Invasive Removal Projects at Riverbend Park, June 26th

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Photo: FMN Ana Ka’ahanui, Riverbend

 

Invasive Removal Projects @Riverbend Park

Thursday June 26, 2025
10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Riverbend Park
Get Directions 

8700 Potomac Hills St.
Great Falls, VA 22066

 

Sign-up information

Meet at the Riverbend Park Visitor Center
Riverbend Park needs your help! Join Fairfax County Park Authority for an invasive removal project this summer and help restore and preserve Riverbend’s natural resources. Enjoy a day outdoors and do some good!

Duties:
Sign up for an Invasive Removal Day! Make sure to wear and bring good outdoor-gear, long pants, boots, long-sleeve shirt, water, bug spray, and anything the weather may call for (hats, sunglasses, etc!) Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own work gloves. Students under 16 years old, must volunteer with a parent/guardian. The supervising adult may register and inform the Volunteer Coordinator that they are volunteering with a student.

Qualifications:
Must be able to walk on hilly natural trails and work outdoors. Interest in the stewardship of the county’s natural and cultural resources. Basic knowledge and identification skills of local plants helpful but not required. Volunteers may receive service hour credit. Contact Casey.Pittrizzi@fairfaxcounty.gov

Purpose:
Invasive plants are a threat to native wildlife and animals. These projects aim to control and reduce the spread of invasives of concern so that native wildflowers, plants, and trees have space to thrive. Healthy habitats have a positive ecological effect on native wildlife!

Benefits:
Hands-on experience in resource management and ecological restoration. Make a difference in the Potomac River ecosystem!

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the Park Authority. In working to ensure everyone’s safety, if you are not feeling well, please stay home!

Minimum age: 16

Latino Outdoors DMV | Birding Juntos @ Neabsco Regional Park, June 28th

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Graphic: Courtesy of Latino Outdoors DMV

Saturday, June 28, 2025
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Latino Outdoors activities are free and in service to their communities

REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Neabsco Regional Park,
15125 Blackburn Road,
Woodbridge, VA 22191

CLICK HERE FOR SPANISH VERSION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT

Join participants 9am Saturday June 28th to go bird watching and go on a nature walk in Neabsco Regional Park led by Northern Virginia Bird Alliance (NVBA) and Latino Outdoors DMV.

Beginner birders and families are welcome!

A few things to remember:

  • Don’t forget to bring comfortable clothes and shoes, sunblock, and a water bottle.

  • There will be binoculars for participants to share.

  • Snacks will be provided.

  • RSVP is required to ensure a safe and attentive leader to participant ratio.

Latino Outdoors activities are free and in service to their communities. The volunteer leaders donate time and energy to plan these experiences, paying close attention to the number of people each event can accommodate. Please honor your reservation, and if you are unable to attend an event that you signed up for, take a moment to cancel your reservation, preferably one week prior to the event, so that another community member may participate and volunteer organizers can plan accordingly. The organizers greatly appreciate it!

Any questions about the event? Contact diana.ramos@latinooutdoors.org. If you are concerned about attending an event that is publicized, please contact info@latinooutdoors.org.

From Trash to Treasure: Reconnecting with Urban Streams, July 15th

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Photo: Rebecca Hale (Credit: Kristen Goodhue)

Tuesday, July 15, 2025
7:00pm -8:30pm

Sign up on Zoom to watch live or on demand

Speaker: Rebecca Hale, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) senior scientist
We often think of cities in opposition to nature. But cities have a rich natural history, including many freshwater ecosystems. Urban streams and rivers have been used as dumps for human waste and trash and have been buried, channeled or armored to protect cities from flooding. But urban streams also provide important sources of water, spiritual values, recreation, and an opportunity to connect with nature. On July 15, urban stream ecologist Rebecca Hale will reveal how people are creating new relationships with streams and rivers that reconnect city dwellers with urban nature and each other. Part of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s 60th anniversary webinar series.

This event will be hosted entirely online, and it will be recorded. Closed captions will be available at the live event and on the recording. By signing up on Zoom, you will also receive a link to the recording a few days after the live event.

 

Butterfly Identification with Larry Meade, June 18th

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Photo: David Illig, Variegated Fritillary

Wednesday, June 18, 2025
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Virtual
FREE

Registration required

The sight of butterflies fluttering around on a warm day is one of the most iconic signs of summer. These beautiful insects usually live for only a few weeks as adults, but they make quite an impression while they are in their full glory. There is a large variety of butterfly species in our area. Larry Meade will walk   through the common species and help participants differentiate some of the trickier look-a-like species.

Participants are encouraged to register for the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) Count to be held on June 28, 8:00a AM – 1:00 PM. More info here.

A good way to prepare this program is to review Butterflies of the Mid-Atlantic, a Field Guide, by Robert Blakney and Judy Gallagher. Judy Gallagher is a member of the NVBA Board, and the field guide is available for purchase on the NVBA website.

Larry Meade is president of the Northern Virginia Bird Club and a member of the NVBA Adult Education Committee. He is a frequent bird walk leader and has been involved in numerous Audubon Christmas Bird Counts and NABA Butterfly Counts. He is the compiler of the Alexandria Circle NABA Butterfly Count in September.

Register here -This program is FREE.

Manassas Bee Festival Saturday, 6/21/25

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Photo: Courtesy of Jane E. Ogilvie

Saturday June 21, 2025
10:00am – 2:00pm

FREE annual event!

Location: Liberia House and Grounds
8601 Portner Avenue
Manassas City

Join thousands of visitors and buzz on by to have fun and learn about honeybees, native pollinators, and planting native plants at this FREE annual event!

Look at the fun and educational activities that are planned in the City of Manassas!

Sign-up to join as a vendor, sponsor, speaker, or volunteer:

. Dress like a pollinator and join the costume parade
. Learn the waggle dance and try the spelling bee for prizes
. Local honey
. Community apiary of honeybee hives plus native bee houses
. Vendors galore
. Farm animals
. Food trucks
. Mead garden
. Bounce house, games, crafts
. Live music
. Bee, pollinator, healthy living, and native plant experts
. Plenty of parking with tractor and wagon rides
. Historic Liberia House with large trees, native gardens, park trails
. NEW 2K Honey Hike starting at Manassas Museum Lawn. Donate $20 to hike, local honey, and Adopt-a-Bee. Or just join for a walk (No sign-up required)!

Thank you to the City of Manassas, Liberia House and Grounds, and Sponsors, Supporters, Partners and Friends for their support!  Bee City USA!

Fairfax County Park Authority Awarded Grant To Enhance Invasive Species Management

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Photo: Fairfax County Park Authority – Invasive vines and plants

The Fairfax County Park Authority FCPA, a core member of the National Capital – Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (Nat-Cap PRISM), has been awarded a grant from the Virginia Department of Forestry. The grant, part of the FY25 Virginia PRISM Support for Invasive Species Program, will provide $60,827 to manage invasive species across FCPA parkland. The funds must be used by the end of June 2025.

The funding will support the Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) program, an initiative designed to identify and control new populations of invasive plant species before they become established and cause ecological harm. Target species include fountain grass (Cenchrus purpurascens), yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon), Java water dropwort (Oenanthe javanica) and floating primrose willow (Ludwigia peploides).

The EDRR approach focuses on surveys to detect newly arriving, rapidly spreading invasive plants. Once identified, these species are quickly targeted for removal by volunteers or contractors, preventing them from outcompeting native flora and disrupting local ecosystems. The project Invader Detectives, using the iNaturalist app, allows anyone to add observations of plants, alerting FCPA ecologists to new invasive species.

This grant will enable FCPA and its partners to expand surveys, map occurrences of priority EDRR invasive species and conduct timely eradication efforts. The initiative builds on the ongoing work of the Invasive Management Area Program, which is primarily a volunteer-based habitat restoration program.

For more information about the EDRR program and how to get involved, visit the Fairfax County Park Authority’s IMA webpage. 

 

Trail Care Academy: In-Person Maintenance Workshop, July 12th (Registration mid June)

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Photo: Ly Le, National Park Service

Saturday, July 12th, 2025
8:30 am – 12:30 PM

Location: Turkey Run Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway
*Exact location details will be provided following registration

 

Please keep a lookout for registration details for the in-person, half-day workshop event on Saturday, July 12th in mid-June.

Announcing  Trail Care Academy‘s in-person, half-day workshop on Saturday, July 12th from 8:30 am – 12:30 PM at Turkey Run Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway. This event will guide participants on tools and techniques for key maintenance topics, including:
  • Trail safety
  • Vegetation management
  • Tread drainage and water dynamics
  • Blazing
  • Blowdown reporting

Further details, including materials to bring and final workshop agendas, will be provided following registration confirmation and closer to the workshop dates. Please note that signing a waiver will be required, as is the use of a supplied hard hat and eye protection. Registration opening in mid-June! Check website page.

Please feel free to contact Rebecca Murphy if you have any questions regarding the workshops or broader Trail Care Academy programming.

Rebecca Murphy
Coastal Program Manager
Northern Virginia Regional Commission 

Phone: 703 – 642 – 4625

Stream Monitoring Citizen Science & Training Opportunities, May and June Dates Available

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Photo: By FMN J. Quinn, Stream monitoring

Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD) Spring stream monitoring season is in full swing! They hope you’ll be able to join them at one of the upcoming stream monitoring workshops.

Are you interested in obtaining a Virginia Save Our Streams Stream Monitoring certification? This certification is not required for the workshops, but it allows you to monitor your own site if you wish. The certification consists of three parts – watching online webinars, passing an online macroinvertebrate ID exam, and taking an in-person field protocols exam.

Field Certification Event at Cub Run

When: Sunday, June 1, 3:00-6:00pm
Where: Cub Run Stream Valley Park, Centreville

To qualify for your field protocol exam, you must have passed the online macroinvertebrate ID test and have attended at least 1-2 stream monitoring sessions. Learn more about the VASOS Stream Monitoring certification here. For questions or to register, please email Ashley. Please DO NOT sign up for the field certification event using the general workshop signup below – the field certification event and workshop will run concurrently, but registration is separate. Thanks!

Pohick Creek Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Thursday, May 29, 4:00-7:00pm
Where: Pohick Creek Stream Valley Park, Springfield

The stream monitoring site on Pohick Creek is located on the cross-county trail, popular with runners, dog walkers, and families. This is the largest and deepest stream monitored in these public workshops. This is an accessible stream site, which can be reached by wheelchair and/or other assistive tools over a paved path (there may be some uneven spots). Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

 

Cub Run Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Sunday, June 1, 3:00-6:00pm
Where: Cub Run Stream Valley Park, Centreville

This site features some of the largest hellgrammites we find in Fairfax County! (Haven’t heard of them? Be sure to research this super cool macroinvertebrate!). Just a stone’s throw from the parking area, this site is very popular, and you can certainly see why! Learn more and register for this workshop and others here. Want to get your stream monitoring certification here? Please email Ashley instead of registering.

 

Accotink Creek Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Wednesday, June 11, 4:00-7:00pm
Where: Long Branch Stream Valley Park, Fairfax

Help explore this new stream site! Adopted this spring, this stream is tiny but mighty. Monitors found a lot of diverse macroinvertebrate populations the last time we visited this site! This site is located within a short walk from the parking area over a paved trail. Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

 

Sugarland Run Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Saturday, June 14, 9:00am-12:00pm
Where: Sugarland Run Stream Valley Park, Herndon

This site is located near one of the largest great blue heron rookeries (breeding/nesting areas) in the eastern US. Monitors often find plenty of newly hatched young crayfish in the spring. This is also the most accessible stream site, which can be easily reached by wheelchair and/or other assistive tools over a paved path. Learn more and register for this workshop and others here.

 

The NVSWCD is very excited to contribute their stream data to state and national datasets. If you’d like to see data from all the NVSWCD regional stream monitoring team’s active sites, you can find the organization on the Clean Water Hub.

For The Spring FMN Basic Training Students, DIRT Was a BIG Deal!

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Photos: Provided by the 2025 FMN Students in the Spring FMN Basic Training Session – Riverbend Field Trip

If the purpose of a field trip is to provide students with a hands-on, experiential learning opportunity outside of the classroom, then the May 5th trip to Riverbend Park was certainly a success.

The park, located along the Potomac River in Great Falls, provided an opportunity to learn about the geology of the Potomac Gorge. Riverbend was a uniquely suitable site for the students to explore and observe the concepts presented in the Geology/Soils portion of the training. The FMN Instructors and field trip leaders, Geologist Cynde Sears – Geology, and Soil Scientist Dan Schwartz – Soils, are both very accomplished and skillful guides, who can take the classroom curriculum to the field in a way that was engaging, relatable, and at times, exciting. This was certainly the case when it came to understanding the formation and composition of soil. Cynde Sears explained how over millions of years, rock, composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, is broken down into soil by the chemical processes of lichen. Dan Schwartz described how soil is composed of varying amounts of sand, silt, clay and a surface area of rich organic material forming layers or horizons.  The class took soil samples from a low-lying moist area away from the trail. For these students, dirt was a BIG deal, and their energy was fun to share. The attached pictures are a testament to their enthusiasm and understanding of the concepts.

 

The lighter, grainier samples are from the deeper sections of the samples (containing more sand and silt), whereas the darker, thicker samples are from the upper layers (containing more clay and organic material).

Butterfly and Dragonfly Surveys, April-October

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Photos: Top: L-R Sam Schaen – Monarch Butterfly, Juan Gonzalez, Peck’s Skipper
Bottom: L-R Photo by Ana Ka’ahanui – Halloween pennant dragonfly, Ana Ka’ahanui -Blue Dasher dragonfly

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

The results of these surveys are made available to the participants and other interested individuals and agencies, including the Fairfax County Park Authority, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, and agencies of the U.S. Interior Department. The results of the butterfly-dragonfly surveys are summarized, along with the results of the general surveys, in an annual report.

 

Survey: Occoquan Regional Park Butterfly and Dragonfly
Friday, May 30, 2025
8:30 AM 12:00 PM
Occoquan Regional Park
9751 Ox Road, Lorton, VA, 22079 United States

Participation is limited. Email us to make a reservation here.

Survey: Metz Wetlands Butterfly and Dragonfly
Friday, May 23, 2025
8:30 AM 12:00 PM
Metz Wetlands
15875 Neabsco Road Woodbridge, VA, 22191 United States

Participation is limited. Email us to make a reservation here.

Survey: Meadowood Butterfly and Dragonfly Survey
Friday, June 6, 2025
8:30 AM 12:00 PM
Meadowood Recreation Area
10406 Gunston Road Lorton, VA, 22079 United States

Participation is limited. Email us to make a reservation here.

Survey: Occoquan Bay NWR Butterfly and Dragonfly
Friday, June 13, 2025
8:30 AM 12:00 PM
Occoquan Bay NWR
13950 Dawson Beach Road Woodbridge, VA, 22191 United States

Participation is limited. Email us to make a reservation here.