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Learn Through Nature Journaling, January and February Classes

Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

Saturday, January 14, 2023
Saturdays, February 4, 11 & 18, 2023
Hidden Oaks Nature Center
7701 Royce Street, Annandale
To sign up: Call 703-222-4664 weekdays 9am- 4pm or log into Parktakes by using www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/parktakes.  The codes can be helpful in locating the classes.

Improve your naturalist observation skills and add excitement to your nature journals! Naturalist and artist Avery Gunther presents her popular nature drawing classes.

Sat. January 14, 2023- 10am-12pm – Drawing Outer Space with Oil Pastels (adults 16 and up) $20  Code: MIK.WW3E

Have you been inspired by the James Webb Telescope pictures?  Learn some fun facts about outer space and moon craters.  Learn how moon craters form with a hands-on science activity.  Learn about oil pastels, then try your hand at drawing nebulas, planets, comets, galaxies and more on black paper.  All materials included.

Sat. Feb 4, 11 & 18 – 9:30-11:30am- Drawing Weather and Skies (adults age 16 and up) $60  Code: 22N.19UM
The sky is dynamic and ever changing. Learn how to creatively add weather data and information to your journal. Discover techniques for drawing and painting skyscapes, clouds , snowflakes, frost and more. Media discussed will include: watercolor, oil pastel, watercolor and regular colored pencils, ink and gel pen. Many materials will be available to borrow in class.
If the county closes due to bad weather, you would receive a credit on your account.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email Avery, [email protected].

FMNs: These classes are approved FMN CE.  Record hours in Better Impact under Continuing Education > All Continuing Education.  For Approved CE Organization, choose Fairfax County Park Authority training.  In Description, include the name of the class.

Educating about “Bat Week 2020” through Nature Journaling

Article by Elaine Sevy, FMN member

Mention bats and many people cringe.  Not me!

Though I didn’t know much about them, I looked forward to seeing them each summer, emerging at dusk to dive and swoop in the sky chasing insects.  They’ve always seemed mysterious but never frightening.

As the years passed, I saw fewer and fewer of them each summer in my Springfield, Virginia neighborhood. It was comforting to still see their aerial acrobatics at the barn where I kept my horse, but numbers were dropping there too.

When my Virginia Master Naturalists, Fairfax Chapter (FMN) chapter advertised a World Habitat Council webinar about bats, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, I registered immediately.  “From Tequila to Pest Control: Learn all the Ways Bats are Vital to Ecosystems and Economies”, opened the door to a fascinating new world of all kinds of bats and why we need them.  I learned that:  “Although we may not always see them, bats are hard at work all around the world each night – they are pollinators, dispersers of seeds and controllers of insect pests”. FMN members were also urged to participate in “Bat Week 2020 (October 24-31)”, an international celebration to raise awareness about the need for bat conservation.

A sample of Elaine’s work

Another Virginia Master Naturalists webinar, “Get Batty,” helped me focus the educational material to Virginia native bats. Dr. Mark Ford, associate professor of wildlife conservation, Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources and Environment, taught us about “… the threats facing some Virginia bat communities due to invasive fungal disease, wind-energy expansion, and urbanization.” We learned how Virginia Tech researchers “…have been working to better define bat distribution, current status, and habitat associations/needs within and around the commonwealth.”

When Dr. Ford said that Little Brown Bat populations had plummeted by 90% due to White Nose Syndrome, and many bat species were endangered, the sadness I felt quickly grew into a sense of urgency. I began brainstorming ways to educate our community about the bats found in Virginia and especially in Fairfax County.

Bat programs offered through Fairfax County parks are very popular and they fill quickly. Our Fairfax County Park Authority naturalists deserve lots of praise for offering these valuable community programs.

Given COVID restrictions and time restraints, I decided to use The NOVA Nature Journal Club (NNJC) on Facebook, a group I administer, as my education platform.  The NNJC is inspired by the teachings of Artist, Naturalist John Muir Laws and his philosophy of “Nature Stewardship through Science, Education and Art,” (johnmuirlaws.com).  Mr. Laws has been very supportive of our group’s creation and ongoing programs.

A sample of Deirdre’s work

Dr. Ford was very helpful and put together a list for me of 16 bats that reside in or migrate through Virginia.  “Bats of Fairfax County,” which lists seven common bat species on the county’s website, Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources’ “Guide to Bats of Virginia” and Bat Conservation International became my go to sources for creating a brief biography of each species of bat.

A request to use photos from the “The Save Lucy Campaign,” a local nonprofit committed to saving bats, quickly became a collaboration thanks to Leslie Sturges, Save Lucy’s President, who offered to work with our group on the week-long education effort.  She taught us so much about our local bats, offered photos, video clips, her personal stories about rehabilitating bats, and shared our journal pages on “Save Lucy’s” website and Facebook page.

With so much encouragement and valuable information, the “Bat Week 2020” virtual education program through nature journaling kicked off on Oct 24 and continued through Oct 31.  A different bat was featured each of the eight days with photos, specific information about its conservation status; migratory, roosting and hibernation habits, physical attributes for ID, mating patterns, fun facts and more.

Our group had fun and learned a lot about bats that week.  We were even able to feature a “How to Draw a Bat” video lesson by John Muir Laws.  We all shared the posts with other Facebook groups and friends.  One of our members, Deirdre Pistochini, an award winning artist, took nature journaling to a whole new level.  She produced a series of 9 beautifully illustrated journal pages about Virginia’s bats that was featured by The Save Lucy Campaign as an online flip book during Bat Week.

The “Bat Week” journal pages are still featured on the “Save Lucy” website.  Go to the Education Link and Scroll down to “Things to do” to view them.  

I am so grateful to FMN for sharing excellent programs about bats with our members and everyone’s support in helping me put this educational program together. 

Leslie Sturges and I are already considering future collaborations when COVID restrictions are lifted and it’s safe to hold in-person educational programs with live bats.

Earth Day 50th Anniversary Nature Journaling Challenge April 22 to 30, 2020

Article and drawings by Elaine Sevy

As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, I invite you to embrace this Nature Journaling Challenge and connect with nature on a more profound level.

Nature Journaling forces you to slow down and pay attention to what is around you. It will help you encounter beauty and wonder you would have otherwise missed.

Visit a nearby trail or explore your own backyard.

Allow yourself to relax and have fun, and worry less about drawing pretty pictures and more about creating a memory. Write notes about what you’re seeing, and let it pique your curiosity.

Do you have a favorite wild bird? Do you wonder if that bird is a resident or migrant? Look at it more closely and be amazed. Learn more about it at allaboutbirds.org (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and audubon.org. Write in your journal about what you see and learn, and develop a deep personal relationship with your bird.

Drawing by Elaine Sevy

Find a new pretty wild plant or look closely at one of your favorites and count the petals. Do the petals have stripes similar to a landing pad leading pollinators to the nectar? What kind of bee did I just see on that flower?

Make sure to note the place, date, time, weather, sounds, temperature, and how the experience makes you feel.

Consider downloading the iNaturalist App on your cell phone to help you identify the plants and animals you find. Visit inaturalist.org to learn about and participate in the City Nature Challenge 2020: Washington DC Metro Area, April 24-27. There’s a link under announcements on the Capital Naturalist Facebook page.

Include your family and children, and make it a game to find as many insects, birds, frogs, flowers, mushrooms, etc., as possible. Quickly draw little images of each critter on the same Earth Day journal page.

Want inspiration and ideas about how to create a journal page? There’s support groups that can help. Join The NOVA Nature Journal Club at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/544583139673338/. Once there, you can find a link to John Muir Laws’ The Nature Journal Club, which has an international following, free workshops and tools of all kinds. Copy ideas from other people, which will give you a new lens to look through. Let someone else’s journal page ignite your own creativity.

A good basic Nature Journaling kit includes: 6×8” or 5×7”sketchbook (at least 100 lb. weight paper to handle light watercolor washes), a mechanical pencil or 2B drawing pencil, pencil sharpener, kneaded eraser, a waterproof ink pen such as a Pigma Micron 05, set of watercolor pencils (Derwent is a good brand), a Pentel Aquash Water Brush and a paper towel. Also bring your cell phone for photo references, and binoculars. A shoulder bag makes your tools easily accessible.

Try your best to do some nature journaling on Earth Day, but there’s no pressure. Enjoy working on your journal through the end of April for this challenge.

Please submit photos of your journal pages to me (Elaine Sevy), so I can share them with others on Springfield Art Guild’s (SAG’s) Facebook Page and The NOVA Nature Journal Club Facebook Group.

Drawing Winter Weeds, Nature Journaling, Feb.6th

Hidden Oaks Nature Center
7701 Royce St., Annandale VA
Thursday, 6 February 2020
7-9 pm
Cost: $15

Some flowers, ferns and grasses persist in winter as dried stalks and provide food for wildlife. Learn about local winter weeds and try drawing some from our collection. Ink pens work especially well with this subject. See a brief demonstration, then try it yourself using our collection of dried plants. A suggested list of supplies will be sent upon registration.
Code F3B.F818

To sign up use this address: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/hidden-oaks/classes or google Hidden Oaks Nature Center and click on the programs section, or call 703-222-4664.

Upcoming programs at the gorgeous Clifton Institute

Six exciting programs are coming up at The Clifton Institute:

Creatures of the Night

Walk with A Naturalist

Bugscaping: Regenerative Landscaping for the 21st Century

Colors of Clifton: Preserving the Palette of Autumn

Mindful Naturalists: Nature Yoga

Nature Journaling with Joyce Andrew

 

Some are free, some have a small fee, all require registration.

Hidden Oaks Nature Center offers art classes for adults, Sep., Oct., & Nov.

Photo (c) by Barbara J. Saffir

Hidden Oaks Nature Center
7701 Royce St., Annandale VA
Various dates and times (see below)

Naturalist and artist Avery Gunther will be leading these classes.

Drawing Animal Eyes (16- adult)
Thursday, September 12, 2019, 7-9pm. Code- FD1.1092

Animal eyes are so varied and intricate. If you draw an animal’s eye realistically, your drawing of an animal comes to life. Practice drawing individual animal eyes up close from photographs and live animals. Watch a demonstration, then try drawing eyes using pencil, colored pencils and/or watercolors. A suggested list of supplies will be provided when you sign up. $5 material fee due the day of class.
Meet at the Nature Center.

Ferns of Hidden Oaks- Hike and Draw (16 – adult)
Saturday, October 5, 2019, 1:00 – 3:00 pm. Code – 22B.1C7D

Learn some tips to identifying ferns that live in local woods on a hike. Then spend time drawing ferns in the Hidden Oaks shelter or on nearby trails. A suggested list of supplies will be provided after you sign up. Meet at the Packard Center Parking lot in Annandale Community Park. Go to the Annandale Community Park entrance off Hummer Road. Once you turn in, proceed to the right and follow the signs to the Packard Center. The instructor will meet you at the parking lot.

Illustrating Your Nature/Travel Journal (16- adult)
Thursdays November 7, 14 and 21. 7 – 9pm Code – 7BB.9F97

Learn how to take your field sketches and turn them into a journal page. Starting with a pencil sketch you can add fine line marker, water colors or colored pencils. Participate in a lesson of how to use various art media each class. Discover ways to add photos and mementos to your journal. A suggested list of supplies will be provided when you sign up. Meet at the Nature Center.

Please register online through the Fairfax County Park Authority Parktakes:
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/parktakes.  Then pick “go directly to search.”
Next fill in the “search text/catalog ID “ and plug in the program code above, then hit the “search activities” button and it will pull up the class.  Scroll down to see the class and sign up.