Posts

Volunteer opportunities at Earth Sangha

/in , /by

Founded in 1997, the Earth Sangha is a nonprofit public charity based in the Washington, DC, region. Their mission is ecological restoration as a form of socially engaged Buddhism. Volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and the work is secular and science-based.

In the DC area, they operate a volunteer-based program to propagate local native plants, restore native plant communities, and control invasive alien plants. The Wild Plant Nursery is the region’s most comprehensive effort to propagate native plants directly from local forests and meadows. Nursery and office addresses are different. Click here for directions to the Wild Plant Nursery.

The summer nursery workdays are Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9 AM to Noon.  Please be sure to bring a water bottle and stay hydrated.  There is no indoor space, air conditioning or even fans at the nursery.  Keep a close eye on the volunteer calendar.  For safety reasons, they may have to cancel volunteer workdays and nursery hours on short notice because of high temperatures, poor air quality, and thunderstorms.  Contact Matt Bright, Conservation Manager, to RSVP to volunteer or for questions or concerns at [email protected] or at his cell: 703-859-2951.

Volunteers can help with watering, weeding, pot preparation, transplanting, and sowing seed.  Gloves and tools will be provided.

In addition to environmental work, Earth Sangha hosts weekly meditation sessions in Alexandria, Virginia, along with discussions of what it means to live in a responsible way. These sessions are free and open to all.

Get involved in Audubon’s Wildlife Sanctuary Program

/in , /by

Certifying properties as “Wildlife Sanctuaries” is a volunteer-driven project of the Northern Virginia chapter of the National Audubon Society.  It embraces the principles of the National Audubon Society’s Bird-Friendly Communities and promotes citizen participation in conserving and restoring local natural habitat and biodiversity.

The largest volume of acreage available for conservation and restoration of healthy green space in Northern Virginia is “at home” in our own backyards.  Incentives for participation include making a difference in aiding the environment and pride in property certification and registration as an “Audubon at Home Wildlife Sanctuary.”

The program is open to residential properties, homeowner associations, schools, places of worship, parks and commercial properties and other potentially sustainable wildlife habitats, both public and private seeking.

Learn more about criteria, sanctuary species, and the certification process.

Shop for native plants at the Earth Sangha Summer Open House

/in /by

Earth Sangha is offering some specials for this event. Here are some highlights:

Pinxter Bloom (Rhododendron periclymenoides) is available, but only a limited number of pots. Earth Sangha doesn’t take pre-orders and so please come early if you want to get it.

They will also offer True Solomon’s Seal and False Solomon’s Seal. It took 3 years to just germinate these species from the seeds! This is the first year that Earth Sangha is able to offer them in sizable quantities.

They are also offering something rarely found in the wild: Curlyheads (Clematis ochroleuca). It is a Piedmont species, and according to the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora is found in, “dry forests, rocky woodlands, barrens, clearings, and road banks, usually in moderately to strongly base-rich soils. Frequent in the Piedmont; rare in the mountains and inner Coastal Plain.” Only a few pots can be offered for this species. This is the first time Earth Sangha is offering this!

Also, there is something special for members: Earth Sangha will offer a surprise 50% discount for select species for this occasion on June 16th only. That is, if you are a member, it will cost just $3.50 per pot instead of $7. Annual memberships start at $35.  Click here to join.

Earth Sangha Wild Plant Nursery

6100 Cloud Drive in Franconia Park in Springfield, Virginia

Saturday, 16 June 2018

10.00 am – 2.00 pm

Find new opportunities with Plant NOVA Natives

/in , /by

Label native plants in garden centers
Three nursery companies (Greenstreet Gardens, Meadows Farms Nurseries, and Merrifield Garden Center) have kindly agreed to allow volunteers to put Plant NOVA Natives stickers on their plant signs at a total of 12 garden centers. This will make it immensely easier for shoppers to recognize native plants. Plant NOVA Natives is looking for more volunteers to put on these stickers, so email [email protected] if you are interested in adopting a nursery. Experience is not needed, although the more familiar you are with Northern Virginia natives, the less time it will take you to do the job.

Sign up to be tapped as a volunteer
Whatever your experience or skills, the organization needs your help! If you tell them which county you live in and a bit about your background, then when opportunities arise, they will know whom to contact. You incur no obligation at all by signing up. Please fill out this form to get on their roster. They currently are seeking more help for their website from someone experienced in web design.

Join Matt Bright for a Conservation Walk at Marie Butler Leven Preserve

/in , , /by

Marie Butler Leven Preserve offers 20 acres of rich woodlands and meadows that are being managed step-by-step into a virtual library of plants native to the greater Washington, D.C. area. This visit to the Preserve will be split between a walk through the preserve and helping with management of invasives and planting of natives. The walk will pass by a partially restored meadow with a mix of native forbs and grasses as well as remnant turf grasses, and down the wooded slopes towards Pimmit Run to a small seepage-fed wetland. Volunteers will be given a tour of restoration efforts of the park as well as native flora of note.  The group will be working on removing Vinca from an area where it threatens native populations of Phlox divaricata and Erythronium americanum.

Be prepared! Given the work, come with sturdy shoes, appropriate clothing for avoiding ticks, and gloves if you prefer. Also sunscreen, bug spray, and drinking water. Gloves and tools will be provided.

Matt Bright is Conservation Manager at the Earth Sangha, where he has worked full-time since 2011 on plant propagation, conservation, and restoration here in Northern Virginia and in the rural Dominican Republic. He lives on site at Marie Butler Leven Preserve with his wife Katherine Isaacson, who is the Outreach and Development Coordinator also at the Earth Sangha. Matt is a Certified Horticulturist with the Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association, a member of the Virginia Native Plant Society (VNPS) and an instructor for the Arlington Regional Master Naturalists. Before joining the Sangha full-time, Matt attended Kenyon College in Ohio, where he also worked as a volunteer firefighter.

Sponsored by VNPS, this program is free and open to the public. However, space is limited so please click here to REGISTER.

To CANCEL your registration or ask a QUESTION, please email [email protected].

Marie Butler Leven Preserve

1501 Kirby Lane, McLean VA  22101

Saturday, May 26th

1.00 -3.00 pm

Take advantage of native plant sale season!

/in , /by

Are you looking for plants that will beautify your yard while requiring a minimum of maintenance? The plants that evolved here are the ones for you! The more local the origin of a plant, the more likely it is to be adapted to our particular soils and climate. There could be a big difference between an Eastern Red Columbine that evolved in Virginia and one that evolved in Saskatchewan, even if they do look alike!

We are fortunate in Northern Virginia to have many sources of native plants. In addition to the native-only nurseries – some of which propagate plants themselves from local seed sources – there are numerous vendors who set up shop at special plant sales in the spring and fall.  Find a list  on the Plant NOVA Natives website. The homepage of the site has the free, downloadable Guide to Native Plants of Northern Virginia.   If you are looking for particular plants, you can contact vendors in advance and ask them to bring them for you. Traditional commercial nurseries are selling more and more native plants as well (but don’t expect to find natives at big box stores).

In addition, the Virginia Native Plant Society sells plants from its propagation beds at Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Rd., Alexandria VA the first Wednesday of the month from 10.00 am to 12.00 pm from April to October.  The Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy is also having its sale on May 19th.

Our local wildlife agree that native plants are the best. In fact, the ecosystem is entirely dependent on the plants that evolved with our bees, butterflies, birds, etc. Why not give them a home on your property?

Volunteer with the Virginia Native Plant Society Potowmack Chapter at Green Spring Gardens

/in , /by

Join the VNPS Propagation Crew on Wednesday mornings to learn how to divide, pot and grow from seed a wide variety of native forbs. 

The native plant beds are a demonstration garden and source of plants for our spring and fall plant sales. VNPS gathers every Wednesday morning from April through October to maintain the beds and pot plants for these sales. The beds are located at Green Spring Gardens behind the Horticulture Center.

You’ll enjoy light physical exertion, and have lots of fun getting your hands dirty and your spirit full. Tools and gloves provided.

Learn more

Attend 2018 Wildflower Symposium: 18-20 May 

/in , , /by

The 30th annual Wintergreen Spring Wildflower Symposium offers diverse coverage of wildflowers and mountain ecosystems. The setting has more than 30 miles of hiking trails and convenient access to diverse geological sites. Participants learn about botany, geology, entomology, ornithology and ecology from 17 speakers and instructors.

Come learn from:

Dr. Tom Akre- Director of Virginia Working Landscapes, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Dr. Barbara Abraham- Adjunct Professor, Christopher Newport University and Retired Professor, Hampton
University

Dr. Chuck Bailey- Director and Chair, Department of Geology, College of William and Mary

Doug Coleman-  Field Botanist; Executive Director, The Nature Foundation at Wintergreen

Gerry DeWitt- Nature Photographer

Dr. Mary Jane Epps- Assistant Professor of Biology, Mary Baldwin University

Dr. Linda Fink- Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of Ecology, Sweet Briar College

Allen Hale- Owner, Buteo Books & Field Ornithologist, Virginia Society of Ornithology

Clyde Kessler- Birding and Insect Enthusiast, Regional Editor of Virginia Birds

Shawn Kurtzman- Biologist, Conservation Management Institute at Virginia Tech

Sarah Loken- Professional Macro photographer of the insect/wildflower connection

Chris Ludwig- Chief Biologist, Virginia Division of Natural Heritage & Co-Author, Flora of Virginia

Dr. Chip Morgan- Board Member, Flora of Virginia and Member of the Edith and Theodore Roosevelt Pine
Knot Foundation Board

Dr. Janet Steven- Associate Professor of Biology, Christopher Newport University

Nancy Walters-Donnelly- Director of Activities, Massanutten Resort

Dr. Dennis Whigham- Senior Botanist, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center & Founding Director,
North American Orchid Conservation Center

Tom Wiebolt- Retired Curator, Massey Herbarium, Vice President, Virginia Botanical Associates and contributor,
Flora of Virginia

 

Schedule and registration

Walker Nature Center Spring Festival, May 5

/in , /by

Saturday, May 5 • 1.00 pm – 5.00 pm
Free • All Ages • Rain or Shine
Walker Nature Center, 11450 Glade Drive, Reston, VA

Produced and presented by Reston Association, the Spring Festival is fun for all ages with live animals, fishing activities, craft-making for kids, displays and information from environmental groups, including Fairfax Master Naturalists, and family-friendly entertainment. Entertainment sponsored by Reston Community Center.  Learn more here.

Visit SpringFest Fairfax, 21 April

/in , /by

Saturday, 21 April

10.00 am – 4.00 pm

Sully Historic Site

This is Fairfax County’s official Earth Day and Arbor Day event!  Visit with the Fairfax County Park Authority, workshops, vendors and activities and take action to make a “Healthy Planet-Healthy People.” Over 75 vendors, exhibitors, and food trucks will be at SpringFest.  Admission is FREE! Learn about the great work of Fairfax County Parks; pet an alpaca; run through an environmental obstacle course; participate in environmental crafts; check out the bees and the trees; consult with Fairfax Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners; buy plants for your garden and MORE!

Entertainment includes food trucks, The Recycling Pirates puppet show, petting zoo, Touch-a-Truck, and more!

Clean Fairfax produces SpringFest with our partner Fairfax County Park Authority.  Learn more here.