Green Spring Gardens

Green Spring Garden Seeking Gardeners

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Photo: Courtesy of Green Springs Garden

Join the Green Spring Gardeners to help keep them growing and enhance garden grounds for visitor enjoyment and education. Additional volunteer gardeners are welcome to help the horticulture teams. As a volunteer gardener, you will assist with all phases of gardening including propagation, transplanting, mulching, weeding, watering and harvesting.

Qualifications:

  • Basic horticulture knowledge
  • Previous hands-on gardening experience
  • Interest in the stewardship of the county’s natural and cultural resources
  • Gardening requires lifting, bending, and stooping (you should be able to lift 25-30 lbs)
  • You will work in teams, so it is important that you work well with others and maintain a positive attitude
  • Minimum age: 18

If selected as a volunteer, you will be required to attend a site orientation and on-the-job training as required. Mandatory Volunteer Outdoor Safety and Power Tools/Equipment Training will be provided.

Hours of operation are on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Volunteer gardeners would commit to three hours per week for a period of four months.

Location: 4603 Green Spring Rd, Alexandria, VA 22312

You can sign up through the Volunteer Fairfax Site: https://volunteer.fairfaxcounty.gov/custom/1380/opp_details/187124

For more information about Green Spring Gardens: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/green-spring

Project Learning Tree – How to get Involved

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Project Learning Tree® (PLT) is an international program that works with thousands of teachers each year, giving them award-winning environmental education curriculum materials and training to help them weave the environment into their everyday lesson plans and take their students outdoors to learn.

Virginia PLT is sponsored by the Virginia Department of Forestry, Virginia Forestry Association, and the Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources & the Environment. Project Learning Tree is one of the cornerstone environmental education curricula and its current guides contain activities that are engaging, hands-on, & aligned with the state’s education standards.

VMN is working to build volunteer involvement in Project Learning Tree, which is a fantastic environmental education curriculum for youth. Involvement by VMN volunteers can include taking the PLT educator workshop (learning to use the curriculum for youth programs), taking the PLT facilitator training (learning to train other educators, such as fellow VMN volunteers in how to use the curriculum), facilitating programs for youth using the curriculum, and/or giving training workshops for other educators (for those who complete the facilitator training.)

To this end, our FMN Chapter has approved PLT as a CE Provider and established Activity Service code E003: Project Learning Tree Facilitator.
FMN CE hours may be recorded for taking the required training and then service hours may be recorded for actually preparing material and teaching the curriculum.

Project Learning Tree has two components where VMNs can be involved:

1. The educator workshops are eligible for continuing education hours per the discretion of the local chapter. Those are offered around the state at various times throughout the year.

2. Part two is adding an Outreach service code for trained PLT instructors for when they actually teach course criteria. They can’t teach until they have been trained. PLT sessions could be arranged with schools or county nature centers.

Educator Workshops may also be arranged for a specific chapter, which segues to the ‘big ask’ of this article. FMN Wendy Cohen, is a certified facilitator and has volunteered to lead a workshop for our chapter. PLT likes to have at least ten people attend these workshops. Because of the preparation required to develop a chapter workshop, FMN would like to gauge the potential interest of our membership.

FMN is targeting the workshop for the February/March 2025 timeframe.

FMN is not asking for a commitment at this time but if there is potential interest on your part to participate in a workshop, please respond with a ‘Yes, I am interested in a workshop in [Feb or Mar or either]’ to the following email address:

Jerry Nissley (Hours co-chair) – [email protected]

Results will be communicated in January 2025.

Acknowledgements:

Cover photo by Kara Zimmerman – Bigleaf Magnolia leaf found by Isaac. Kids love nature programs.

Difficult Run Stream Valley Park Habitat Restoration in Oakton! December 7th

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Photo: FMN J. Quinn

Saturday 7, 2024
2:00pm – 4:00pm

Sign-up information

Oakmont Rec Center
3200 Jermantown Rd, Oakton

 

Did you know that invasive plants are a huge threat to local wildlife, including migrating birds? Help out these creatures by volunteering to remove invasive plants and restore habitat!

Through removal of invasive plants, you’ll help restore natural habitats for wildlife in Fairfax County, while spending time outdoors & meeting new people. All ages are welcome. Meet in the parking lot of Oakmont Rec Center, 3200 Jermantown Rd, Oakton

Additional Information

Duties:
Volunteers will manually remove invasive plants and plant native species. Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the Park Authority. In working to ensure everyone’s safety, we are following current CDC guidelines. If you are not feeling well, please stay home!

Qualifications:
No prior experience necessary, a short training and introduction will be provided at the beginning of every opportunity. Registration for IMA workdays must be submitted by 3pm on the Friday prior to a weekend workday and by 12pm on the day prior to a weekday workday. Volunteers 11 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Purpose:
To restore parkland through the removal of invasive plants and planting of native species.

Benefits:
Volunteers will immediately be able to see how their efforts have had a positive impact on parkland. Volunteers will make parks they volunteer at more aesthetically pleasing and improve the quality of habitat for local wildlife.

Help Tackle Invasive Plants, Dec. 7th and 21st

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Photo: Ned Stone, A Dyke Marsh inlet.

 

Saturdays, Dec. 7th and 21st, 2024
10:00 am to 12:00pm

If you wish to participate, please send an email to [email protected]

Meet at the Haul Road trail entrance bench.

Haul Road Trail directions and parking: GPS coordinates: 38.777739, -77.050540 South of Alexandria off the GW Memorial Parkway at
the sign for Dyke Marsh Nature Preserve and Belle Haven Marina. Click here for directions.

Help protect native plants by pulling and clipping invasive plants. Members of the FODM will train volunteers to identify the five or so target plants. They kindly ask that you not bring pets. Invasive plants can threaten and outcompete native plants.

Bring gloves, hand clippers and water. Instructions, examples and trash bags will be provided.  Wear long sleeves and pants and sun protection. Some tools will be available to share. They will cancel if lightning or severe storms are anticipated.

For sessions beginning at 10 a.m., if it is raining at or after 9 a.m. on the day of the session, the session will be cancelled.

For more information: Volunteer/Help – Friends of Dyke Marsh

Help Northern Virginia Bird Alliance Plant Natives Donated by Earth Sangha, November 20th and 23rd

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Photo: Donated plants, Bill Browning

Earth Sangha is a key partner in the Stretch Our Parks habitat restoration corridor currently active between Upton Hill Regional Park and the Dominion Hills Area Recreation Association. They made a sizable donation of wild plants to the project and Northern Virginia Bird Alliance needs to get these youngsters in the ground! Please come help build deer exclosure cages and plant these gifts. Sign up, and get more details, via the links below.

Lockwood/Elmwood Senior Housing Complex (Wednesday, November 20, Meet at 8:50 AM)

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050D48AFAC23A6F85-46970234-invasive#/

Dominion Hills Area Recreation Association (Saturday, November 23, Meet at 9:00 AM)

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040A4BA9A92CA31-powhatan1#/

Hidden Oaks Seeks Party Volunteers; Training October 26th or 27th

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Photo: Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

Hidden Oaks Nature Center
7701 Royce Street, Annandale VA
Training: Saturday, October 26, 2024 Noon – 1:30 pm
OR Sunday, October 27, 2024 3 – 4:30 pm

Hidden Oaks Nature Center (Annandale) is looking for volunteers to help with birthday party nature programs on weekends, mornings or afternoons. Birthday parties are generally held on Saturdays and Sundays, at 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-3:30 p.m.

Join them to learn more about this fun volunteer role at Hidden Oaks. Whether you’re newly interested in becoming a volunteer at our birthday party programs or have been doing them for a while, this training is important to learn of some new processes and activities that they will be implementing at the parties.

Hidden Oaks is excited to roll out their eco-friendly, low-waste birthday party option where party guests can use the center’s re-usable dish ware; you’ll be an integral part of making this environmentally sustainable initiative work. They’re also streamlining their outside on-the-trail time with new scavenger hunts that volunteers can lead, so you’ll get to lead a naturalist activity if you’re comfortable. All are invited to come learn about the expectations and opportunities for the Birthday Party Volunteer role on Saturday, October 26 from noon to 1:30 p.m. OR Sunday, October 27 from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

Please RSVP to [email protected].

Photo: Fairfax County Park Authority

Hidden Oaks Habitat Management Work Day, November 9th

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Saturday, November 9, 2024
9 am – 12 pm
Hidden Oaks Nature Center
7701 Royce St., Annandale VA

Help Hidden Oaks get rid of invasive plant species! After a brief introduction on how to identify specific plant species of concern, how to remove them, and why they’re doing this, participants will split up into groups and tackle designated areas of the park.  Bring work gloves and clippers if you have them, wear sturdy shoes, and dress for the weather. They’ll provide trash bags; restrooms available.

Canceled if inclement weather.  Contact Kristina Watts at [email protected] or 703-941-1065 to let her know you’re coming.

October Citizen Science Survey Opportunities: Butterflies and Dragonflies

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Photo by Ana Ka’ahanui, Halloween pennant dragonfly

Butterfly and dragonfly surveys are carried out in temperate months (April-October), normally on Friday mornings, at one of four sites around Occoquan Bay, all within the 15-mile diameter circle established for the annual North American Butterfly Association’s Annual Count.

Survey: Occoquan Bay NWR Butterfly and Dragonfly

Friday, October 4, 2024
8:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Occoquan Bay NWR
13950 Dawson Beach Road
Woodbridge, VA, 22191

Survey: Metz Wetlands Butterfly and Dragonfly

Friday, October 11, 2024
8:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Metz Wetlands
15875 Neabsco Road
Woodbridge, VA, 22191

Survey: Occoquan Regional Park Butterfly and Dragonfly

 

Friday, October 18, 2024
8:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Occoquan Regional Park
9751 Ox Road
Lorton, VA, 22079

Survey: Dyke Marsh Butterfly and Dragonfly Survey

 

Wednesday, October 23, 2024
8:30 AM 12:00 PM

Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve
George Washington Memorial Parkway and Tulane Drive
Belle Haven, VA, 22307

 

Survey: Meadowood Butterfly and Dragonfly Survey

 

Friday, October 25, 2024
8:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Meadowood Recreation Area
10406 Gunston Road
Lorton, VA, 22079

George Mason University Forager’s Forest, October 11th

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Photo by: Ayman Rashid/Creative Services/George Mason University -Fruits of labor

Friday, October 11, 2024
4:00 PM – 6:30 PM

Anyone interested in volunteering should register for shifts on the University Sustainability volunteer portal (you will need to create an account, but it’s easy): https://gmufacilities.knack.com/sustainability-volunteer#my-events/

Project Description
Help sustain a new food forest on Mason campus! The stewardship activities will focus on the Foragers’ Forest and nearby riparian forest at George Mason University’s Fairfax campus. This includes weeding, mulching, planting, etc. in the Foragers’ Forest; and invasive plant removal in the riparian forest.

The Foragers’ Forest is a 100% locally native food forest that was installed in 2023 by Mason students and faculty. The space can best be described as part food forest, part rewilding experiment as it incorporates the Miyawaki method of reforestation. The Foragers’ Forest is adjacent to a recently restored stream and riparian buffer forest.

Important Information for Volunteers
Volunteers should wear pants, long sleeves, and closed toed shoes, and bring water. You may bring your own gardening gloves and loppers/pruners if you have them. We’ll provide gloves and tools if you don’t have them.

Volunteers will meet at one of the Forager’s Forest groves. The groves are located directly across the street from the Aquia Building (4461 Aquia Creek Lane, Fairfax, VA 22030) in the large lawn area. If you have trouble finding he location, call Sarah at 832-917-4024.

The best nearby parking option is the Mason Pond parking deck. Please note this is paid parking and we’re not able to cover parking costs. We will cancel the shift in the event of dangerous weather during the shift (e.g., thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail, extreme heat, etc). We’ll try to notify you as soon as possible if we’re cancelling for weather. 

FMN Activity Code Catalog Updates

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A few changes were recently made to the catalog of Activity Codes volunteers use to record service hours. Oh man – I can feel the eyes rolling now! Bear with me … it’s not that bad. Only two new codes, with one prompting a few others to be renamed to align code names with functionality. And of course, a few activity titles required updates because of the recent name change of Audubon Society of Northern Virginia to Northern Virginia Bird Alliance. Both new codes and all name changes mentioned below are in effect as you read this article.

The Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy unveils it’s Forragers’ Forest at the Forest Walk. Photo by: Ayman Rashid/Creative Services/George Mason University

The first new code is S600: George Mason University Stewardship Projects, created under Habitat Creation and Restoration. The focus of this activity is to help maintain the GMU Foraging Forest by promoting sustainable gardening. In part, these unique habitats contain a native food forest and a riparian forest. Both require planting native forbs, graminoids, herbaceous and woody plants, weeding, mulching, and other standard demonstration garden maintenance practices. Additional activity details are found in the BI activity code description, along with how to register for work days. Since this is a collaboration, registration will be facilitated via a GMU signup link found in the BI activity description. Go to the Opportunities List in BI to find the description.

This activity is a first for FMN, in that, it is a collaborative effort between the GMU campus community, ARMN, and FMN.

The second new activity code is also catalogued under Habitat Creation and Restoration. This activity was created to group stewardship activities for sites within the municipality of Fairfax City:
S210: Fairfax City Stewardship Projects — City of Fairfax
Description – This service code covers a broad range of activities associated with the creation and preservation of natural resources on City of Fairfax municipal grounds and within City of Fairfax Parks and Rec domain.
S210 code has a link in the description that points to Fairfax City Parks and Rec site, to easily identify Fairfax City park names

Because of the new code for Fairfax City, it made sense to rename a few other existing activity codes to simplify locating stewardship activities for all independent municipalities in Fairfax County.
Municipality Codes : (old name followed by *new name)
S124: Restoration of Vienna Township Parks — Town of Vienna
*S124: Vienna Township Stewardship Projects — Town of Vienna

S200: Falls Church Habitat Restoration — City of Falls Church
*S200: Falls Church City Stewardship Projects — City of Falls Church

S303: Habitat Creation and Restoration — City of Alexandria
*S303: Alexandria City Stewardship Projects — City of Alexandria

S215: Arlington County Park Stewardship Projects — Arlington County
*S215: Arlington County Stewardship Projects — Arlington County

Inactivated:
S199: Stewardship Projects at Long Branch Nature Center — Arlington County
(Merged with S215: Arlington County Stewardship Projects — Arlington County)

E253: Leading Reston Dragonfly Class & Count — Reston Association
(Zero hours in 2024; merged with E150: Walker Nature Center – – Reston Association)

NVBA logo – courtesy of NVBA

Northern Virginia Bird Alliance (NVBA)

Activity Code names required change due to the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) name change to Northern Virginia Bird Alliance. Basically, the acronym ‘NVBA’ replaced ‘ASNV’ in activity names along with similar description updates. No code numbers were changed. Please read the new descriptions to see updates.
Birds
C029: NVBA Christmas Bird Counts — Northern Virginia Bird Alliance
C036: NVBA Waterfowl Count — Northern Virginia Bird Alliance
Community Outreach
E117: NVBA Education and Outreach Projects — Northern Virginia Bird Alliance

Wildlife Surveys

C205: NVBA Wildlife, Bird, and Insect Surveys – – Northern Virginia Bird Alliance

In addition, two codes that formerly addressed ASNV’s Audubon at Home functions were modified. Collectively, ‘Audubon at Home’ is now referred to as ‘NVBA Wildlife Sanctuary Program’.
Community Outreach
E208: NVBA Wildlife Sanctuary Program Directors & Coordinators — Northern Virginia Bird Alliance
Habitat Creation and Restoration
E030: NVBA Wildlife Sanctuary Program Ambassadors — Northern Virginia Bird Alliance

There you have it – a summary for membership’s awareness. There is no action required by volunteers. No need to move hours or anything like that because none of the code numbers changed.

No Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) or Fairfax County codes were changed during this realignment exercise.

Annually, a majority of FMN volunteer hours are contributed to our parks, county, and municipal facilities. Hopefully, these changes help simplify locating stewardship activity codes for the independent municipalities in Fairfax County. This code realignment also helps FMN provide accurate annual reporting that reflects how we support our community and important chapter partners.

Acknowledgments:

Liz Train and Tom Blackburn: content for NVBA.

Cover photo: “a new day dawns” by Jerry Nissley