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Send us your success stories

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Have you been working on a service project that has a goal?

Have you accomplished the goal or made progress toward achieving it?

Have you been working in concert with others?

Can you recount the accomplishments of your team?

Can you include measures?

Nope, you don’t need to have solved world hunger or addressed climate change all by yourself. Some successes are simply incremental steps toward outcomes that benefit the environment in Fairfax County and northern Virginia.

Every year, FMN reports stories of success to Virginia Master Naturalists. We’d like to share yours.

Whenever you are ready, please compose up to 500 words that relay (in whichever order best suits your story):

  • The name of your project and the service code
  • Its purpose, goals, and current objectives
  • Who’s working on the project–they don’t all have to be FMNers
  • What have you accomplished to date?
  • How do you measure those accomplishments beyond hours spent (e.g., if you planted a pollinator garden, what did it attract over what period of time that’s different from what used to visit that area? In addition to creatures that fly or crawl, did you attract human visitors? helpers? funding to continue? How many? How much?)
  • How much help do you need from chapter members?
  • What might we learn?
  • Why is this activity worth the investment of time?
  • How does it bring you pleasure? Would we have fun, too?

Please send the story and 2-3 photos with captions to vmnfairfax@gmail.com. A member of the FMN Communications team will be in touch within a few days, and your story will be posted to this site.

Yes, the time you spend on the story counts toward your service hours.

Questions? Again, vmnfairfax@gmail.com

Annual Aldo Leopold Read-a-thon, January 20th

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RESCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 20TH DUE TO SNOW

Villages of Piedmont Clubhouse
16080 Market Ridge Blvd., Haymarket, VA
Sunday, 13 January 2019
4 – 6 pm

Join the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust to celebrate Aldo Leopold’s 132nd birthday! Their annual read-a-thon will feature guest speakers to read spoken excerpts from Leopold’s books. The event is free and will honor the legendary conservationist and his work. Feel free to join them in the audience to listen. Please get in touch with them if you’d like to be a guest speaker. They will also have open slots available day-of for volunteer readers from the crowd. RSVP to Emily at ebowman@nvct.org or call 703-354-5093.

Join Clifton Institute Christmas bird count, 16 December

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Photo by Barbara J. Saffir (c)

Clifton Institute invites you to the Plains Christmas Bird Count, to be held on Sunday, December 16th. Bird watchers of all skill levels are welcome!

The count will cover a 7.5 mile radius circle in northern Fauquier County and western Prince William county. We have a great variety of habitats in the count circle and always turn up a good diversity of species. Last year, we found 92 species, including Short-eared Owl and Cackling Goose.

Start times vary by sector leaders. Most meet around 7 am at various locations within the circle, ranging from Haymarket to Warrenton.  We will have food and hot drinks at compilation, which will be held at the Clifton Institute, north of Warrenton, just after sundown. Please contact Bert Harris directly (bharris@cliftoninstitute.org) if you’d like to join!

Native plants for beginners symposium, Feb. 8

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Photo by Barbara J. Saffir (c)

  • Create a beautiful yard
  • Save time so you can enjoy other activities
  • Create habitat for birds & pollinators
  • Save money on fertilizer
  • Improve water quality
  • Reduce erosion
  • Stop mowing, Start growing!

Learn more at the Prince William Native Plant Symposium on Saturday, February 8, 2020 at the Northern Virginia Community College-Workforce Center

2675 College Drive, Woodbridge, VA 22191

9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.  

The $20 fee covers coffee and donuts, lunch, and materials.  

Let us help you to stop mowing and get going on your dream landscape!  

Call 703-792-7070 for more details and register here.

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

Mt. Vernon District Environment Expo: 10 November

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Saturday, 10 November 2018
8 a.m. – noon
Walt Whitman Middle School
2500 Parkers Ln, Alexandria, VA 22306

Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck will host his first Environment Expo where we will explore how everyone can help save our planet, with the theme “Saving the Earth One Person at a Time”. The morning will feature an Exhibit Hall with a variety of County agencies, service providers and educators, informational and hands-on workshops and screenings of the film “Hometown Habitat”.
Join us for the morning to LEARN, ENGAGE and ACT to save our environment!

Improve wildlife habitat with Northern Virginia Conservation Trust

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The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust (NVCT) sponsors volunteer events that take place on properties that they own or on properties that have conservation easements on them throughout Northern VA. Volunteers help remove  invasive species, plant trees, and clean up trash.

The goal is to improve the wildlife habitat on these properties, and improve the water quality within the watersheds where many of these properties are located. Through these projects, NVCT hopes to educate and motivate Northern Virginians to plant native species, protect wildlife habitat, identify and remove invasive species, and simply enjoy nature.

Events are usually scheduled on the weekends. See calendar and Meet-up site, and FMN service project calendar. Most events last for two hours and take place between September and May.

No training or experience is required before participating in one of our events. The staff person on-hand will provide any training before the event starts. Volunteers should dress appropriately (long pants, long sleeves, hats, sturdy shoes), gloves/hand tools (if they have them), water, and snack. NVCT will bring any necessary equipment and supplies.

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

Wildlife Ecology class

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This class runs 2-9 October 2018, 6-8 pm, at Graduate School USA. Cost $365

Course description

Gain an understanding of wildlife techniques and theory, including the basics of life history, identification, population and community ecology, habitat management, and animal behavior. Learn how institutional missions and federal laws influence wildlife and habitat conservation, and how humans affect and are affected by wildlife in rural, suburban, and urban environments of the Mid-Atlantic region. Pressing concerns about invasive species, the effects of climate change on wildlife, and the loss and degradation of habitats will also be discussed.

Previous courses such as Biology for Naturalists (NATH1110E) and Intro. to Ecology (NATH1160E), or equivalent, are recommended. Field Trips: October 20, November 3, and November 17, 2018.

If minimum student enrollment is not reached by one week before the scheduled start date, the course may be canceled.

Register

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.