Jerry Nissley

Mason Neck Canoe-mobile

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Dateline 14 October 2026:

Canoe group paddling into the bay

Canoe group paddling into Pohick Bay – photo FMN Jerry Nissley

FMN enjoyed a most unique day of volunteering for Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) on the Mason Neck peninsula. The event was hosted at Pohick Bay Regional Park on an absolutely beautiful, smooth water fall day. The primary attraction was the Wilderness Inquiry canoe mobile, a traveling troop of young adventurers and paddle guides whose goal it is to bring outdoor paddle adventures to urban youth organizations across the eastern US states. Their home base is Minnesota but so far this year they have traveled from New York to Louisiana and many locations in between floating their mission. They frequently partner with Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for access to public lands. The guests this day included a 60 person public school group from Arlington in the morning and a 30 person homeschool group local to the Lorton area in the afternoon session.

Event volunteer displaying hognosed snakes

FMN Olivia Rivas displaying hognose snakes – photo FMN Jerry Nissley

The sideshows included an FMN table featuring  Turtle Talk, FMN Olivia Rivas (with Meadowood) presenting her hognose snakes, Fairfax County Department of Public Works Environmental Services (DPWES), and a birding group with owls. The format was a hour of small groups rotating between the 4 sideshows and then an hour or so in canoes out in the bay.

FMN table set up at Mason Neck event

FMN table at Meadowood event – photo FMN Jerry Nissley

Several volunteer opportunities are available to FMN with both Mason Neck State Park and the Meadowood SRMA located on the Mason Neck peninsula in Lorton. Please contact the FMN Activity Chairs, Jerry Nissley or John Goodin, for details on how to get involved. (FmnContinuingEd.gmail.com)

Cold storage units in Warrenton Va, with donation of cornsJerry Nissley

DoF Acorn Collection – Wrapup

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The 2026 acorn collection season is now closed. Many thanks to all the volunteers who donated acorns and nuts; and a special thank you to those that monitored the bins and transported donations to the Warrenton cold storage facility.

DoF sent a nice thank you message to the chapter complimenting FMN’s contribution to the new process. Kendra Esparza-Harris, Forest Landowner Outreach Coordinator said in his message, “I would like to share my sincere gratitude for your partnership and with the Fairfax County Master Naturalist and Vienna Community Center in helping to establish and manage the various collection sites in Northern Virginia for the 2026 Acorn Collection Campaign. This year, DOF tested out a new collection process, in which your chapter was an instrumental part in allowing it to happen”. DoF employees Kinner Ingram, District Forester for Rappahannock and Jacqueline Laconi, Customer Care Specialist, provided resources.

Truck load of acorns from Mt Vernon - photo FMN Jerry Nissley

Truck load of acorns from Mt Vernon – Photo FMN Jerry Nissley

As you recall FMN had five sites, Mt Vernon, Hidden Oaks Nature Center, Vienna Community Center, Walker Nature Center in Reston, and Fairfax City municipal center. These sites were conveniently spread around the FMN domain area so collection was fruitful. The cover photo shows storage trailers at Warrenton. Trailer on the right is for Black walnuts that do not need cold storage. Trailer in the center is the cold storage unit for all other nuts. Cold storage helps delay the acorns from sprouting until they can be transported to DoF tree farms. Trailer on the left is not currently in use.

As a way to measure success, bin stewards collected some statistics as follows:

Acorn collection bin set up at Mt. Vernon Gov Center

Acorn collection bin set up at Mt. Vernon Gov Center – Photo FMN Jerry Nissley

The Mt Vernon government center bin collected approximately 90 pounds of acorns covering seven species – White oak, Shagbark hickory, Willow oak, Bur oak, Red oak, Chinese chestnut, and Pin oak.

Sarah Mayhew transported donations from multiple sites one day reporting a load of at least 40 pounds of different species. Two small bags containing chestnuts (3 lbs each), a small bag containing Bur Oak (3 lbs), a couple of small bags with Pin Oak (3 lbs), a big bag of white oak from Vienna (10 lbs), and two large bags of Red oak acorns that were probably 8 or 9 pounds each.

Sarah Mayhew transporting a car full of acorns to Warrenton

transporting a car full of acorns to Warrenton – photo courtesy of FMN Sarah Mayhew

Bill Hafker also transported donations from Hidden Oaks Nature Center. Combined estimates from Bill, Sarah, and Kristina Watts came in as follows – Chestnut Oak 40 lbs, Pin Oak 5, White Oak 110, Red Oak 10, and Black Oak 5.

Charles Colby was the primary transporter of acorns collected at Walker Nature Center. He reported finding some nice restaurants in Warrenton he and his wife enjoyed after transporting approximately 144 pounds of acorns broken out as follows:

Total for Location: (29 bags)

  • Black Oak — 1 pound
  • Cherry Bark Oak — 2 pounds
  • Chestnut Oak — 66 pounds
  • Pin Oak — 3 pounds
  • Red Oak — 7 pounds
  • Red Southern Oak – 1 pound
  • Sawtooth Oak — 20 pounds
  • Scarlett oak — 1 pound
  • White Oak — 22 pounds
  • Walnut — 11 pounds
  • Unidentified — 10 pounds
  • Total 144 pounds

Last but certainly not least, many thanks to Fairfax City Urban Forestry employee, Sophie Chapin, who managed the bins at Fairfax City municipal center and transported a large quantity of various acorns and nuts to Warrenton. We did not get estimations as to the totals but we know they collected a significant amount. She was very helpful unloading donations at the Warrenton site as well.

Elly Doyle Awards – 2026

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Fairfax County Park Authority recently announced their Elly Doyle Awards for 2026. FMN Margaret Fisher was honored with the 2026 Sally Ormsby Environmental Stewardship Award for her environmental contributions spanning a 30 year period.

FMN Margaret Fisher – photo by FMN Betsy Martin

Her FCPA award cited the following accomplishments during this time:
“An environmental steward, Fisher has educated and inspired others across Fairfax County to restore vital habitats across public and private lands. Her work promoting native plants, removing invasives and rescuing trees have made a lasting impact over her 30 years of volunteerism and leadership. Fisher’s contributions and many roles include serving as a stream monitor at Popes Head Creek, an IMA site leader, and a founder of Plant NOVA Natives, Plant NOVA Trees and the Tree Rescuers program, which has led to the rescue of at least 22,000 trees.”

FMN congratulates Margaret for her overall accolades and thanks her for her direct stewardship to our chapter. Margaret first volunteered for FMN in 2017 and has since compiled 7273 volunteer hours (and counting), which is the most hours recorded in our chapter for an active member. She participates in a myriad of FMN categories including Habitat Restoration, Wildlife Surveys, Water and Wetlands, and Native Plants Management.

Ana Dixon

Three Communities, One Garden: Service Takes Root

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The following success story was sent in by FMN Anna Dixon and we are glad she did.  Anna also contributed in large part to the successful outcome. Please follow this story of accomplishment to see how the three communities worked together to create a living testament to service at Antioch Baptist Church.

Anna’s story, “Saturday, August 22, three communities came together at Antioch Baptist Church [in Fairfax Station] around a deceptively simple objective: transform a roughly 20-by-20-foot shaded area beside the sanctuary into the foundation for a sensory garden featuring native and non-invasive plants. What resulted was far more than a landscaping project. Under the leadership of Kevin-Joseph Tann of Springfield’s Scout Troop 1145, approximately 42 volunteers contributed six and one-half hours of work, representing roughly $10,000 in donated labor. Their effort capped months of planning, coordination, design work, material acquisition, and volunteer preparation for Kevin’s Eagle Scout project. Antioch initially publicized the project as an opportunity to benefit its six generations through a perennial and native sensory garden while helping Kevin fulfill the service requirement for the Eagle Scout rank.

Sensory Garden, bare earth canvas – photo FMN Anna Dixon

The results (shown as the cover photo) demonstrates what can happen when three established Springfield District communities bring different strengths to the same piece of ground. For the Scouts, the project was leadership put into practice. Eagle projects are not simply volunteer workdays. The Scout must develop the concept, organize the work, marshal people and materials, and lead others in bringing the project to completion. Troop 1145 has longstanding Springfield roots and a history of Scouts undertaking substantial community-service projects. Kevin’s parents provided sustained support that made an undertaking of this scale possible, while Kevin carried the responsibility of moving the project from concept to execution.

For Antioch Baptist Church, the project fits squarely within both ministry and

Sensory Garden – God’s good Hand upon our good work (Nehemiah 2)

stewardship. Antioch describes itself as a six-generational church, serving people from age two to 102, and emphasizes service that makes an impact both within the church and in the surrounding community. Its Green Ministry has a complementary environmental mission: removing invasive vines, protecting native trees, reducing stormwater impacts, and establishing places where native plants and wildlife can thrive. A sensory garden that can be experienced by children, adults and seniors is therefore more than a beautification project. It advances a broader vision for how the church grounds can serve people while also functioning as healthier habitat.

The Fairfax Master Naturalist community also contributed through Virginia Certified Master Naturalist Anna Dixon, whose role remained intentionally supportive throughout the project. Drawing on Master Naturalist training and her work with Antioch’s Green Ministry, she assisted during the planning period and helped connect the garden’s design and plant choices with the broader objective of increasing native vegetation and ecological value on the church campus. What began as a shaded work area beneath mature trees quickly became an organized garden space. Volunteers removed and prepared soil, installed curved brick pathways, positioned plants, mulched beds and worked in multiple crews simultaneously. By the end  of the day, the geometry of the garden was clearly visible, with brick paths dividing planted beds while preserving access through the space. Just as important, the images show adults and young people working side by side, not as three separate organizations, but as one collaborative team. That may be the project’s most enduring feature. The Scouts supplied youth leadership and an organized volunteer force. Antioch supplied the place, purpose and community that will use and care for the garden. Master Naturalist principles helped keep the project tied to the larger ecological objective of favoring native plants and responsible stewardship. No one element alone would have produced the same result.

Sensory Garden, “Let us rise up and build” (Neh 2:18) – photo FMN Anna Dixon

The garden itself will now do something the work crews could not accomplish in a single day: grow. As plants establish, seasons change and the space matures, Antioch’s six generations will have an increasingly rich place to see, touch, smell and experience nature immediately outside the sanctuary. Native plants can also provide food and shelter for pollinators and other wildlife, extending the project’s benefit beyond the people who walk its paths. An Eagle Scout project is necessarily Kevin’s project. But this one also illustrates something larger: when youth leadership, a church committed to service, and people trained in environmental stewardship align around a tangible community need, a relatively small patch of ground can become common ground. Forty-two volunteers proved that on Saturday. Now the garden gets to tell the story.”

FYI – Hours towards any project worked with faith based communities may be recorded using S100: Faith Community Stewardship Projects — FMN.

Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Jerry! (Mason Neck Volunteer Newsletter Spotlight)

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Photo: Courtesy of Jerry Nissley

 

Jerry Nissley has been volunteering at Mason Neck State Park since 2019, beginning as a paddle guide before expanding his role to include interpretive programs, field trips, special events, and welcoming visitors at the Visitor Center. A lifelong Northern Virginia resident, Jerry served five years in the U.S. Navy before earning a degree in Computer Information Systems and enjoying a 40-year career as an Aerospace Systems Architect.

After retiring, Jerry became a certified Virginia Master Naturalist in 2019 and now serves on the board of the Fairfax Chapter. In addition to volunteering at Mason Neck, he shares his passion for nature through educational programs with the Fairfax County Park Authority, homeschool groups, elementary schools, and community events. His interactive “Turtle Talk” program has introduced countless children and families to the fascinating world of Woodland Box Turtles.

When he’s not volunteering, Jerry enjoys kayaking, fishing, native pollinator gardening, and spending time with his wife of 47 years, their three daughters, and eight grandchildren. We are grateful for Jerry’s dedication, enthusiasm, and the wealth of knowledge he brings to Mason Neck State Park. (Pictured enjoying one of his favorite hobbies—kayaking on a local waterway.)

FMN Milestones – January through June 2026

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As many read in the recent VMN Newsletter, the VMN State Program office recognizes volunteers who complete 250, 500, 1,000, 2,500, and 5,000 hours of service. These are cumulative volunteer hours starting when a volunteer joins the program. Volunteers may start recording hours as soon as they are accepted into the program… even while in training.

An FMN cub reporter extracted the names of 14 FMN volunteers who achieved these milestones between January and June 2026. These FMN names are listed below as an extra thank you for service hour to our Chapter.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, VMN logo – photo FMN Jerry Nissley

The list is based on hours recorded in our Better Impact volunteer management system.

250 hours:

Bev Horton, Noel Kaplan, Steve Maceda, Dan Schulke, Andreas Seiter, Darlene Thom

500 hours:

Sylvia Bocskor, Kerry Gilpin, Monica Hoffman, Rob Shapiro, Kristina Watts

1000 hours:

Barbara Heubner, Kat Ochs Dyer, Karen Young

FMN Jerry Nissley

FCPA 2026 Outstanding Volunteer Awards

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At its meeting on June 24, the Fairfax County Park Authority Board approved a resolution honoring 21 individuals as 2026 Outstanding Volunteers. These peer-nominated individuals were recognized for their dedication to their community and their invaluable service to the Fairfax County park system: (Three of the awardees are FMN)
* Avril Garland, Accotink Stream Valley Park, IMA Site Leader
* Jerry Nissley, Huntley Meadows Park, Educational Program and Special Event Assistant
* Carol Tretkoff, Hidden Oaks Nature Center, Resource Naturalist

FCPA 2026 Outstanding Volunteers – photo FCPA

The announcement continued by saying, “More than 10,770 volunteers contributed to the operation, preservation and conservation of Fairfax County parks in Fiscal Year 2026. They contributed 115,718 hours of volunteer service and their work is valued at over $3.98 million. The Park Authority could not function without the support and commitment of our volunteer force.
“Each year, our volunteers remind us of the extraordinary power of people coming together with purpose. Their commitment to restoring habitats, supporting programs, and caring for our parks creates a community where nature thrives and neighbors feel connected. Their impact reaches far beyond the work they do; it inspires all of us to imagine what’s possible when we serve something larger than ourselves,” said Park Authority Executive Director Jai Cole.
The Park Authority’s outstanding volunteers were honored at a special evening of music and celebration with a Volunteer Appreciation Night on Thursday, July 16, as part of the Government Center’s Evenings on the Ellipse Summer Concert Series.”

FMN Avril Garland up to her elbows in Still Grass – photo courtesy of Avril Garland

As mentioned above, Avril was recognized for her efforts in the IMA program. IMA is the Invasive Management Area program under Fairfax County Park’s Resource Division. Individuals (and teams) are assigned specific areas to maintain within the park system and Avril has worked significant hours along the Accotink Stream Trail system. The photo shows her hard at work pulling stilt grass around the stream pathways. #WOW

Carol started at Hidden Oaks Nature Center (HONC) in March (2025) when she moved from Prince William

FMN Carol Tretkoff down in the weeds – photo FMN Kristina Watts

County.  Lucky for HONC, she now lives only about 10 minutes away. She has for the most part battled against the invasive plants found in the park; to name a few, English ivy, oriental bittersweet, wineberry, honeysuckle, stilt grass, and barberry.

For Fairfax County Parks, Jerry volunteers primarily at Huntley Meadows where he leads group nature programs, is a trail monitor, special events assistant, and animal caretaker (their turtle of course).

FMN Jerry Nissley with his grandson at Huntley Meadows – photo FMN Jerry Nissley

As an aside, he also presents ‘Turtle Talk’, an interactive roadshow program all about Woodland Box Turtles. Turtle Talk, which blossomed from his FMN cohort final project in 2019, visited three elementary schools, a homeschool group, a nature expo, and the Vienna Farmer’s Market this spring! Their little turtle legs are tired.

“Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.” (James Bryant Conant)

From Concerts to Conservation: Enhancing Wildlife Habitat at Wolf Trap

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Photo: by FMN Kathy Stewart, Blue Bird Box at Wolf Trap

Many readers may be familiar with Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (that’s its official name!) in Vienna, Virginia.  Perhaps, you’ve attended concerts while picnicking on the grounds and enjoying the bucolic setting.  But, Wolf Trap is not only an entertainment venue but also a full-fledged Park in its own right, with several miles of hiking trails, pollinator gardens, a Woodland Garden and Wildlife sanctuary, and a robust monthly schedule of nature-oriented activities, facilitated by the Friends of Wolf Trap. The Friends also monitor the bluebird nestboxes and Purple Martin gourds following recommended practices, and report the data on Nestwatch.

Wolf Trap’s 16 bluebird boxes and 12 Purple Martin gourds are occupied most of the season.  “Real estate” is in short supply, like everywhere else, and these dwellings are in high demand!  Thirty-eight Bluebirds have fledged this season so far, and the gourds currently cradle 59 Purple Martin eggs.  The usual assortment of chickadees, tree swallows and house wrens vie for the nestboxes, also, with eggs and hatchlings in progress and fledglings already on the wing.  It’s a lively and diverse neighborhood!

But, like many neighborhoods, it’s nearing the end of its lifecycle and could use some “sprucing up.” Many of the nestboxes are severely weathered, in poor repair, and lack noel guards and snake baffles.  It’s been my dream for some time to improve the comfort, safety and security of the nestboxes, but where to acquire the funds and labor?

An opportunity presented itself recently to make this dream a reality.  A Virginia Bluebird Society member was offering free, Scout-constructed, bluebird nestboxes with noel guards and snake baffles for the asking!  As the leader of the Wolf Trap Bluebird Trail, this was too enticing to pass up.  Soon, I was transporting new boxes and snake baffles to my home.

The plan is to replace the weathered boxes in the Fall after the nesting season is over.  As it turned out, the new boxes arrived just in the nick of time when Box #16 disappeared from the meadow (affectionately called “The Dimple”) in front of the entrance to the Filene Center.  Grounds maintenance had been cleaning up the Dimple with heavy equipment, and it’s likely the box was knocked off the pole and swept up in the debris.  Replacing Box #16 was a great opportunity to learn what will be entailed when we replace the remaining boxes using a team of Fairfax Master Naturalists, Scouts and other interested persons later this year.

Wolf Trap in the last few years has really stepped up its game in terms of improving its buildings and adding facilities that serve all types of patrons.  It seems only fitting that the nestboxes show the same pride of place, and now they will!  Wolf Trap is truly a place where not only performers and patrons, but nature itself, comes out to play — and that includes, of course, the cavity-dwelling Bluebirds, Purple Martins, and others.

Photo: by FMN Kathy Stewart, Blue Bird Box at Wolf Trap 2


Kathy Stewart
Certified Fairfax Master Naturalist
Board Member, Friends of Wolf Trap

Women of Influence in Fairfax City

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In April 2026, FMN Katy Johnson was awarded the 2026  Woman of Influence Award by the City of Fairfax. She credits her involvement with FMN and her advocacy for the remaining wild spaces in Fairfax City for this recognition. Even though she intentionally kept the two separate her active involvement with Virginia Master Naturalist opportunities and FMN education were key factors.

FMN Katy Johnson, Women of Influence announcement, Fairfax City

An FMN since 2021, Katy has recorded a major portion of her volunteer hours under the Habitat Creation and Restoration Category with the City of Fairfax Stewardship code; and the Native Plants and Invasive Removal category with the PRISM code; her remaining hours are spread over other conservation efforts in parks and her communities of interest. She is also the Fairfax County Park Authority liaison for the FMN chapter.

Ashby Pond Rescue – A Success Story
As an example of her active conservation in the field, recall in 2024 Katy was influential in an effort to save native plants and turtles from the reconstruction (draining) of Ashby Pond in Fairfax City. (Ashby Pond  link).
As a follow-on to the success of this project, she reported that on April 11th, 2026 approximately 30 of the rescued turtles were returned to the pond. They came home to a potential buffet of fish that were stocked for a fishing Derby. Even though those fish were likely too big for the turtles, they can always dream. In addition to the returning turtles, the pond and banks were restored with native vegetation.
Katy reiterated that many volunteers from FMN and Fairfax City were involved in the rescue, restoration, and return – please know that each of their efforts were truly appreciated and the turtles were saved because of the willingness of people to speak and act on their behalf!
She also expressed thanks to Satishi Ito, Fairfax City’s Public Works Manager, for being willing to listen to citizen concerns and for making this success story even possible. And many thanks to Dr. Todd Rimkus, Biology and Biochemical Research Area professor at Marymount University, for providing the turtle expertise to do so.

Conservation in action! Congratulations to Katy and all our volunteers that contribute on a daily basis to the conservation of natural resources in Virginia, Fairfax County, and our surrounding communities.

Living with Black Bears Project Wins National Award!

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Alliance of Natural Resource Outreach and Service Programs (ANROSP) 2025 Award for Outstanding Volunteer Project Presented to Virginia Master Naturalist Program: Living with Black Bears in Virginia

The “Living with Black Bears” project, a partnership between VMN and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, received the 2025 Outstanding Volunteer Project Award from the Alliance of Natural Resource Outreach and Service Programs (ANROSP). ANROSP is a professional organization for Master Naturalist-type programs, and the Virginia Master Naturalist program was one of the founding program members in 2006. The Outstanding Volunteer Project Award recognizes a volunteer service project that promotes natural resource management and provides natural resource education. The award was given in October at the 2025 ANROSP annual conference in Destin, Florida.

The Living with Black Bears project addresses the serious concern of human-bear conflicts in Virginia, aiming to alleviate negative interactions through spreading awareness and education. It also aims to strengthen the partnership between the VMN program and DWR by modeling how VMN volunteers can effective assist DWR in its mission. In the project, trained VMN volunteers give presentations and conduct outreach to share a common message about behaviors Virginians can adopt to reduce conflict with bears.

From when the project was piloted in 2022 through July 2025, VMN volunteers have given 70 presentations to community groups, tabled at 83 different community events, and made more than 53,000 direct contacts. Evaluation results from the sit-down presentations indicate that attendees are learning more about bears and plan to adopt some new behaviors, such as leashing their dogs and taking down their bird feeders when bears are active.

Congratulations to all the following VMN volunteers, Peter Mecca, Marilyn Parks, Sarah Mayhew, Jo Doumbia, and Gerald R Warren, who have been part of this project and to Courtney Hallacher of DWR, who coordinates the effort! If your chapter is not currently participating in the project and would like to, contact the VMN State Office.