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National Zoo Kid’s Farm looking for volunteers

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The Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Kids’ Farm exhibit is home to domestic animals rather than exotic animals or wildlife. Volunteers will be trained to perform keeper aide tasks, such as preparing diets, cleaning enclosures and creating enrichment items. Additionally, unlike any other program at the Zoo, volunteers will also be trained in interpretation techniques, including interacting with the general public, giving public demonstrations and educating visitors about environmental issues.

Shifts are available daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers must be able to commit to at least one four-hour shift every other week for a minimum of one year.

Age Range: 

18+

Commitment: 

long-term

Special qualifications: 

Volunteers should be physically fit and willing to work in all types of weather, as the Kids’ Farm animals are housed outdoors and in a large barn. Volunteers should be interested in learning about and caring for a variety of domestic animals, such as cows, alpacas, chickens and donkeys as well as interacting with Zoo guests about environmental issues. Some animal care experience is preferred but not required.

Training: 

Once provisionally accepted, volunteers must complete mandatory online and in-person orientation and training. Additional training will be provided on the job. There is a probationary period for all volunteers.

Location: 

Washington DC

Status: 

Open

Category: 

Education

Zoo Support

Contact phone: 

202-633-3061

Additional information: 

These positions are highly competitive, and there are limited spaces available. Submission of an application is not a guarantee of placement. Applicants will be interviewed by unit staff, and those who are provisionally accepted will undergo background checks, including fingerprinting, as a requirement for approval as a volunteer. Once accepted, volunteers must submit proof of required vaccinations, including tetanus and a negative TB test, to the Zoo’s health unit.

Please note: It is the Zoo’s policy that individuals who keep venomous animals in personal collections will not be accepted as volunteer keeper aides.

Apply here

Watch VMN webinar, Coyotes in Virginia, 25 July

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This presentation:

  • highlights the history, biology, and ecology of coyotes in Virginia
  • offers suggestions for reducing coyote-human conflicts in both rural and urban environments
  • discusses a coyote research project being conducted in the Appalachian Mountain region of western Virginia
  • will increase your understanding of, and perhaps dispel a few myths related to one of the world’s most adaptable mammals. Although coyotes are a relative new comer to Virginia, they are here to stay and we must learn to coexist with them.

Presenter: Mike Fies, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

Mike Fies works as a wildlife research biologist for the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries.  His office is located in the Shenandoah Valley just north of Staunton.  Mike is the state Furbearer Project Leader with job responsibilities that include conducting research, monitoring populations, developing management recommendations, resolving wildlife conflicts, and providing information to the public related to Virginia’s furbearer species. He has statewide responsibilities. Wildlife species included in his job duties include bobcat, fox, coyote, raccoon, skunk, opossum, weasel, beaver, muskrat, mink, otter, and nutria.

Webinar Details

When: July 25, 2018, 12:00 pm

Meeting Number: 450 486 470

Link to join: Join Webinar

(This link will connect you to the video feed, but you will need to connect your audio separately to hear the speaker.  Zoom will prompt you to do that once you have connected the video feed.  See the technical information below for details on connecting your audio.)

Link for recordings of this and past webinars*: VMN Continuing Education page 

*Please note that Virginia Tech is in the process of moving our recordings to a new system, and the recordings are currently unavailable while they work out some technical details.  We hope to have them all back on line soon!

Technical Support

If you have not successfully used Zoom before or if you have made any recent changes in your web browser, we suggest that you try a test meeting well beforehand.  This will prompt you to download the Zoom software that you will need to fully participate.  There is an option to participate just via your web browser, but please be aware that it does not have the same level of functionality.

We will open the webinar at least 30 minutes prior to the start time, and we encourage you to log on early to make sure the system is working for you.

Audio Connection

Please be aware that connecting to Zoom using the link provided allows you to see the presentation, but you will have to then connect your audio separately so that you can also hear the presenter.  Zoom will prompt you to do that once you join the meeting.  We recommend that you join using your computer audio if you are able.  For this option, click the “Join Audio Conference by Computer” button under the “Computer Audio” tab in the audio window that pops up when you join the meeting.

If you can’t call using computer, you can call in by phone at US: +1 669 900 6833  or +1 929 436 2866.  The meeting identification number is 450-486-470.  Long distance charges apply; this is not a toll-free number.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Please note that this Zoom service allows audio and other information sent during the session to be recorded, which may be discoverable in a legal matter. By joining this session, you automatically consent to such recordings. If you do not consent to being recorded, discuss your concerns with the host or do not join the session.

If you have specific technical questions, try the Zoom Support Center.

Life in the Soil: A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners, by James B. Nardi

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Reviewed by Kathleen Luisa

I have a fairly extensive library of naturalist books and field guides subjects from geology to space to weather to worms to seashells. I even have a field guide to fields!  Many of them really don’t lend themselves to being read cover to cover, but Life in the Soil: A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners, by James B. Nardi, does.  This is one of the best, most thorough, and most thoroughly enjoyable books I’ve read on, well, dirt.  And everything that lives in dirt.

The book is laid out well, much like an outline for a college course would have been years ago.  It starts from the general (and most minuscule components of the soil) and moves progressively through to the more specific and larger inhabitants. The first of the three parts of the book explains how soil forms from rocks and organic materials through  chemical and weathering processes.  The second part is a wonderfully in-depth explanation and description of the members of the soil community and their relationships. The third part covers how we can work in partnership with all of the foregoing to increase and maintain the health of the soil for the benefit of all without chemicals, and how to prevent many of the problems we enable through erosion and the unfettered use of fertilizers.

The author’s style is engaging, often humorous, and I feel like he’s talking right to me. He clearly has deep affection and admiration for his subject, and he conveys complex information in a way that is easy to understand without sacrificing the scientific quality.  One thing in particular I really like is that the soil community part introduces each new organism with a box that identifies its place in the taxonomic system, its place in the food web, size and its impact on gardens. The illustrations and photos are great, too.

Want to review a resource? We’d love to hear from you. Instructions for submission await your click and commitment.

Join a community hike at Fountainhead, 15 July

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On 15 July 2018, Northern Virginia Conservation Trust will be teaming up with their partner, NOVA Parks, to offer an interpretive, community hike at Fountainhead Regional Park hosted by NOVA Park’s Roving Naturalist, David Garcia. There are a limited number of spots, so first come, first served!

For more information and to RSVP, please email Emily Bowman at [email protected] or call 703-354-5093.

Hoot Owl Hoot, by Peaceable Kingdom

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Reviewed by Marilyn Kupetz

I heard about Hoot Owl Hoot from a colleague with a 3-year-old, and I live in a neighborhood with lots of small fry who come visit. A cooperative rather than a competitive game (think oxytocin rather than cortisol) to play with my guests? Eco-friendly packaging? Nature-friendly theme? Fifteen-minute time commitment?

Had to try it out. My test subjects over several sessions were one 3-year-old, three 8-year-olds, one 33-year-old, one 56-year-old, and me.

The goal of Hoot Owl Hoot as a game is to help six young owls make it back to their nest before the sun rises. The goal of Hoot Owl Hoot as an activity is to make it possible for the players to help each other help those owls. 

Because the luck of the draw tends to interfere in competitive games, in this one, any player can move any owl. In fact, the instructions suggest that players be encouraged to talk about their hands and plan their strategy together. The game dynamics otherwise lend themselves to the skills and emotional cadence of pre-school- and elementary-age children and others who are young at heart. No reading necessary as the board and pieces are graphical.

Feedback from the test group: 

  • “I want a sun card!” (3-year-old)
  • “Oh, wow, we can help each other?!” (8-year-old)
  • “Cute!” (56-year-old)

Pluses: if you lose a piece, Peaceable Kingdom will replace it gratis. The entire kit is biodegradable.

The game reinforces the most central message of the human role in nature and nurture: We are all in this together.

 

Want to review a resource? We’d love to hear from you. Instructions for submission await your click and commitment.

Explore the Discovery Trail through Fairfax County Parks this summer

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The Fairfax County Park Authority’s Discovery Trail Map features 12 sites across the park system that give children and adults the chance to discover each park’s special features. There’s a game built into the activities, so prizes are a possible outcome (e.g., bicycles, mini-golf, a carousel, train, tour boat, pedal boat, camping, wagon ride, RECenters and a boat rental).

This year’s free summer activities highlight the rich diversity of wildlife you’ll see in Fairfax County parks.

  • Now in its fifth year, the map encourages children and adults to explore and learn interesting facts about the wildlife that lives in the parks. Discover which bird’s wings beat up to 53 times per second, which park serves as the perfect habitat for the great blue heron and which creature could be called a party animal!
  • Discovery Trail Maps ware available now at staffed FCPA locations, Fairfax County Public Libraries, and Board of Supervisors offices (while supply lasts).  Maps also will be available online at Download Discovery Trail Map during the promotional period, May 26 – Sept. 3, 2018.
  • Each featured site has a sticker with a unique image that reinforces the educational messages on the map.
  • Pick up a sticker for each park at the sticker location listed in the table above, and place it in the corresponding box (participant must be present to receive a sticker).
  • Participants who visit at least eight of the featured sites will receive tickets to more park fun valued at $93 and be entered in a drawing for one of four bicycles donated by Spokes, Etc. through the Fairfax County Park Foundation.
  • Qualifying maps can be redeemed at Burke Lake Park, Frying Pan Farm Park and Green Spring Gardens.

Learn more

Encourage students to submit to Next Gen Capture Conservation Film Contest 2018

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 The American Conservation Film Festival is sponsoring its annual  youth-targeted short film initiative to encourage young people ages 5 to 18 to explore their relationship with nature and the world around them through the medium of film and video. Deadline for submissions: 1 September 2018

Submission Guidelines 

1. All films must be uploaded to Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/groups/456630 and submitted online no later than September 1, 2018. 

2. Films cannot exceed four minutes in length, including credits. 

3. All films must be produced in 2017 or 2018 and feature the entrant’s relationship with environmental, cultural, and/or historic conservation. The theme is intentionally wide-reaching to allow for diverse creativity, interpretation, and message. 

4. All youth submitting films must be age 18 or younger on the day the film is submitted. Actors or interviewees in the film can be any age. If working under the direction of a teacher, mentor, or parent, that person must describe his/her role in detail. 

5. Film categories are: Students age 10 & under; students age 11 to 14; students age 15 to 18; and team projects of two or more students (up to 5 persons) age 18 or under. 

6. All entries must be accompanied by a submission form including student name, age, mailing address, email address (if applicable), phone number, and title of film. 

7. The film must be accompanied by the tagline “This film was created for the American Conservation Film Festival – Next Gen Capture Conservation Contest” in the credits. 

8. All videos must be the original work of the entrant. Entrants should NOT use music, graphics, or footage that was created by others without obtaining rights (a license) to use it. 

9. Winning filmmakers will be asked to sign a release form granting the American Conservation Film Festival the rights to use, display or distribute the film. The American Conservation Film Festival does not limit the original creator’s use of the work in any way. 

10. Entrants can help promote their film and the contest using the hashtag #NextGenCaptureConservation on social media sites. 

Learn more

Join or volunteer for the 2018 Sustainable Garden Tour, June 10

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The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District’s 2018 Sustainable Garden Tour  features rain gardens, green roofs, native plant landscaping, rain barrels, backyard wildlife habitat, composting, and more. Local residents open their gardens and share their experiences landscaping with natural resources in mind. Visitors on the tour are allowed to visit each garden at their own pace, and may visit as many or as few as they like. There is no RSVP required, and the tour is free and open to all: Sunday, June 10,  1-5 pm at sites throughout the Fairfax-Falls Church-Annandale area,

NVSWCD needs volunteers to assist garden hosts. Volunteers will welcome and guide visitors and provide information. Each volunteer will be assigned to one of nine sites:

  1. Booker Residence, 3442 Surrey Lane, Falls Church VA
  2. Sawhney Residence, 4212 Saint Jerome Dr, Annandale, VA 22003
  3. King Residence, 4023 Roberts Road, Fairfax VA 22032
  4. Belvedere Elementary School, 6540 Columbia Pike, Falls Church VA 22041
  5. Chesterfield Mews Community Association, BEHIND 3170 Readsborough Ct, Fairfax VA 22031
  6. Daniels Run Peace Church, 3729 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22030
  7. Carosella Residence, 2903 Rosemary Lane, Falls Church, VA 22042
  8. Meara Residence, 7211  Arthur Drive, Falls Church, VA 22046
  9. Jones Residence, 3517 Queen Anne Dr, Fairfax, VA 22030

You can sign up to volunteer for the whole time (12:30 – 5 pm) or one of two shifts (12:30 – 3 or 2:30 – 5).

Please contact Ashley Palmer: [email protected]

See Minimalism, environmental film showing in Reston, 24 May

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How might your life be better with less? Minimalism examines the many flavors of minimalism by taking viewer inside the lives of minimalists from all walks of life. Register by 24 May: [email protected], 703-476-9689, ext. 3. Free, but a $5 donation is suggested.

Walker Nature Center
11450 Glade Dr., Reston
Friday, 25 March
7-9 pm

Hear the Story of the Restoration of Huntley Meadows Park

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Thursday, 3 May,  7-8.30 pm

 Woodend Sanctuary, 8940 Jones Mill Rd., Chevy Chase, MD

Hear Cathy Ledec, President of Friends of Huntley Meadows Park (FOHMP), tell the fascinating story of the restoration of Huntley Meadows Park in Fairfax County, VA.

From colonial farms to a failed dream for an enormous airport to road surface testing, anti-aircraft battery hosting, and Cold War radio listening station, Huntley Meadows has had an exciting past. That excitement continues into the present day, when after the federal government turned over 1,261 acres to Fairfax County for a park, beavers quickly returned to the wetland and began to change how water flowed through the landscape. Biodiversity in animal and plant species returned, and today you can walk through a beautiful, highly diverse wetland along a network of well-maintained boardwalks and trails. Humans have helped the process of restoration along, working alongside the beavers and ensuring a beautiful natural resource is open to all and showcases an amazing hemi-marsh ecosystem.

Coffee and dessert will be provided while you enjoy an inspiring presentation on how local conservation is achieved in our region.

This program is May’s Conservation Cafe, presented by the Audubon Naturalist Society (ANS).  Your $10 registration goes to support the ANS Conservation Program. Click here to register.