Posts

Wine to Water Filter Build: Create A Meaningful Experience for Your Family and Community

/in , , /by

Conservation, community service, hands-on environmental engineering, and social justice intersect in the work of Wine to Water, a North Carolina-based 501 (c) (3) nonprofit whose mission is to support life and dignity through the power of clean water.

The organization enables many ways to participate, one of which is Filter Build, a guided experience to build small, portable water filters that the organization distributes to communities in the U.S., Colombia, The Dominican Republic, Nepal, Tanzania, and elsewhere. Here is a copy of their 2018-2019 Annual Report, which presents the results of their work in both quantitative and human terms.

Do Fairfax County residents need these filters themselves? Nope.

Can Fairfax County residents and Master Naturalists host virtual events to actually build them for communities that do? You bet.

Might we, our children and grandchildren, and our neighbors learn about some of the engineering that goes into making water potable? Yup, that, too.

Learn one, do one, teach one?

Start here–with a video by founder Doc Hendley.

Nature Talk: Plants Shaped by Water, November 10th

/in , /by

Photo by Jerry Nissley

Tuesday, November 10th
7:30 pm
Zoom webinar
To register, email [email protected] and put “November 10 program” in the subject line and your name in the body of the email

Water is essential for life. Plants are composed mostly of water, which also defines reproductive strategies and vegetative community composition.  Presented by Friends of Dyke Marsh (FODM), Fairfax County naturalist and ecologist Charles Smith will explore how these issues are expressed in natural communities in Northern Virginia and how changes in land use and climate affect the health and future of our ecosystems.

FODM will confirm your registration and send you instructions for joining the meeting.

The American Horticultural Society, the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology and the Friends of Little Hunting Creek are cosponsors.

Order Your Earth Science Week 2020 Toolkit Today

/in , /by

Place your order for an Earth Science Week 2020 Toolkit now. The toolkit contains everything you need to prepare for Earth Science Week (October 11-17, 2020), which celebrates the theme “Earth Materials in Our Lives.” This year’s toolkit includes:

  • 12-month school-year activity calendar, suitable for hanging
  • New Earth Science Week poster, including a learning activity
  • Factsheet on minerals in cellphones and Navy gear from USGS
  • NASA materials on water science and a poster on agriculture
  • National Park Service resource on paleontology in our parks
  • Factsheet from the Soil Science Society of America
  • Geologic Map Day poster dealing with Earth materials
  • Mineral Education Coalition material on mineral science
  • IRIS flyer dealing with seismology and earthquakes
  • AmericaView Earth materials board-game poster
  • Geothermal Resources Council poster on energy science
  • American Geophysical Union poster on environmental science
  • UNAVCO sticker and poster on geoscience measurement
  • Switch Energy Project sticky notes about energy science
  • Hydrology flyer from Nutrients for Life Foundation
  • Bureau of Land Management dinosaur coloring page
  • National Science Foundation worksheets on rocks and water
  • GemKids poster from Gemological Institute of America
  • Water Footprint Calculator information on water science
  • Forest Service, Paleontological Society, AIPG items and more

Order the Earth Science Week 2020 Toolkit today. The toolkit is free and available for the cost of shipping and handling. Pay just $8.50 for the first toolkit and $2.25 for each additional toolkit in the United States. See the AGI Store for special pricing on a multi-pack of three years’ toolkits addressing different topics.

Toolkits are available for advance order now. The Earth Science Week 2020 Toolkit will begin shipping in August 2020. For ordering, special shipping, bulk orders, and more information, email AGI Publications at [email protected]

About AGI

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is a nonprofit federation of scientific and professional associations that represents over a quarter-million geoscientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society’s use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.

AGI is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to serving the geoscience community and addressing the needs of society. AGI headquarters are in Alexandria, Virginia.

The American Geosciences Institute represents and serves the geoscience community by providing collaborative leadership and information to connect Earth, science, and people.

A Chance for Some Fun!

/in , /by

Do you work in the Natural Resources field? Do you think you know a lot of about Natural Resources? Do you want a chance to test your knowledge? 

Due to Covid-19, the 2020 Virginia Dominion Energy Envirothon competition was cancelled and pivoted to an online testing week where 9th-12th graders from all of Virginia tested their knowledge in Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife and Water Resource Management.

But seeing the interest, the Virginia Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts Educational Foundation wanted to offer a chance for adults to test their knowledge in Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife, and Water Resource Management.

WHAT: The Natural Resources (Adult) Test Week will be 5 tests. Each test will have a 25-minute time limit.

Test Areas include:

  • Aquatics
  • Forestry
  • Soils
  • Wildlife
  • Water Resource Management: Local Control and Local Solutions

You can sign up to take one or all of the tests.

HOW: To sign up to take the tests, visit this link to register.  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7H6T585

If you register, you agree to not look up answers.

WHAT THEN? You will receive links to the test(s) on Monday, June 22, and must complete the test(s) by midnight on Sunday, June 28. Top scoring participants will be recognized by the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (VASWCD) Facebook page.

Please share this email with anyone you know who would be interested in testing their natural resources knowledge.

QUESTIONS: Please email Bonnie Mahl: [email protected]

Website www.vaswcd.org

The Incredible Journey Game: Understanding the Water Cycle One Drop at a Time

/in , /by

Kristina Watts

There’s nothing on this earth more essential to life than water. Seventy-one % of the globe is covered in water, so it seems like we have an endless supply. However, about 97% of our water is in the salty oceans, and about 2% is currently stored in ice caps and glaciers. That leaves 1% of our water available as the freshwater all of us land-dwelling animals and plants require. Water scarcity is a real problem in many parts of the world, and as our global climate changes, conflicts are likely. Current U.S. leaders don’t seem to take the need for water conservation seriously. Is a lack of understanding of the water cycle at least partially to blame for this? 

Enter environmental education for our future generations. The water cycle is one of my favorite topics to teach to children, but the typical cyclical diagram may be misleading in its over simplification. Plus, children tend to learn best by doing. That’s why I really like the Incredible Journey water cycle game by Project WET (Water Education for Teachers). It teaches the participants that there isn’t just one path that a water molecule might take, and there are certain places where water is more likely to stay for a long time than others. If you’re looking for fun environmental lesson activities to do with a group of children, this game is for you.

The premise of the activity is simple: you are a water droplet, about to travel on your journey around the Earth. The activity area (I like to use a large lawn space or big empty room) is set up with stations: ocean, lake, river, clouds, glacier, plants, animals, soil, and ground water. Each station has a cube (a die), marked with various stations. Each participant starts in one location, then rolls the die to determine where on their journey they’ll go next. The dice are not entirely random – they are weighted to approximate the likelihood of reaching anther spot (for example, the oceans cube is likely to keep you “trapped” in the ocean for a while rather than sending you on to the clouds.)

The method of tracking where each water droplet goes can be adjusted for the age of your group. Older students can track their journey on a worksheet, and then after a certain number of turns, the students can graph and statistically analyze the group’s results. But for younger kids – which is the audience I usually work with – the activity turns into a fun game when each child is given a piece of string to start with and collects a bead at each station (each station has a designated color bead). The children create a colorful necklace tracking their journey. At the end, no two participants’ necklaces are the same, but when we look at all the necklaces together, we can see that certain colors are more prevalent – telling us, for example, that a water droplet spends more time swimming around in the ocean or frozen in a glacier than in a stream or inside of an animal.  You can focus your introductory and concluding discussions however you like – the energy that powers each transition, the effect of the water in each location, potential pollution sources at each stage, etc.

I’ve led this game with Girl Scout troops, for a church Earth Day celebration, and at nature center summer camps, and each time I’m actually surprised at how much fun the kids have, running from station to station and growing their collection of necklace beads. (Make sure you have enough beads!  I’ve had to end the game not because the kids are ready to stop but because the supply runs out.)  It’s education in motion.

This activity is available for purchase at https://www.projectwet.org/resources/materials/discover-incredible-journey-water-through-water-cycle (assembly required). Or you can borrow it from the Fairfax County Soil and Water Conservation District; see https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/soil-water-conservation/enviroscape-watershed-model-classroom-presentation-lesson-kits for details.

Have fun!

NVSWCD stream monitoring workshops and sessions

/in , /by

Reston Association Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Saturday, July 13, 8:00-11:00am

Where: Reston VA

Spring is here and the warm weather is creeping back. What better way to enjoy the changing seasons than to get your feet wet in one of Reston’s streams? RA welcomes new volunteers to assist with stream monitoring at several locations. Get involved with a small team to collect data and identify insects with the goal of assessing the health of Reston’s streams. Not only do you get to learn about streams, it also provides an opportunity to make new friends! Learn more and register.

Pope’s Head Creek Stream Monitoring Session

When: Saturday, July 13, 9:00am-12:00pm

Where: Old Colchester Rd., Fairfax Station VA

Please join us at this lovely site where we can drive right up to the stream bank. No experience necessary. Find details here. RSVP to Margaret here.

Little Pimmit Run Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Saturday, July 13, 10:00am-12:30pm

Where: Off Maddux Lane, McLean, VA

Join NVSWCD as we discover aquatic life in Pimmit Run! This official NVSWCD stream monitoring workshop covers watershed health, what macroinvertebrates tell us about stream quality, and what you can do to prevent pollution in your local stream. This workshop will also help to prepare you to become a certified stream monitor, and is the last NVSWCD workshop before the certification workshop in August. Registration is limited. Send questions to Ashley Palmer and RSVP here.

Lake Accotink Stream Cleanup

When: Sunday, July 14, 9:00-11:00am

Where: Lake Accotink Park, Springfield VA

* Lake Accotink Trail entrance at Ellet and Inverchapel Road

* Lake Accotink Marina

* Lake Accotink Trail entrance at the end of Danberry Forest Drive (Kirkham and Uxbridge Court Playground

Meet at one of the above locations, pick up trash bags from the volunteer lead, and hit the trail to fill your trash bags with debris. Long sleeves, gloves, boots, and long pants are encouraged. Learn more on the Friends of Accotink Creek calendar.

Broad Run/Dawkin’s Branch Stream Monitoring Session

When: Saturday, August 3, 10:30am-12:30pm

Where: Bristow, VA

Parking is in the upper parking lot of Victory Lakes Elementary School parking at 12001 Tygart Lake, Bristow VA 20136. Follow signs near the playground to the Broad Run trail near the kiosk area. Join Sonnie Coffey at this beautiful adopted outdoor learning site for more water quality awareness in Prince William County. You’re invited to come learn more about benthic invertebrates and how they can determine the water quality of a stream. For more information and RSVP, please contact Sonnie Coffey.

Reston Association Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Wednesday, August 14, 1:00-4:00pm

Where: Walker Nature Center, Reston VA

Summer is here and the warm weather is creeping back. What better way to enjoy the changing seasons than to get your feet wet in one of Reston’s streams? RA welcomes new volunteers to assist with stream monitoring at several locations. Get involved with a small team to collect data and identify insects with the goal of assessing the health of Reston’s streams. Not only do you get to learn about streams, it also provides an opportunity to make new friends! Learn more and register.

Reston Association Stream Monitoring Workshop

When: Saturday, August 24, 8:00-11:00am

Where: Reston VA

Summer is here and the warm weather is creeping back. What better way to enjoy the changing seasons than to get your feet wet in one of Reston’s streams? RA welcomes new volunteers to assist with stream monitoring at several locations. Get involved with a small team to collect data and identify insects with the goal of assessing the health of Reston’s streams. Not only do you get to learn about streams, it also provides an opportunity to make new friends! Learn more and register.

NOVA Stream Monitor Certification Workshop

This event is jointly organized by the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District and the Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District and is open to anyone aspiring to become a Certified Stream Monitor.

Once certified, a monitor can adopt a stream site to monitor quarterly. The certification/training follows the Virginia Save Our Streams (SOS) monitoring protocol and the data collected is sent to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

All certified monitors are also invited to seize this opportunity to meet with the Chesapeake Monitoring Council Coordinator for new monitoring meters or get old meters calibrated.

To register and for more information,

please contact Veronica Tangiri (Prince William) or Ashley Palmer (Fairfax)

Help with Water Quality Field Day, May 30

/in , /by

The Fairfax County Urban Forest Management Division is looking for volunteers to help out with a Water Quality Field Day. 175 Fort Belvoir 6th-grade students will come in small groups to various activities. Urban Forest Managment’s will be a game demonstrating how water moves through soil of various types.

Thursday, May 30
10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Contact Katharine Layton to volunteer: 703-324-1857 or [email protected]

Two NVSWCD stormwater workshops

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Soak It Up: Stormwater Solutions for Homeowners
February 2, 10 AM–Noon
Register: http://bit.ly/2FBHiLC

Rain Gardens for Homeowners
March 2, 10 AM-Noon
Register: http://bit.ly/2VX3h5y

Mason District Governmental Center
6507 Columbia Pike Annandale, VA 22003

Stormwater Workshops flyer to share

Reston Association in search of Watershed Specialist

/in /by

The Watershed Specialist position (full time) has become available at the Reston Association. The work involves everything from leading stream monitoring groups, educating the public about watershed related issues, cleaning and maintaining the lakes, working with shoreline stabilization projects, and more! The position can be labor intensive at times. If you know someone who is looking for a job in the natural resources realm and who may be interested in this job, please pass this information along.

Apply for the position here: Reston Association Watershed Specialist

Winter Salt Watch: You Can Help

/in , /by

Road salt (sodium chloride) is everywhere during winter months. It keeps us safe on roads and sidewalks, but it can also pose a threat to fish and wildlife as well as human health. 

Fish and bugs that live in freshwater streams can’t survive in extra salty water. And many of us (more than 118 million Americans) depend on local streams for drinking water. Water treatment plants are not equipped to filter out the extra salt, so it can end up in your tap water and even corrode your pipes. What can you do?

STEP 1: Test the chloride in your stream. Request a FREE test kit using the form on this page and follow the instructions you receive with your kit. (You can also order your own chloride test strips through Amazon.) You’ll want to test your stream:

  • Before a winter storm (to get a baseline reading).
  • After salt has been applied to roads.
  • After the first warm day or rainstorm following a snow or freeze.
  • After the next rain event.

STEP 2: Share your results using the free Water Reporter app. Just follow these simple instructions. With test results in one place, we can identify salt hot spots around the country, and you can see how salt is affecting your community. Check out the Winter Salt Watch map below!

STEP 3: Take action. If you find high levels of chloride, let someone know!

  1. Call your city or county department of environmental protection to report high chloride levels or large salt piles.
  2. Write a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper or other news outlet to educate your community about this issue. You can start with our sample letter and adapt it for your use. (Download the Word file or PDF.)
  3. Share road salt best practices with community managers and state agencies.

Protect the health of your streams – and your community – with Winter Salt Watch!