Posts

Volunteers needed for the 2019 Mason Bee Monitoring Project

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Kate LeCroy, graduate student at the University of Virginia, is recruiting participants for

Horn face mason bee

her 2019 Mason Bee Monitoring Project.  She is looking for people across all of Virginia to join in monitoring efforts for March – May 2019. Fill out this interest form to be considered for the 2019 Monitoring Project, and feel free to share with friends, fellow Virginia Master Naturalists, and neighbors: https://goo.gl/forms/cg4DTkALU4YpuYd22

Kate produced a video to share the data she has so far from the 2017 monitoring, as well as outline the timeline for getting the rest of the data for our projects. You can listen to and watch the webinar recording here in a video: https://video.vt.edu/media/VMN+CE+WebinarA+Mason+Bee+Project+Update/1_7c7dqr9a

You can contact Kate at masonbeemonitoring@gmail.com.

(Fairfax Master Naturalists,  record your hours as C252: Native Blue Orchard Bee Monitoring Campaign.)

Spotted Skunk Survey

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Photo by Emily Thorne, VT.

Eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) populations are believed to have declined throughout much of their range in the eastern United States since the 1940s. Hypothesized declines have been attributed to habitat loss or change, increased competition with sympatric carnivore species, or diseases.

Lack of information regarding the spatial distribution and habitat associations of the eastern spotted skunk in Virginia dictates the need for increased ecological study regarding this species of concern. To better understand the current distribution of spotted skunks in Virginia, we aim to determine the species’ range boundaries and habitat associations throughout Virginia using baited remote-sensing cameras.

Eastern spotted skunk populations are not currently managed in the Commonwealth though the species has been rare or largely absent over the last few decades from areas where it was once abundant. Outcomes of this project will directly assist in the development of long-term, large scale monitoring as well as effective management and conservation assessments.

Participating volunteers will set up and monitor baited camera traps at sites with appropriate permissions and permits.

Interested VMN volunteers and chapters should contact Emily Thorne, the project leader. This season’s monitoring will begin in the winter (approximately February) and continue at least through April 2019. Camera stations will be established by February and checked at least once per week throughout the project.

A project proposal form that explains volunteer expectations and resources needed, a training webinar, project protocols, and other resources are all available on the Spotted Skunk Survey project page.

Check out science communications workshops at AGU Fall Meeting

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Photo: Barbara J. Saffir (c)

We all know that science matters, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out exactly how, and with whom, to share it.

Sharpen your ability to share research with the world. Join the American Geophysical Union science communication sessions to learn how to tell good stories, become a science advocate, and explain science to any audience.

All events are in the Science Communication: A Sharing Science Room (Convention Center, 203 A/B) unless otherwise noted.

For high school teachers and students, registration is free

Highlights of the schedule

Sunday, 10 December

Communicating Science With Any Audience: Workshop at AGU18
Science Storytelling in Multimedia: Workshop at AGU18

Monday, 11 December

Sketch Your Science
How to Sketch (Your) Science
Luncheon: How to Become a Congressional Science Fellow or Mass Media Fellow
Sharing Science Mentoring Meet-up
Blogging and Social Media Forum 101
Blogging and Social Media Forum 201

Tuesday, 12 December

Sketch Your Science
ED21B: The Up-Goer Five Challenge: Tell Us About the Hard Things You Do in Ten Hundred Words I
Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know about Science-Art-Sustainability Collaborations (but were afraid to ask…)
Rhyme Your Research: Workshop
Sharing Science in Plain English (Panel & Lunch)
ED23B: The Up-Goer Five Challenge: Tell Us About the Hard Things You Do in Ten Hundred Words II
Live Third Pod from the Sun podcast recording with photographer James Balog
Dialogue with Religious Publics (AAAS DOSER event)
Open Mic Night

Wednesday, 13 December

Sketch Your Science
Communicating Your Science: Ask the Experts
Sprint workshop: SciComm via Multimedia
Film Making Crash Course

Thursday, 14 December

Sketch Your Science
Sustainable Futures: Short Films About Science
Tell me a story: Storytelling in SciComm
Voices for Science Panel
Sharing Science Mentoring Meetup
When Is Science Newsworthy?
Film Screening & Panel Q&A — Summiting the Solar System: Pluto & Beyond
(Science) Podcasting 101
AGU Story Collider

Friday, 15 December

Sketch Your Science
Summiting the Solar System: Pluto & Beyond: Film Screening

Service opportunity: Vernal pool monitor

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Huntley Meadows Park

3701 Lockheed Blvd., Alexandria, VA 22306

Do you enjoy muddy boots, long off-trail walks, and learning about the life cycles of amphibians? Then this is the volunteer opportunity for you!

Purpose: To monitor vernal pools, including flora and fauna. To record pool data, record and identify species, and determine breeding cycles.

Duties: Complete survey protocol every 2-3 weeks year round. Record environmental data using monitoring equipment and identify and count faunal species including egg masses, in accordance with protocol. Follow safety procedures.

Qualifications: Must have a strong interest in nature and the stewardship of Fairfax County. Ability to work independently, off-trail over uneven terrain for up to 4 miles, in a variety of weather conditions. Willingness to learn faunal identification, including egg masses and tadpoles. Ability and willingness to enter vernal pools to complete survey. Must complete the training program. Weekday availability. Must attend site orientation and on-the-job training as required. Volunteer and Outdoor Safety Training will be provided.

ContactHalley Johnson
703-768-2525
ajoh46@fairfaxcounty.gov

More about this and other Huntley Meadow opportunities here. 

Master Naturalists:  This opportunity falls under a pre-approved service project in the Service Project Catalog on the website.  Record your hours as C106-FCPA Citizen Science Programs. This project covers data collection on wildlife populations, native plants or other natural resources for Fairfax County Park Authority’s nature centers, such as Huntley Meadows Park, and Fairfax County Park Authority’s Resource Management Division.

Write articles for FCPA ResOURces newsletter (yes, for credit)

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If you enjoy writing about the natural world, and want to educate and inspire visitors to Fairfax County parks, consider becoming a volunteer journalist. In this capacity, you’ll choose a recreation center or park site and learn as much as you can about it. When you’re ready and the deadlines are within reach, you will write articles for the ResOURces newsletter. (And earn service hours–good deal in the wintertime, especially). Code EO12

Interested? Contact Tammy Schwab

Health and Nature Connection Workshop and Conference

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Department of Energy and Environment‘s Biophilia Initiative working groups are reconvening after six months of work! At the culminating meeting: The Nature Health Connection: Biophilic Practices for a Healthy, Livable DC members are invited to share their best ideas. Join Biophilic DC and others as we tune into their presentations and participate in a timely discussion for our city.

Tuesday, 2 October 2018
4:00 pm – 6:30 pm
UDC David A. Clarke School of Law

Find out more and RSVP here. Free.

From Cyanobacteria Blooms to Clear Water: The Remarkable Story of the Tidal Potomac River Recovery

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Talk by Dr. Christian Jones, Professor and Director, Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center, George Mason University. Part of George Mason University’s “Galileo’s Science Cafe” series of free science lectures open to the public.

25 October 2018
7:00-8:00 pm
Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, Virginia

Learn more

Designing for Environmental Sustainability and Social Impact

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This is an online, self-paced class from +Acumen, taught by MAVA Foundation. It begins 9 October and ends 20 November. The class is free.

Course Description

How do you solve a problem like deforestation? How might you restore a marine ecosystem, while recognizing that the community depends on fishing to survive? When your renewable energy product is no longer wanted, does it end up in a landfill?

The challenges of poverty and environmental conservation are interconnected. This course will introduce mindsets and methodologies to help you promote both environmental sustainability and social impact in your work.

You will discover the dynamics that contribute to complex environmental and social challenges using systems thinking. Then, you will learn about the circular economy and find opportunities to reuse resources and reduce waste. Next, you will explore how behavior change principles can encourage people to act in ways that benefit the planet. Finally, you will make the case for environmental conservation with lessons from the natural capital movement.

The course features insights from Mark Tercek, CEO of The Nature Conservancy; Vien Truong, CEO of Green for All; and Michael Kobori, Vice President of Sustainability for Levi Strauss & Co. It also shares case studies from social entrepreneurs and conservation organizations around the world.

What You’ll Learn

  • Explore opportunities for collaboration between social entrepreneurs and conservation organizations to promote environmental sustainability and social impact
  • Discover mindsets and methodologies for tackling environmental challenges, including systems thinking, circular design, behavior change, and natural capital
  • Understand how to design products and services that contribute to a circular economy, and how to change behavior to conserve biodiversity
  • Make the business case for investing in environmental conservation with lessons from the natural capital movement

This is a hands-on, project-based course for teams or individuals that consists of weekly readings, videos, and workshops. In the first week of the course, you will select an environmental challenge to explore. In each workshop, you will apply the concepts you learned in the reading to propose solutions to the environmental challenge.

More Questions

Please visit our +Acumen Page for more information.

Is This Course for You?

  • You are a social entrepreneur who wants to design solutions that create social impact and promote environmental sustainability.
  • You are a conservation specialist who wants to apply entrepreneurial methodologies to environmental challenges.
  • You are an innovator in a company or corporation who wants to make the business case for investing in conservation.

The Innovation Toolkit, ’cause you want to make stuff better, right?

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A multi-disciplinary team of engineers from the MITRE corporation curated the MITRE Innovation Toolkit to help the community of innovative thinkers jumpstart the innovation process.

These tools help people understand how, when, and why to innovate, provide best practices and guidance, and jump-start the problem-solving process. They have organized the catalog of tools according to a team’s objective, team size, and style.

Do you ever have to? want to? facilitate problem solving sessions in your work or community of naturalists?

Try Rose-Bud-Thorn to conduct an analysis by visually categorizing positive (rose), potential (bud), or negative (thorn) aspects of a topic (e.g., system, product, process).

Try Lotus Blossom to focus the power of brainstorming using a structured, visual representation of ideas—pushing you to fill out every box with new ideas.

Try Trimming to visually document a someone’s experience through actions, pain points, wins, and opportunities in a process.

There are more tools on the site, and all of the materials are free to download.

Students in Community Science blog posts

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These blog posts are part of Students in Community Science, a series of Thriving Earth Exchange articles featuring students who have had internship, educational or volunteer experiences in community science.

14 September 2018

Haley Gannon – Translating a Pivotal Internship Experience into a Satisfying Career

When I first came to the Thriving Earth Exchange, I was relatively new to the idea of community science. My experience up […]

13 September 2018

Shahan Haq – Adapting to Life after Adaptation Analytics: Reflection from an Intern

During an atmospheric chemistry course I took a few years ago, the professor would pause his lecture before major discoveries in the […]

11 September 2018

Babak J. Fard – Insights from an Interdisciplinary Community Science Experience

The Brookline, Mass. Thriving Earth Exchange project “Building Community Resilience to Extreme Heat” started in February 2016 with several initial meetings […]

10 September 2018

Angela Dapremont – How Studying Mars is Relevant to Helping Earth’s Communities

angela.jpgI was fortunate to have a unique Thriving Earth Exchange internship experience during the summer and fall months of 2015. I started from scratch by familiarizing myself with the definition of community science, and ended up participating in the 2015 AGU Fall Meeting Thriving Earth Exchange events. […]