byers Park, 8 to 11 a.m.

For a complete listing and to sign up to volunteer, visit Volunteer. Groups, and then please call the site of your choice to make arrangements.

For more information, contact the Public Information Office at 703-324-8662, or e-mail [email protected].

2019 Earth Science Week, Oct 13-19

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From David B. Spears, State Geologist to Va Master Naturalists

Virginia Master Naturalists,

Since 1998, the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) has sponsored earth science week (ESW) during the month of October (www.earthscienceweek.org). This year, earth science week will be October 13-19. The theme of this year’s event is “Geoscience is for Everyone”, an exciting theme that encourages everyone to learn more about the earth sciences, regardless of their background, age, or ability. The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy (DMME) has been an active supporter of earth science week for several years https://www.dmme.virginia.gov/dgmr/EarthScienceWeek.shtml. This year we are again reaching out to our colleagues in Virginia to promote this important event.

 

There are several ways that your chapter can get involved:

  • Sponsor an event during earth science week. It could be aligned with one of the special days designated during earth science week that focus on earthcaches, science literacy, getting students outside, diversity in earth science, fossils, geologic maps, and archaeology. Learn more about these focus days by visiting http://www.earthsciweek.org/focus-days. If you let us know about your event, we will promote it on our web site as well.
  • Encourage your members to submit an entry to the ESW video or photography, contests, which are open to all ages. Entries are due by 5 PM on Friday, October 18. To learn more, visit https://www.earthsciweek.org/contests.
  • Obtain a free Earth Science Week kit from AGI by visiting http://www.earthsciweek.org/materials. These kits are full of posters, activities, and additional resources. A limited number of kits are also available for pick-up directly from the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy in Charlottesville or Big Stone Gap.

I hope you will be as excited about this event as I am. If you have any questions or need additional information, do not hesitate to contact DMME at (434) 951-6310.

Sincerely,
David B. Spears
State Geologist

Help repopulate white oak forests

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From Laura DeWald, Forest Genetics Specialist:

I am at the University of Kentucky (Dept. Forestry and Natural Resources), where I am developing a genetics improvement program for white oak (Quercus alba) to address sustainability of the white oak resource into the future. The eventual goal of the project is to have a sustainable supply of good white oak to support healthy forests and restore the white oak resource. 

The first obvious step in a genetics program is to get germplasm – in this case acorns. Collecting will begin this fall and will occur for at least two more seasons, with the future collections focused on filling in collection gaps in the geographic range. Acorns collected will be grown in the Kentucky Division of Forestry’s state nursery and then outplanted into genetic tests as 1-0 seedlings. 

I need help getting acorns from throughout Virginia. Each individual person only needs to collect from 1-2 trees.

Important First Steps

1. Scout for one or two healthy white oaks now and look for the baby acorns to make sure that tree will produce this fall. That said, you can also watch for mature acorns on the tree–it’s important that they aren’t old ones from years past. Mature acorns will start dropping late September to October, so you will need to act soon.

 2. Contact Laura DeWald ([email protected] | 859-562-2282) for the collection kit and the important instructions you will need to follow before you gather the acorns. Laura will start sending out kits now to those who contact her. Each tree will get its own kit. (You don’t want to mix up the acorns from different trees because they want to sample the parent’s genetics.) [email protected]   859-562-2282

Review of The Songs of Insects

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Jerry Nissley

The Songs of Insects by Lang Elliott and Will Hershberger

On September 11, 2019, Friends of Dyke Marsh (FODM) hosted speaker Will Hershberger, co-author of The Songs of Insects (2007). The evening presentation was given in the visitor’s center at Huntley Meadows Park, followed by a night walk through Huntley Meadow’s woods and wetland to actually hear the calls, chirps, tics, and trills of the insects. Mr. Hershberger has been recording insect sounds for many years and has amassed a vast collection of insect images and recordings, first published in his book and now maintained on his fascinating website. He is an avid naturalist, award-winning nature photographer, nature sound recordist, and author. He and his wife, Donna, formed Nature Images and Sounds, LLC, and photograph a wide variety of animals in addition to insects. He is an entertaining public speaker as well.

The presentation explored the world of singing insects and explained how to distinguish individual species of crickets, katydids, and cicadas. I learned a lot about what we hear day and night during each season of the year. What I am hearing at night now, which I thought to be frogs, may well indeed be insects, especially the Snowy Tree Cricket, Davis’s Tree Cricket, and the Northern Mole Cricket. (See Hershberger’s Guide to Species.) You may be as amazed as I was.

My big take-away was something we perhaps all know but don’t think about all the time: Animal songs are seasonal and specific to one predominant purpose–mating. In general, the frog-calling season is late winter through spring, birds carry us through summer, and late summer (now) through early winter is insect time. The sounds we are hearing now are most likely insects. Each season carries some overlap, of course. Birds are the ones we hear most across all seasons but even their calls/songs change. Now is the time of the insects.

Seasonality explains why now I don’t hear frogs during the evening Mason Neck kayak tours, where earlier in the year I couldn’t talk over the frog ruckus. Now I hear the three-part harmony of crickets, katydids, and cicadas. Each sound interesting in its own right, which The Songs of Insects re-enforces beautifully.

Virginia Climate Crisis Forum, Sep. 17th

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Virginia Association for Environmental Education seeks conference proposals, deadline Sep. 27th

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2020 Virginia Association for Environmental Education Conference- EE for EverybodEE
Sweet Briar College, Amherst VA
26-28 February 2020

This conference is a celebration of and call of action for efforts to make environmental education in Virginia more equitable and inclusive for all audiences and the diverse field we all know it can be.

Proposals that will suit the following 5 strands are being accepted until September 27:

• Early Childhood EE
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for EE
• Action Projects and Citizen Science
• Teaching EE Outside
• EE Best Practices

VAEE offers the following opportunities to present:

• 50 minute sessions
• Half-day Workshops (3 hours)
• Full- day Workshops (6 hours)
• Make and Take Workshop: For this session you will lead the participants in making a product to take with them such as a Bee House or Habitat Cage. Extra fees will be charged on the registration to cover costs. Please indicate suggested costs in your proposal. (3 hour session)
• Interactive Activity Showcase: Do you have a fun and engaging EE activity you’d like to share with others? You will lead other participants in the activity and give them a copy of the activity with directions. (3 hour session – each person will have varying time to present their activity.)

You will be notified as to whether your proposal has been accepted or not by Oct. 31, 2019.

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

If you have further questions, please contact Sarah McGuire, Page Hutchinson, or Bruce Young. Thank you for your interest in supporting VAEE and environmental education!

Project FeederWatch Workshop, Nov. 9th

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National Wildlife Federation
11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston 20190
Saturday, 9 November 2019
9 – 11 am

Project FeederWatch is the easiest citizen science you will ever do! From the comfort of your home, you simply count the winter birds that visit your feeders and report your data to Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

This FREE workshop will cover a bit of the history of Project FeederWatch, its purpose, tips for identifying birds, and the protocols to be followed while counting. They’ll spend some time practicing with the birds at the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia feeders. Light refreshments will be served.

Instructor: Carol Hadlock, volunteer extraordinaire and pioneer with the Audubon at Home program, will instruct this workshop.

Although the workshop is FREE, registration is required.

100th NVSWCD Green Breakfast, Sep. 14th

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Fairfax County Government Center
12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA
Saturday, 14 September 2019
8:30 am

Walking Tour of Fairfax County Government Center Stormwater Infrastructure

To celebrate the 100th Green Breakfast, you are invited to join us for a tour of the Fairfax County Government Center Stormwater Infrastructure.

Please Note: Special Location!
We will meet on the path at the start of the meadow behind and to the left of the main Government Center building, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, Virginia 22035. View a map showing the meeting place.

Gather beginning at 8:30 am, the tour begins at 9:00 am
No prior registration required. No breakfast provided this time.

The Green Breakfast will return to its regular location and breakfast on Saturday, November 9, 2019.

If you have any questions, please contact the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District at [email protected].

Ellanor C. Lawrence Park: Part-Time Assistant Resource Technician needed

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Agency: Park Authority
Job#: ELT-FCPA-19020
Salary: $10-13/hour
Hours: Up to 900 hrs./year. Hours vary. 15-30 hours per week. Some nights, weekends and holidays required. Note: This is a temporary seasonal position, March-November.

Duties:

Assists with maintenance of 600+ acres of natural and cultural resource based parkland including grounds and trails.
Assists with gardening of kitchen, orchard and landscape gardens.
Maintenance and Janitorial duties in public facilities.
Performs safety and security tasks.
Work with paid and volunteer staff on special projects.
Qualifications: Any combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to high school graduation or a GED issued by a state Department of Education. Must be eligible to work in Virginia, possess a Social Security card, and have access to reliable transportation. Must be physically able to lift 50 pounds. Ability to spend extended periods of time standing, walking, and ability to traverse rough and uneven terrain to inspect remote park areas. Must be able to work in varying weather conditions.

Certificates and Licenses Required: Driver’s license with good driving record. First Aid/CPR/AED certification (provided by Fairfax County).

Note: *This position may not exceed 900 hours per calendar year.

To apply: Please email resumes to [email protected].

Earth Sangha fall open house and native plant sale

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Wild Plant Nursery
6100 Cloud Drive, Springfield VA
Sunday, 22 September 2019
10am – 2pm
Click here for the Wild Plant Nursery Species List.

The Fall is really the best time to visit the Earth Sangha nursery. In the Spring, plants are still emerging from winter dormancy, and so they 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.

All plant sale proceeds go toward local parkland restoration. Last fall, customers helped them raise over $15,600 for local parkland restoration!
Choose from over 275 local-ecotype native species and help them fund the restoration of our area’s native flora.

If you’re interested in volunteering at the sale please email Katherine Isaacson at [email protected]. There will be a morning shift (9:45 to Noon) and an afternoon shift (Noon to 2:30).