Ranger at the Refuge: Tundra Swans, Dec 7th (Other Dates Available)

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Photo: Courtesy of Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge

Where

Mason Neck State Park, 7301 High Point Rd., Lorton, VA 22079.
Woodmarsh Trail Observation Deck at Elizabeth Hartwell Refuge

When

Dec. 7, 2024. 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Tundra Swans are known for their striking white plumage and long, graceful necks, making them a favorite among birdwatchers. Each year, these incredible birds undertake a remarkable migration from their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra to warmer winter habitats. Along the way, they face numerous challenges, including harsh weather and finding suitable feeding areas. During your visit, you’ll learn about their impressive strength and stamina as they fly thousands of miles to return to the tundra they call home.

Meet rangers stationed at the observation decks at the Woodmarsh Trail within the Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge. The Woodmarsh Trail offers a scenic 2.5-mile loop that winds through diverse habitats, providing the perfect backdrop for bird watching.

Other details

Standard parking or admission fee applies: No.
Extra fee: No.
Registration required: No.
Children welcome: Yes.
Phone: 703-339-2385
Email Address: [email protected]

Event types

National Events | Outdoor/Nature/Natural History

Additional dates

Ranger at the Refuge: Tundra Swans – Dec. 8, 2024. 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Ranger at the Refuge: Tundra Swans – Dec. 21, 2024. 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Ranger at the Refuge: Tundra Swans – Dec. 22, 2024. 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Rangers at the Refuge: Tundra Swans – Jan. 1, 2025. 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Ranger at the Refuge: Tundra Swans – Jan. 4, 2025. 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Ranger at the Refuge: Tundra Swans – Jan. 5, 2025. 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Ranger at the Refuge: Tundra Swans – Jan. 18, 2025. 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Ranger at the Refuge: Tundra Swans – Jan. 19, 2025. 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Nature Jobs With The Fairfax County Park Authority

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Photo: Courtesy of The FCPA, Nature and History Jobs

The Resource Management Division of the Fairfax County Park Authority serves the community through nature and culture at nine diverse parks. Build your career through education and stewardship of natural and cultural resources at a nature center, historic site, working historic farm or public garden.

The employment opportunities are as varied as the resources the FCPA protect. The roles include visitor services, program leadership, resource management and protection, and building and grounds maintenance. At all levels of the organization from manager to intern, the experience of the visitor is key. Join the FCPA teams to share your passion for nature, history, farming or gardening as an employee in the Resource Management Division.

View the various positions and application details here!

Wayside interpretive Signage Project Intern

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Photo: Courtesy of FCPA Wayside Interpretive Signage

Wayside interpretive Signage Project Intern 

The Park Authority is currently undergoing a revamping of the signage displayed across county parks. The role of this position is to aid in the research, development, and creation of these interpretive signs. At a higher level, the purpose is to enhance park visitors’ experiences and education opportunities through signage, to help preserve and protect our natural and cultural resources.

Description:Use your creative skills to share the beauty and importance of Fairfax County’s natural and cultural resources with park visitors through the development of interpretive signage.

Duties can include: Supporting project lead in researching different kinds of interpretive signs. Gain experience with GIS database to assess the inventory and status of signs across the county parks.  Intern will, under guidance, select a specific topic, research, write text, choose graphics, and/or take photographs for a chosen sign, resulting in a finished product. Learn government procurement policies. Assist in developing a long-term plan for county wide assessment, upkeep, and replacement of signage. Projects may require visits to parks to assess locations and measure existing signs.

Skill development:database management skills, project management skills, resume building, completed project, training in cultural and natural history interpretation, and interpretive sign design.

Compensation: Interns will be temporary, part-time employees of the Fairfax County Park Authority. Compensation is $16.49 per hour for up to 300 hours. Start and end dates are negotiable.

Hours:  Variable. 5 hours per week (minimum) (telework not an option.) Three workdays required with times negotiable.

Start Date: No later than February 1st. End Date: Variable, end of May.

Requirements:  Microsoft Office skills including Word and Excel. Applicants must be enrolled in a two- or four-year nature/history, education, interpretation, outdoor recreation, or similar degree program, and have their own transportation. Applicants must have the ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.

Preferred Qualifications: Experience with data collection and reporting or using GIS mapping systems. Be skilled in writing for educational purposes or have experience with project planning.

Note: This position may not exceed 900 hours per calendar year. Individuals in these positions are not eligible for benefits and are not eligible to earn leave or receive holiday pay.

To apply: Send your resume to [email protected].

Necessary Special Requirements: 

  • The appointee to this position will be required to complete a criminal background check to the satisfaction of the employer.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to [email protected]. 

 Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contact 703-324-4900 for assistance. TTY 703-222-7314. EEO/AA/TTY.  

Fairfax County Park Authority prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.  

 

Apply to be a SERC Summer 2025 Intern, Deadline February 15, 2025

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Photo: SERC

Are you looking to gain hands-on experience in environmental research, participatory science, or science communication? Apply to be a Summer 2025 Intern at Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)!

As an intern, you will complete an independent project over 10-16 weeks and gain hands-on experience in environmental research and public engagement. You’ll also have the chance to be a part of the SERC community: attending seminars, public outreach events, experiential fieldtrips, and more!

If you have any questions, contact Heather Richardson, SERC’s Intern and Fellows Coordinator ([email protected]).

Deadline to apply is February 15, 2024.

Building Back Bird Diversity: Best Management Practices That Really Work!, Webinar, December 17th

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Graphic: Evan Barrientos/Audubon

Tuesday, December 17, 2024
7 – 8 pm
Register here.

Join Northern Virginia Bird Alliance for Justin Proctor’s presentation on bird-friendly best management practices to apply across rural, suburban, and urban landscapes. His talk will explore strategies, technical assistance, and cost-share programs that can greatly simplify and accelerate your adopting and putting into effect practices that increase habitat and biodiversity on your property. Specific practices to be covered include how to convert lawns into functional grasslands, transitioning to zero emission landscaping equipment, reducing and refining landscape management, dark skies lighting, and many more.

Justin Proctor is a conservation biologist with the Smithsonian’s Virginia Working Landscapes program. He is based in Front Royal, VA. He coordinates the Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative, working to assist producers and landowners in adopting a suite of best management practices for bird conservation on their landscapes. Justin has spent 15+ years working in the fields of science, education, and conservation, affording him opportunities to conduct ornithological research across the western hemisphere. Justin is excited to be a part of an initiative that takes science and turns it into action that benefits biodiversity, landscape resiliency, farmer livelihoods, and local communities.

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.

Submit Photos to Virginia Wildlife’s Photography Showcase!

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Image: Courtesy of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR)

The Annual Photography Showcase is offered each year as a way to recognize the rich heritage of Virginia’s wildlife and natural resources and pay tribute to the mission of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR).

Images will be chosen by the editorial staff from those submitted via our online link, available now! Selected images will appear in the July/August 2025 issue, although some entries may appear on the DWR website, blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter sites to promote the mission of the agency and advertise future photography showcases. Promotional usage rights must be available to Virginia Wildlife staff and the Department’s webmaster.

AGAIN THIS YEAR! The DWR will choose the photo to use on the cover of the 2026 Virginia Wildlife Calendar from the photos submitted to the 2025 Virginia Wildlife Photography Showcase Issue! The Virginia Wildlife Calendar has become iconic and is sold and distributed to thousands in Virginia and across the United States. The DWR source calendar photos from professional wildlife photographers, but they wanted to give Virginia Wildlife Photography Showcase photographers the chance to be included as well.

There is no separate category for the calendar cover; DWR will select the winning image from entrants to the usual categories for the Photography Showcase Issue, and all entry rules and directions apply.

Here are some guidance on what type of image will work on the calendar cover:

The calendar dimensions are 10″ x 14″, horizontal format. Please do not crop your image too tightly. The image must have 3 to 4 inches of “clean” space at the bottom, so the logo is easily readable.

Please make sure your file is at least 300ppi and can be made into the above-mentioned size without any resulting pixelation. The image must be sharp to begin with, so please do not over-sharpen, as this will disqualify the image. Also, do not over-saturate color of the image.

We will be looking for fauna for their cover, and they do not repeat species in close succession. They are looking for colorful, eye-catching, and dynamic images, so give the DWR your best shot! Good luck! Submissions must be uploaded by 5:00 PM on Monday, February 10, 2025.

Categories:

  • Virginia Fauna: Native mammals and birds (game and nongame), insects, reptiles and amphibians, underwater images of fish and aquatic life.
  • Textures & Patterns: Abstract designs, textures, and patterns found in nature. Make us guess what it is!
  • Trail-Cam Images: Images captured on trail cameras that reveal something interesting or funny about the subject.
  • Explore the Wild: Images captured on public lands found through the DWR Explore the Wild online tool, such as DWR Wildlife Management Areas, Virginia Bird and Wildlife Trail sites, and state and local parks. Entries to this category can include photos of wildlife, native plants, and textures and patterns. Entries in this category MUST specify in the description at which public land the image was taken.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR ENTRY AND SUBMISSION DETAILS!!!!

Virginia Working Landscapes (VWL) 2025 Internship Opportunities!

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Image: Virginia Working Landscapes and Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Virginia Working Landscapes (VWL) is a program of Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) that promotes the conservation of native biodiversity and sustainable land use through research, education, and community engagement. Interns will have a unique opportunity to develop skills in wildlife biodiversity research, native species conservation, and sustainable land use practices on Virginia’s working landscapes, while connecting with professionals in the Smithsonian’s network.

Benefits of interning with VWL: 

  • Participation in current research on grassland biodiversity in Virginia.
  • Participation in multiple projects that will reinforce their skills in biodiversity monitoring and conservation.
  • Connections with partnering conservation organizations working in various areas of conservation.
  • Exchange of ideas with researchers in different science areas at NZCBI.
  • Participation in seminars, VWL workshops and events, and other educational activities at NZCBI.

They are currently accepting applications for an Avian Point Count Internship, Grassland Plant Ecology Internship, Cavity-Nesting Birds & Arthropod Research Internship, and Conservation Storytelling Internship!

Please click here to learn about each position and how to apply.

At VWL, they value the strength that comes from a variety of perspectives and experiences, and we are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive space for our entire team. As such, we encourage individuals from all races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and socioeconomic backgrounds to apply for our internship opportunities. 

Extension Master Naturalists Offer Forest Therapy Experiences to Help with Stress Relief

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Photo by Stacey Remick-Simkins

What’s shinrin-yoku, you might ask?

Christie Culliton has written a wonderfully informative article about the Japanese art of forest bathing – or taking in your natural surroundings using the five senses to help reduce stress levels.

Autumn is the perfect time to get out and enjoy the changing leaf colors and unplug with a shinrin-yoku experience in your local forest.

Virginia Cooperative Extension trains and supports 30 Virginia Master Naturalist chapters around the state who lead forest bathing experiences as one of their many volunteer programs, in addition to providing education, outreach, and service to benefit natural areas and natural resources in their communities.

Learn more through Extension’s publication about shinrin-yoku and stress reduction. Give yourself a five-minute forest therapy break with this video explaining more about shinrin-yoku.

Contact your local Master Naturalist Program to find out if forest bathing experiences are offered in your area.