According to the inimitable Steve Irwin, “The message is simple: love and conserve our wildlife”. Annie Palermo (FMN Fall 2021) passionately lives this message on a daily basis as a volunteer wildlife rehabilitator with the Wildlife Rescue League (WRL).
Cottontails
Wildlife Rehabilitators are individuals, organizations, or animal hospitals that have obtained state and or federal permits, to care for injured, ill, and/or orphaned wildlife with the ultimate goal of successfully releasing them back into the wild. Migratory bird rehabilitation requires a federal permit.
Each year in Virginia, rehabilitators work tirelessly to provide thousands of animals a second chance at life, taking special care to raise them in a safe and natural environment.
Racoons
Annie has recorded 250+ hours to S081 Animal Wildlife Rescue League by providing valuable wildlife rehabilitation services to about 25 animals over the course of the year. Her passion and caring spirit was evident in her voice as we talked. You quickly realize she has a real heart for the animals in her care. Annie has been a rehabilitator for 3 years, personally providing rehabilitation services to fawns, squirrels, cottontail bunnies, and raccoons. Others in the network provide services to opossums, foxes, turtles, and a myriad of other animals. She said, “25 animals a year may not sound like many but consider that most babies need to be fed every 2 hours in their early stages of development, it becomes quite time consuming – but time well spent”.
The Wildlife Rescue League (WRL) provides licensed rehabilitators throughout Northern Virginia and surrounding areas. It works with a network of volunteers, wildlife centers, animal shelters, humane societies, nature centers and veterinary hospitals to provide life-saving work for wildlife in need. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) is the permitting agency for WRL.
Annie feeding an orphaned squirrel
The busiest season for rehabilitators is February through October, but some animals must be over-wintered. Most rehabilitators work from home on a volunteer basis, personally paying for housing, supplies, medication, and species-specific nutritional requirements.
Annie encourages that if you, or anyone you know, has a passion for wildlife animals and is interested in volunteering on a helpline, as a transporter, caregiver, or rehabilitator please contact one of the organizations below who will be happy to talk to you about starting a highly rewarding journey.
On January 15th, 2022, with the temperature in the 20’s, or “seasonally brisk” as one hiker described the day, a hardy group of Fairfax Master Naturalists hiked through Foxstone Park in Vienna. This was a Continuing Education, or CE, Hike. (Our first stop was at a bridge in a nearby neighborhood which FBI spy Robert Hanssen used as his “dead drop” site.) Jim McGlone, pictured above in tan gloves, FMN Chapter Adviser and hike leader, gave an informative talk on the botany of skunk cabbage. Although too cold for note taking with pen and paper, cameras were in top form, resulting in this photo essay. See an excellent handout on skunk cabbage.
Nobody complained about wearing masks because they helped keep us warm!
Some people bent down to smell a skunk cabbage. It had a scent because it had a broken leaf.
This is a woodpecker’s nest in a fallen tree that we could look into.
The skunk cabbage was ensconced in ice from the frigid temperatures in the 20s on the day of the hike and the teens the night before.
The plant can generate heat for about two weeks and the temperature can rise 20 degrees inside its hooded spathe.
The second half of the day took a smaller group into Washington, D.C. We didn’t find as many ducks at Constitution Gardens and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pond as we would have liked, but we still saw relatively up close several kitten-cute buffleheads, a dozen ring-necked ducks, a gadwall, a northern shoveler, and other birds braving the cold. Some ducks came REALLY close to our five naturalists like they had been PAID to do that on cue. Some male mallards jumped out of the pond right in front of us and came to visit right at our feet. Of course, if they had been rainbow-colored wood ducks instead of mallards, it would have been more memorable. See an excellent handout on Winter Ducks in the DMV.
Leader Larry Cartwright, Sarah Mayhew, Sarah Glassco.
Just look at the true beauty of this male Gadwall. The patterns are wonderful for an essentially gray and black bird.
Three male Ring-necked ducks with a female.
Photo: Sarah Mayhew Event Chair Barbara Saffir in action.
Immature, lone, male Northern Shoveler. No green head at this stage.
Hope to see you again soon!
https://fairfaxmasternaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/groupIMG_6457.jpeg480640Janet Quinnhttps://fairfaxmasternaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/VMN-Fairfax-cmyk_w223h156.jpgJanet Quinn2022-01-22 23:05:562022-02-14 14:24:40Skunk Cabbage, Spies and Waterfowl, a Photo Essay — CE Hike
A pilot project on Arley Street in Springfield is an environmental success story. With significant community initiative and modest government assistance, 4,300 square feet of asphalt in the Springfield district was converted back to green space.
Community property within the Springfield Station Homeowners Association (HOA) included a deteriorated basketball court which was at the end of its lifecycle and no longer provided a useful benefit to the community. During planning for the community space, residents decided to remove the basketball court entirely. The HOA applied to the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District’s (NVSWCD) Conservation Assistance Program (CAP) for cost-share funding and technical assistance for the proposed conversion of the basketball court to green, open space. The community space is entirely within the Resource Protection Area (RPA) of an unnamed tributary of Middle Run (Pohick Creek) and eventually flows into the Potomac River. The community planned to remove the asphalt surface and reduce the compaction of the soil by adding at least two inches of topsoil and compost. With this plan in mind, NVSWCD confirmed that the project was eligible for participation in CAP because it promotes infiltration, reduces the potential for nearby flooding, and improves stream health.
Through a newly established partnership between NVSWCD and Fairfax County’s Land Development Services (LDS), the project was able to receive the maximum possible cost-share amount eligible under the CAP. This partnership effectively created the new NVSWCD/LDS Water Quality Improvement Program (WQIP), whereby LDS allocates funding for eligible CAP projects with funds collected under LDS enforcement action, thus improving the environment within the impacted communities where violations previously occurred. The Springfield Station HOA project was the first recipient of funding from the newly launched partnership.
The public-private partnership is one that will be replicated throughout the county for other community association and places of worship projects approved under the CAP program. Thus the 4,300 square feet could represent the first step in projects that occur across the county, improving water quality in every district.
LDS project lead Brandy Mueller said, “Though small in terms of scale, this project was really a huge endeavor and a great benefit to the community. This new partnership seeks engagement and environmental opportunities. We hope this successful case study will encourage others to pursue similar projects.”
Replacing impervious asphalt (which does not allow water to pass through it) with green space results in multiple environmental benefits:
Fields absorb water, replenish the groundwater and slowly contribute to nearby streams whereas asphalt (or other impervious surfaces) divert rainwater to storm drains and sewers.
Fields allow the water to feed the soil supporting trees and other plants and resulting in healthier habitats for wildlife, insects and birds.
Fields are about 30 degrees cooler than asphalt helping cool down surrounding areas.
Photo of basketball court before conversion. Photo of basketball court after conversion.
https://fairfaxmasternaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/springfield-station-cap-after-1.jpg230307Mary Ann Bushhttps://fairfaxmasternaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/VMN-Fairfax-cmyk_w223h156.jpgMary Ann Bush2022-01-14 14:23:412022-02-08 21:39:58Public-Private Partnership Leads to a Greener Springfield District
Plant NOVA Trees is a new, five-year drive by the Plant NOVA Natives campaign to increase the native tree canopy in Northern Virginia by promoting planting and preservation of native trees. The drive kicked off with a bang on 1 September 2021 with over 50 local organizations executing more than 100 events throughout the fall to celebrate trees. Events included tree plantings; tree rescues; conferences; webinars; tree walks; library displays; story time and art classes with youth; and many others.
Fairfax Master Naturalists was approached to support the new campaign and made a generous donation of $2,500, one of the largest donations received. Plant NOVA Trees is using the contribution to create Plant NOVA Trees promotional materials including brochures, stickers and native tree hang tags that have been used during the kick-off events and distributed to organizations, businesses and nurseries across the region.
Following a presentation about Plant NOVA Trees, the members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors agreed in October to have their Office of Public Affairs help support the Plant NOVA Trees campaign outreach efforts. The office will develop a communications strategy to include social media, sharing Plant NOVA Trees information and content, and encouraging all residents to consider participating by planting native trees.
As all Master Naturalists know, native trees are an essential part of our local ecosystem, supporting our butterflies, songbirds, and all other wildlife. The social, economic, community and environmental benefits of trees are massive, and thanks to our chapter’s “seed money,” the Plant NOVA Trees campaign is off to a rousing start.
You can find Celebration of Trees events and information about the campaign and how to protect and plant native trees on the Plant NOVA Trees website. There are many ways to help, including joining the Tree Rescuers program to survey your community for trees at risk from invasive vines, participating in the speakers’ bureau, organizing community tree plantings, and planting trees yourselves. Volunteers are also needed to approach corporations to ask them to participate in the campaign.
https://fairfaxmasternaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Celebrate-Trees-stickers-3.jpg15642237Janet Quinnhttps://fairfaxmasternaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/VMN-Fairfax-cmyk_w223h156.jpgJanet Quinn2021-12-10 06:49:142021-12-10 06:56:00Fairfax Master Naturalists’ Donation Making a Difference!
Sometimes improving wildlife habitat does not require a task as involved or intense as, for example, a full day pulling invasive plants. Sometimes an act of kindness followed by a few well-targeted emails can make a difference to wildlife. It’s about caring enough to get involved. And so it happened like this …
Trapped Snake – Photo Barbara J. Saffir
Last August, as FMN Barbara Saffir was hiking at Burke Lake, she encountered a roughly 4-foot-long Eastern Ratsnake entangled in netting. The netting had been used to stabilize dirt along trail sides during an extensive trail maintenance project that was completed months before. This common, nonvenomous snake could hardly move and quite obviously could not free itself. That netting had been a tripping hazard for hikers, runners, and especially little children since the repaving project completed and now an entrapment to wildlife.
Julia and Joe set snake free – photo Barbara J. Saffir
Along came hikers Julia and Joe Higgins and Barbara asked if they could help. Providentially, they were very willing to help, very knowledgeable about handling snakes, and they had scissors. They skillfully rescued the snake by holding the snake with their hands and controlling the head with a stick, while tediously and carefully cutting the net to release the snake from its bonds.
Snake climbing to safety – photo Barbara J. Saffir
Fortunately after the snake was freed, it was able to slowly slither away and climb up a big tree, stressed but apparently no worse for wear. Barbara later joked, “I’m pretty sure it had a smile on its face when it hissed, ‘Thank you, humans!’”
After the release, Barbara decided to email Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) officials whomshe thought could help provide a solution to prevent future wildlife entrapments due to this type of netting, and FMN’s Janet Quinn. Janet forwarded her email to Tammy Schwab (FMN volunteer and FCPA employee), who provided additional key contacts. To their credit FCPA promptly responded to the emails and quickly directed development of a corrective action plan that would remove the netting. They also suggested policy changes to mandate alternatives to this netting in the future and recommended that their contractors make a concerted effort to discontinued use of this material until the mandate.
Keith O’Conner, Park Manager at Burke Lake Park replied in his email, “The project was laying asphalt on a portion of the trail and a contractor did use the netting. Efforts to remove the material on a small scale have been challenging, due to coverage by natural material. As we both know snakes are low to the ground and are slipping under the natural material and finding the netting. We are formulating a plan now for a larger more effective removal of all of the netting along that project.”
Kevin Rudd with FCPA Park Operations, thanked Barbara for reaching out and said, “Our team will be out to look into how we can make this project critter friendly at Burke Lake.”
We should be encouraged by these positive actions and outcomes. It shows that even a small team, such as the three wildlife stewards that helped the snake, can make a difference. It is also a positive indicator that FCPA cares deeply for their parks, they can be responsive to public issues, and they can quickly initiate corrective action to ensure the continued safety of human visitors and wildlife residents alike. Thank you to FCPA for all they do to maintain such a wonderful park system!
In this case the animal was rescued by skilled wildlife heroes who happened to be there and were able to jump right in. However, if you encounter an injured animal or one in a precarious situation and cannot safely take corrective action yourself, help may be available at:
The Laurel Hill Park Volunteer Team planted southern red oak seedlings (Quercus falcate) on Oct. 30 as part of the Celebration of Trees campaign organized by Plant NoVA Natives. The event, one of many planned across the area this Fall, is part of a five-year campaign to preserve native trees and see more planted in Northern Virginia.
The planting at the historic Barrett House replaced three mature oaks lost last year after a period of several year’s decline. The seedlings will grow to medium sized trees, providing shade, with a large root system for watershed protection, and with a beautiful red leaf color in late summer and the Fall, from which the trees get their name. All oak species provide high food value and shelter for wildlife, including insects, mammals, rodents, birds and deer. This particular oak is the larva host for the Banded hairstreak and White hairstreak butterflies.
Fairfax Releaf’s Taylor Beach demonstrates correct tree planting for best success
In coordination with Fairfax County’s Natural Resources Branch of the Park Authority, additional seedlings were planted in the park’s reforestation area. The reforestation project, under the management of ecologist Darko Veljkovic, will include the planting of hundreds of native trees of various species this December, to reclaim forest habitat from invasive shrubs and vines. The Laurel Hill Park Volunteer Team’s planting of six southern red oak seedlings was the symbolic start of that reforestation effort.
Fairfax Releaf, an independent non-profit organization promoting the planting and preservation of native trees, provided the seedlings for the Laurel Hill planting. The organization makes trees available to Virginia residents and businesses to “lessen the impact of development on the environment” in our fast growing county. (fairfaxreleaf.com) A variety of tree species are available, most of which are grown at the Virginia Dept. of Forestry nursery in Augusta County. The state’s nursery grows hardwood and pine trees from donated acorns and seeds gathered by volunteers around the state. The Laurel Hill volunteer team effort brought the process full circle, from acorn donation to tree planting.
Each year the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) celebrates outstanding efforts of volunteerism at the Elly Doyle Awards Ceremony. As the announcement states, “there are thousands of individuals and many organizations that volunteer each year in local parks and support the many programs and initiatives of the Fairfax County Park Authority. In fact, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to operate our park system without you, our valued volunteers”.
This year FPCA will be hosting a virtual ceremony. The 2021 award recipients will be honored on November 19, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.Please RSVP to receive the direct link to the ceremony.
Two of the 2021 recipients are FMN Bob Dinse and the at large group Friends of Accotink Creek. Membership in the Friends group is many, including in part FMNs Ashley Zywusko, Kathryn Pasternak, Kim Schauer, Ana Ka’ahanui, Elaine Sevy, Janet Quinn, Beverley Rivera, Wendy Cohen, Sarah Glassco, and Dianne Bowen. The contrasting qualities of these awards should not be lost. One recognizes the efforts of an individual, the other the combined efforts of a group. Both, however, recognize how each made lasting positive impacts to their community and to the environment. At the end of the day, getting out there and getting involved, no matter how you are able to do it, is the difference maker.
Bob Dinse will be awarded the Sally Ormsby Environmental Stewardship Award for his continued contributions at Hidden Oaks Nature Center (HONC). According to the HONC nomination, Bob exemplifies an environmental steward by his actions and advocacy with his 12 years of at Hidden Oaks. Bob demonstrates the responsible use and protection of natural resources through his conservation efforts. In addition to routine upkeep of existing trails, Bob alleviated erosion and stream bank deterioration, created and enhanced gardens, donated hundreds of dollars of native ferns, native plants, nuts, and birdseed and, in doing so, effectively serves as a FCPA ambassador.
Bob Dinse at HONC – photo Jerry Nissley
Bob is a consummate environmental steward – he leads by example. As he wears the park logo on his hat and shirt, he quietly, effectively, and earnestly shares the message that each person can make a positive difference in his community. The specifics of Bob’s contributions are numerous. When I asked Bob for one project that might stick out for him he replied, “I would like to thank Suzanne Holland and Michael McDonnell [both are HONC management] for letting me work at HONC for the past 12 years. There have been past workers and staff as well current ones I have enjoyed working with. I hope I have a few more years being at HONC.” To me that exemplifies the humility of a man with a servant’s heart.
The Friends of Accotink Creek will be awarded the Elly Doyle Park Service Award. Anyonethat reads the FMN newsletter or monitors FMN social media is aware of the tireless efforts and continued positive impact this group makes to Accotink Creek watershed system and surrounding environs.
FACC Members after planning walk – Photo courtesy of FACC
With regards to the criteria for this 2021 Service Award, the group has removed invasive plants, planted dozens of native trees, organized community activities with scout, school and faith groups, provided advocacy for environmental issues, and organized several stream clean ups to list but a few projects.
For example, at this year’s Spring Clean Up, more than 280 Friends of Accotink Creek (FACC) volunteers picked up 255 bags of trash, tires, and assorted flotsam at 12 different locations between Chain Bridge and Telegraph Road. Remember that Accotink Creek watershed is a major tributary to the Potomac River via Accotink Bay/Gunston Bay on the north side of Mason Neck Peninsula. As the creek flows, that’s 30+ miles of cleaner water thanks to the efforts of FACC.
Stream Monitoring – Photo Courtesy of FACC
FACC members also maintain three different Invasive Management Sites where native tree seedlings are protected from deer browse to give them an increased chance of successful growth. The sites also monitor the health of the creek system and report pollutants, such as oil spills, to the appropriate authorities.
They advocate for sensitive areas such as the Accotink Gorge, which has rare native plants but is also heavily overrun with invasive Wisteria. Education within the community promotes awareness of issues that can affect the health and recreational aspects of the community. To that end, the group participated in the Mount Vernon Environmental Expo, handing out native sedges for planting, along with posters, booklets, and invasive species playing cards for educational purposes; and for the first time FACC contributed a table at the Latino Conservation Day.
Accotink Stream Gorge – Photo Courtesy of FACC
For more than ten years volunteers have had workdays every week, occasionally more if a school or scout group has a particular request. The nomination for this award included a quote by Doug Tallamy, “Plant an oak, plant the future”. There is still hard word to be done but it is clear that FACC is both literally and figuratively working diligently to ‘plant the future’, which exemplifies the basic tenant of the VMN program itself, “to provide a statewide corps of volunteers dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources in their communities”.
Well done to all – and congratulations on the well earned awards.
A group of Fairfax Master Naturalists had a unique opportunity to visit the Noman M. Cole, Jr., Pollution Control Plant, located on Route 1 in southern Fairfax County recently. The visit, organized by chapter president Marilyn Parks, was actually a continuing education “field trip” incident to the state-wide “on-line” annual meeting of Virginia Master Naturalists Chapters.
The Cole facility, located on 400 acres, serves about 40 percent of Fairfax County and is among a handful of water or sewage treatment plants in the United States operating at “state of the art” efficiency. With advanced wastewater treatment systems, the facility is able to remove or “digest” water pollutants, nutrients and contaminants at an exceptionally high level, earning recognition as being in the top tier of the 16,000 publicly owned treatment facilities in the United States, an important achievement for Fairfax County and our local rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. About 75% of sanitary wastewater is treated by similar facilities. The remaining 25 % of waste winds up in private septic tanks.
Photo: Marilyn Parks; climbing to the MBBR site
The facility, which celebrated its 50 year anniversary in 2020, uses a four-stage process to treat south Fairfax County’s wastewater: primary, secondary, advanced treatment and final treatment. After the secondary phase, the effluent moves to three five-million gallon holding ponds. Wildlife thrives in these ponds and 89% of treatment facilities in our country stop their treatment here. The Cole facility, however, goes two stages beyond, which includes using Moving Bed Biologic Reactors (MBBR). This microbiologic process uses tiny, pasta-shaped plastic pieces on which to grow algae to feed “good “microbes that convert nitrates to nitrogen gas. (Nitrogen is the primary gas in our atmosphere.) By the time the effluent is released to Pohick Creek, it is cleaner than the water in the creek.
We were privileged that Cole’s superintendent Mike McGrath took time to personally escort our group on much of the tour, with operations manager Joshua and Melissa showing us the entire physical set up from the bar screen to the water sampling laboratory.
Sewage and sewage treatment is often a subject many choose not to think about: what is out of sight is out of mind. But the men and women of Fairfax County who work daily to run this amazing operation, from the 3,000 miles of collection sewers to the solid waste that is removed from the bar screen – including false plastic fingernails – this is a highly sophisticated, automated operation, that is a real success story that Fairfax residents can be proud of.
https://fairfaxmasternaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/FMN.jpeg8101080Janet Quinnhttps://fairfaxmasternaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/VMN-Fairfax-cmyk_w223h156.jpgJanet Quinn2021-10-24 21:34:142021-10-25 21:07:55Fairfax Master Naturalists Tour State of the Art Sewer Plant
Article by FMN & Gold Award Girl Scout Mackenzie Nordai Photos courtesy of Mackenzie Nordai
My Gold Award* aimed to address the issue of nonpoint source pollution’s effect on Pohick Creek Watershed which includes Hidden Pond Park in Springfield, Virginia. As the leader of the project, I led groups of volunteers through three communities adjacent to this watershed and labeled stormwater drains to alert people about where these drains lead. I also communicated awareness to the communities around Hidden Pond through a community newsletter, Fairfax Master Naturalist social media, and postings on bulletin boards at Hidden Pond Nature Center about the negative effects that nonpoint source pollution has on the environment. Nonpoint source pollution has the largest impact on our water quality, because it comes from many sources like our suburban neighborhoods. Some examples include fertilizers, pesticides, dog waste, car soap, oil, grease, antifreeze, paints, sediment, and excess salt from salting the roads. When it rains, the runoff from our neighborhoods enter our stormwater drains dispersing different pollutants into our ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers leading to the Chesapeake Bay and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean, which can hurt the ecosystem and marine life.
Did you know that a single six pack plastic ring can last 400 years before it finally can decompose? And paints, oils, and grease can pollute the waters through dissipation. These pollutants along with various others can impact different wildlife through suffocation and by changing the environment’s carrying capacity to a level that the wildlife can no longer sustain. Amphibians, for example, have thinner skin than most animals and are affected by water and air pollutants, so imagine what a drop of oil or grease is going to do to a whole population of organisms.
I selected my issue, because I care about the environment, plan to pursue a related field in college, and have already begun educating others on this topic during my coursework to become a certified Fairfax Master Naturalist. While doing so I was inspired to spread the knowledge about how to prevent nonpoint source pollution and the impacts that it has on our watersheds. As I delved into research, I felt a passion in understanding the impacts of pollution and I felt driven about educating others on what society can do to help prevent it.
In conclusion, there are ways that we all can help our environment by preventing nonpoint source pollution. First, you can contact the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD) and label the stormwater drains in your neighborhood to increase awareness. Next, you could work on establishing native plants in your landscaping and minimize fertilizers and pesticides, or by purchasing household detergents and cleaners that are low in phosphorus. Also, you can dispose of used oil, antifreeze, paints and other household chemicals properly. Lastly, you can properly dispose of dog waste and litter. All of these actions help to protect the environment and our local watershed.
* The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador can earn. A Gold Award Take Action Project has national and/or global links, is sustainable, takes approximately 80 hours and addresses an issue the Girl Scout cares about.
https://fairfaxmasternaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Presentation.jpeg8091080Janet Quinnhttps://fairfaxmasternaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/VMN-Fairfax-cmyk_w223h156.jpgJanet Quinn2021-10-05 21:37:252021-10-05 21:37:26Nonpoint Source Pollution & Labeling Stormwater Drains, a Gold Award Project
Welcome to the Neabsco Creek Boardwalk, which is part of the Neabsco Regional Park in Prince William county and the site of the latest FMN hosted CE Hike. As the name implies CE Hikes are arranged around a specific educational outdoor activity and then offered to FMN members only for Continuing Education (CE) credits. The CE walk along the Neabsco Creek Boardwalk was designed as a natural history walk to collect observations and to instruct people on how to improve their photos for iNaturalist. The event was a resounding success. It was informative, it included the exciting element of discovery, and the group had fun. The group spotted dozens of Green Tree Frogs (Hyla cinerea), identified and recorded copious plants, several katydids, a hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), dragon flies, garden spider (Argiope aurantia) with egg sac, and many other plants and creatures in the time we were there.
Barbara J. Saffir
Barbara J. Saffir
An iNaturalist project was created and participants were afforded the opportunity to join and contribute photos into the project either while in the field or later after post-processing photos at home. Some of those photos are included in this article along with views from the boardwalk.
Participants were Fairfax Master Naturalists David Gorsline, Hunter Loftin, Sharon Rhoades, Diane Bowen, Jose Martinez, Harry Iredale, and Jerry Nissley along with hike leader Barbara J. Saffir. Having a group comprised of master naturalists was value added because each member was able to contribute nuggets of learned knowledge and field experience, which enhanced the learning potential of the collective.
Be on the look out for future FMN CE Hikes announced through the FMN newsletter, Facebook, and other social media. Any announcement will include an automated enrollment function for FMN members to sign up.
Axanthic Green Tree Frog – Jerry Nissley
Green Tree Frogs – Jerry Nissley
https://fairfaxmasternaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/C672DDDF-CD69-4F96-8FDD-1841AB68ED2E.jpeg15362048Jerry Nissleyhttps://fairfaxmasternaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/VMN-Fairfax-cmyk_w223h156.jpgJerry Nissley2021-09-24 14:38:562021-10-05 10:48:09Neabsco Creek Boardwalk – CE Hike
