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Bench Dedication Honors McGlone

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Photos and Article By FMN Susan Laume

A group of Fairfax Master Naturalists gathered on Saturday afternoon, December 2nd, to recognize the contributions of retired Virginia forester Dr. Jim McClone.  A bench was dedicated in his honor on a Mason Neck State Park trail, where McClone regularly took naturalists in training to learn tree identification.

Bench plaque expresses gratitude for McGlone’s many years of service to the FMN chapter

Recently retired in June, McGlone is credited with working to establish the Fairfax County chapter, serving as chapter advisor, and teaching dendrology to hundreds of Virginia Master Naturalists students.

Attending with his wife, who McGlone credits with steering him toward his long time career. McGlone also received the thanks of Officer Taylore Willis, representing the State Park. Following the remarks, McGlone again led a winter tree identification; perhaps proving his gum balls don’t yet fall far from his favorite Black Gum trees.

Fairfax Master Naturalists gather to recognize retired forester Jim McClone

 

Officer Taylore Willis makes remarks on behalf of Mason Neck State Park

McGlone and his wife, who he thanked during the dedication, look forward to spending retirement time together

 

VMN Continuing Education Webinar, August 26: Fireflies

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Who doesn’t love fireflies? Many of us have fond memories of catching fireflies when we were kids, or watching a magical light show on a summer evening. This webinar will discuss firefly natural history, behavior, identification, and conservation. We will outline useful physical and behavioral characteristics for identifying common groups of fireflies in Virginia.
Other questions we’ll discuss include:  How many firefly species are there? Why do fireflies flash? What do fireflies eat? Are firefly populations declining? 

Didn’t quite get your firefly fix this summer? There’s still time! We’ll discuss how you can organize your own personal firefly safari this fall. Tune in to learn more!

Presenter Ariel Firebaugh is a lifelong learner and explorer. As an undergraduate at Roanoke College, she spent weekends practicing German verb conjugations while hiking around the Blue Ridge Mountains. She became semi-nocturnal in graduate school studying firefly behavior at UVA’s Blandy Experimental Farm field station. She now serves as the Director of Scientific Engagement at Blandy.

Webinar Details

When: Wednesday, August 26, 2020, 12:00 pm

Meeting Registration: Register for webinar (a requirement)

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

At-Home Citizen Science Projects

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Photo (c) by Barbara J. Saffir

Virginia may be in Phase 3 of re-opening but many volunteers will continue to stay home, especially those in high risk groups. For those who are looking for home-based opportunities, Virginia Master Naturalists has compiled a list of ideas for citizen science projects.

• CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow Network) https://www.cocorahs.org
• Nature’s Notebook https://www.usanpn.org/natures_notebook
• Project Budburst http://budburst.org
• Digitizing Virginia’s Herbaria project within Notes from Nature –  https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/md68135/notes-from-nature-southeastern-us-biodiversity  
• Project FeederWatch (season is mid-November through early April) https://feederwatch.org
• Great Backyard Bird Count (mid-February only) https://gbbc.birdcount.org
• NestWatch https://nestwatch.org 
• Hummingbirds at Home (Audubon) – https://www.audubon.org/content/hummingbirds-home
• Monarch Larva Monitoring Project https://monarchjointventure.org/mlmp 
• Firefly Watch https://www.massaudubon.org/get-involved/citizen-science/firefly-watch 
• Bumblebee Watch – https://www.bumblebeewatch.org
• Migratory Dragonfly Partnership http://www.migratorydragonflypartnership.org/index/welcome 
• Lost Ladybug http://www.lostladybug.org 
• FrogWatch http://www.frogwatch.org/ 
• Virginia WildlifeMapping https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/virginia-wildlife-mapping
• City Nature Challenge (limited to participating locations and specific dates) https://citynaturechallenge.org
• World Bee Count – https://beescount.org

Master naturalists, please check with the FMN service catalog or our service chair if you have any questions.

A Special Webinar Series for VMNs Stuck at Home, April 6-May 5

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In addition to VMN’s normal monthly Continuing Education webinar series, this month they are adding a “High Five from Nature” series. Don’t we all need a little encouragement from nature in our lives right now?

In each webinar, presenters will go over five species or concepts on a theme. These will be somewhat informal webinars of varying lengths, from 20 minutes to an hour. They’ll focus on Virginia species and on seasonal observations. We will record them and provide links to the recordings from our web site.

Please visit the web page for the Zoom link and Meeting ID for each webinar.

The Current Lineup

Five Frogs to Recognize by Ear

  • With Michelle Prysby, Program Director, Virginia Master Naturalist Program
  • Monday, April 6, 2:00 pm

Five Needled Trees (Plus 5 More as a Bonus)

Five Native Shrubs

Five Dragonflies

  • With Emily Luebke, VMN-Rivanna Chapter volunteer and nature photographer
  • Wednesday, April 15, 2:00 pm

Five Measures of Stream Quality That Have Nothing To Do With Water

  • With Rikki Lucas, Biogeochemist and VMN-Central Rappahannock Chapter volunteer
  • Tuesday, April 28, 12:00 pm

Five Ferns

  • With Kit Sheffield, Fairfax Chapter volunteer
  • Tuesday, May 5, 7:00 pm

…and more! We will be adding additional High Five webinars in the coming weeks. If you or someone you know would like to be a High Five presenter, contact Michelle Prysby.

Each of these webinars is listed with its separate Zoom link on our website.

FMNs can get credit for attending these webinars under: A Special Webinar Series for VMNs Stuck at Home

Message to Master Naturalists from Michelle Prysby

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Dear Virginia Master Naturalist volunteers—I hope that you all are safe and well. I’ve been in contact with all the VMN chapter board members and advisors regularly over the last week, and I wanted to take time now to reach out to all of our volunteers.

First, I would like to holler three cheers for all of our chapter leaders. They have been doing a great job pivoting as necessary given the ever-changing circumstances. They have had to gather information and preferences from a lot of people, make decisions about canceling events, learn new technologies to move meetings online, and a lot more. Terri, Tiffany, and I are all extremely appreciative of their efforts.

Second, I want to use this platform to ask all of you to take the guidelines from the Virginia Department of Health, the CDC, and the Governor’s office regarding COVID-19 very seriously. The most civic-minded act we all can do right now is to avoid in-person interactions and physically distance ourselves as much as possible. I know you all are very committed to your VMN volunteer work. Please put that work on hold if you cannot do it safely. Some people may even want to stop some volunteer work and projects that don’t require group gatherings, just because they want to conserve their mental and physical energy right now. That’s completely fine. Other projects may continue because people have the energy to do them and because they can be done safely.

Third, you’ll notice I did not use the term “social distancing”, and that’s because your fellow volunteers, friends, and family need connection now more than ever. Use the time you might have spent at all those events that are now canceled instead reaching out (in a safe way) to people you know. If there are safe ways to volunteer in your community to help the COVID-19 response effort, that could be a good way to re-direct your inclination to volunteer. 

Fourth, in the spirit of staying connected, I plan to be ramping up our Continuing Education webinars in the coming weeks. I had a couple of our regular webinars already lined up, and I will add to these so that there are more learning experiences available to you. I’ll announce those on our CE webinar webpage at http://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/continuing-education-webinar-series.html and via our CE Webinar mailing list. You can join that mailing list by going to http://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/receive-communications.html and clicking the “Email Alert Sign-Up”. 

Fifth, I am very proud and fortunate to work with Virginia Cooperative Extension, an agency that is providing great leadership, community assistance, and public information during this crisis. VCE now has a public webpage with COVID-19 resources at https://ext.vt.edu/covid-19updates/resources.html. Every day, additional fact sheets and other information is added there.We are so fortunate that spending time in nature, so long as we are not in close contact with other humans or sharing our binoculars, is safe! I have noticed more families than ever spending time outside in the park and trail near my house, which gives me a lot of hope. 

Spring is springing, and I hope that you will be able to spot your favorite wildflower in bloom, hear the birds singing, and watch the forests turn green again as the leaves emerge.

Stay well, Michelle Prysby, VMN Program Director

Derelict Crab Traps and How Volunteers Can Help

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2020 VMN Continuing Education Webinar Series

When: Wednesday, March 4, 2020, 12:00 pm

Meeting Number: 863-745-357

Link to Join: Join Webinar

Link for recordings of this and past webinars:

VMN Continuing Education Webinar page

Reminder – We still have our February webinar on February 25, discussing feral swine management. Information on that is on the CE Webinar page.

Description
Derelict fishing gear represents a major challenge to marine resource management through deliberate abandonment or accidental loss. Derelict crab traps in particular have significant negative effects, both economic (e.g., reduced fishery harvest from ghost fishing and reduced efficiency of active gear) and ecological (e.g., crab, fish and other animal mortality). This webinar will discuss the derelict crab trap issue in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the recent commercial waterman removal effort, and how volunteer Citizen Scientists can help.

Volunteers who are interested in participating in this project in the 2020 season should request approval from their chapter now, because the period for marking and removing traps ends March 14, 2020. Volunteers must register with the project, be 18 years of age, have a smartphone, and have an email address. For additional information and registration, visit the Crab Trap page. We have a project proposal form that you can take to your chapter available here.
Presenter
Kirk Havens received his B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Oceanography from Old Dominion University and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Public Policy from George Mason University. He is a Research Associate Professor, and Assistant Director of the Center for Coastal Resources Management at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. He also serves as a collaborating partner in the William & Mary School of Law, Virginia Coastal Policy Center. His research has spanned topics as diverse as hormonal activity in blue crabs to tracking black bears and panthers using helicopters and thermal imaging equipment. His present work involves wetlands ecology, adaptive management processes, marine debris, micro-plastics, and biopolymers. He hosts the VIMS event “A Healthy Bay for Healthy Kids: Cooking with Virginia’s First Lady” and the public service segments “Chesapeake Bay Watch with Dr. Kirk Havens”. He serves as the gubernatorial appointee to the Chesapeake Bay Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee and is a past chair of the Committee. He was originally appointed by Gov. Warner and re-appointed by Governors Kaine, McDonnell, McAuliffe and Northam. He also serves as the chair of the Leadership Council for the North Carolina Albemarle Pamlico National Estuary Partnership. He lives in King & Queen County, Virginia with his wife, Karla, and son Kade where he serves as the chair of the County Wetlands Board.

2019 Year in Review, by Michelle Prysby, Virginia Master Naturalists Program Director

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For the full report, click here.

Cutting edge: Water Chestnut Program (WCP) Meeting, Nov. 15th

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Twin Lakes Golf Course, Club House, Ball Room
6209 Union Mill Rd., Clifton VA 20125
Friday, 15 November 2019
10 am – 2 pm

The Fairfax Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists is facilitating an informational meeting about the invasive water chestnut (Trapa bispinosa).

The water chestnut program (WCP) would be an early detection and rapid response project for naturalists who would like to identify, verify, map and remove this novel species of water chestnut before it becomes established. The focus area is within the Potomac River watershed in Virginia.

This type of water chestnut, discovered by Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries (VGIF) in the tidal Potomac River at Pohick Bay in 2014, is not known to be established elsewhere in the USA. Scientists at the US Geological Survey (USGS) have found that it is spreading, but it is not yet considered widespread, or outside the Potomac Watershed. This is an opportune time to take measures to remove it before it becomes a huge menace in the Potomac River and watershed. Species of water chestnut (Genus, Trapa) are known to spread extensively and be invasive in Virginia and other regions of similar climate. Trapa can quickly grow over the surface of shallow water, completely shade out native submerged aquatic plants, impede water flow, clog irrigation pipes, alter biodiversity, and obstruct recreational boating and swimming.

Come to learn about this water chestnut species and explore options for eradicating it.  Virginia Master Naturalists, natural resource managers, pond owners, gardeners, naturalists, invasive species managers, pond management companies, and other interested parties are welcome to attend.

Program is free and open to the public. Please see the agenda and register here.  Questions? Email [email protected].

Fairfax Master Naturalists:  This program qualifies for Continuing Education credit.

Lead and contribute to FMN Chapter committees in 2019 and 2020

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Photo: Ana Ka’Ahanui

From President Joe Gorney to Chapter Members,

As a volunteer organization, our chapter succeeds based on the collective efforts of many people participating in an array of service activities. The same is true of the management of our chapter. At the end of this year, we will have a significant number of people rotating out of Board positions. Please consider serving on the board as an officer or committee chair, or as a member of a committee.  Your perspectives and ideas are enormously valuable.  Serving in one of these positions would take only a few hours each month but would be invaluable in helping our chapter to thrive.  And all of these hours count toward your service hours! Please submit your expression of interest to Fairfax Chapter Virginia Master Naturalists. Don’t delay!

Listed below is a description of the respective officer and committee chair positions. And if you’re not ready to be an officer or committee chair but would still like to help, you can still be a part of a committee as a member.  (We would especially like to have a diversity specialist under the Outreach Chair).

Secretary (officer)

Solicits board meeting agenda items; posts meeting agendas; takes and records meeting minutes; maintains chapter bylaws and handbook. Keeps us all accountable and working together!

Treasurer (officer)

Maintains the budget and accounting records; produces a monthly financial report; pays bills; collects dues; presents the financial records for audit; coordinates with committee chairs to produce the annual budget. Allows us to spend our money wisely to accomplish our mission!

Hospitality  (committee chair)

Coordinates general member meetings and basic training graduation activities including logistics, activities, and refreshments; orders and manage sales and/or distribution of fundraising items and logo items if needed. A welcoming presence at our activities!

Outreach (committee chair)

Promotes the chapter and its mission through outreach activities; manages booth staffing for outreach events; opens the eyes of the community to our mission and our work; helps ensure a diverse membership; motivates others to become members. Keep our good works in the forefront!

Continuing Education (committee chair)

Identifies, solicits, and approves continuing education proposals based on the criteria provided by VMN; notifies members of approved opportunities; maintains a catalog/calendar of opportunities.  Help us all to stay motivated and sharp!

Membership (committee chair)

Leads a small, dedicated, and experienced team; responsible for maintaining FMN and VMN membership directories; tracks and issues service awards and certifications; serves as member of Student Selection Committee.  Help welcome new members and foster camaraderie among current members!

Service (committee chair)

Approves service project proposals using established criteria; notifies members of opportunities; maintains a diverse catalog of opportunities. Help us all to serve our community!

Communications (committee chair)

Maintains the chapter public website, newsletters, social media, and chapter email account. Leads three or four strategically-minded people who communicate effectively and enjoy keeping all of us in the know. Earn hours from the comfort of your home while connecting us all to the chapter!

Help repopulate white oak forests

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From Laura DeWald, Forest Genetics Specialist:

I am at the University of Kentucky (Dept. Forestry and Natural Resources), where I am developing a genetics improvement program for white oak (Quercus alba) to address sustainability of the white oak resource into the future. The eventual goal of the project is to have a sustainable supply of good white oak to support healthy forests and restore the white oak resource. 

The first obvious step in a genetics program is to get germplasm – in this case acorns. Collecting will begin this fall and will occur for at least two more seasons, with the future collections focused on filling in collection gaps in the geographic range. Acorns collected will be grown in the Kentucky Division of Forestry’s state nursery and then outplanted into genetic tests as 1-0 seedlings. 

I need help getting acorns from throughout Virginia. Each individual person only needs to collect from 1-2 trees.

Important First Steps

1. Scout for one or two healthy white oaks now and look for the baby acorns to make sure that tree will produce this fall. That said, you can also watch for mature acorns on the tree–it’s important that they aren’t old ones from years past. Mature acorns will start dropping late September to October, so you will need to act soon.

 2. Contact Laura DeWald ([email protected] | 859-562-2282) for the collection kit and the important instructions you will need to follow before you gather the acorns. Laura will start sending out kits now to those who contact her. Each tree will get its own kit. (You don’t want to mix up the acorns from different trees because they want to sample the parent’s genetics.) [email protected]   859-562-2282