Conservation Celebration Family Fun Sept 27

The Conservation Celebration nature festival at Rust Nature Sanctuary will be fun for the whole family.

On September 27 from noon to 4 pm you can enjoy live Bluegrass by Acoustic Burgoo and music by Moon Music, art and nature crafters, magicians and street theatre, food and fun. There will be lots of hands-on activities for children, guided nature walks, house tours, nature exhibits, exhibits of solar and other “green” personal and home products.

Admission is free.

WHEN: Sunday September 27: Noon to 4pm

WHERE: 802 Childrens Center Road, Leesburg, VA 20175 [Google Map]

The Audubon Naturalist Society’s Rust Sanctuary is a 68-acre nature center with historic Manor House and grounds located at 802 Childrens Center Road, just minutes from downtown Leesburg.

To learn more about the event visit the Event Web Page or call 703-669-2561.

Sept 30: Learn Dos and Don’ts of living on Limestone

Living on Limestone can present some challenges.

Put simply, limestone can dissolve when even slightly acidic water flows over or through it (remember the really cool caves you visited – Luray Caverns, etc?)  Now, if you live on land that has underlying limestone bedrock, you need to understand it.

Over time limestone areas, called Karst, may collapse causing sinkholes.  The other caution for Karst area residents is the risk of groundwater contamination.  Typically our drinking water wells tap aquifers deep in the ground buried under hundreds of feet of soil.  Slightly polluted rainwater, or even a chemical spill, is not going to have an immediate and direct affect your well water.  However in Karst, sinkholes and fissures in the ground surface created by the slow “melting” of limestone rock may create a direct connection between the water on the ground’s surface and the groundwater aquifer.

A little lesson in living on limestone could help protect your property and health.

The Lucketts Community Center Advisory Board, Piedmont Environmental Council, and Virginia Master Naturalist are sponsoring a workshop to learn the facts about Limestone Geology, also known as Karst.  Land and home owners will hear from a panel of experts who will explain what Karst is, its relationship with water, its impact on development, and what that means to you.

Panelists include: Dr. Malcolm Field, Hydrogeologist, National Center for Environmental Assessment, USEPA; Andy Forrest, P.G. Forrest Environmental Services; Alison Teetor, Clarke County Natural Resource Planner.

WHEN: Wednesday, September 30, 2009  6:30-9pm
WHERE: Lucketts Community Center, 42361 Lucketts Road, Lucketts, VA  Directions

View the Flyer

Workshop Agenda:
6:30 pm – 7 pm – View Informational Booths & Resources
7 pm – 7:15 pm – Introductions
7:15 pm – 8:15 pm – Panel Presentations
8:15 pm – 8:45 pm – Question & Answer Session
8:45 pm – 9 pm – Wrap Up

For more information, please email Gem Bingol, PEC or call 703-431-6941.

Let’s get personal

September 20th is your opportunity to “get up close and personal” with Loudoun’s very own Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve.

This free Open House, which runs from 11am to 3 pm, is being sponsored and organized by the Friends of Banshee Reeks.  The event will feature several “stations” where visitors can see hands-on demonstrations and learn more about the volunteer activities going on at Banshee Reeks.

Have an interest in birds?  You can learn more about volunteer bird banding, migratory birds, and what birds are found on the Preserve.  There will be demonstrations by stream monitors, a station to learn more about our snakes, turtles, and frogs; and information about invasive plants and the volunteer efforts at Banshee Reeks to manage these alien invaders and promote the return of native plants.

“The event will feature family-friendly activities and interactive demonstrations focusing on stream monitoring, bird banding and monitoring, amphibians and reptiles, native and invasive plants, rain gardens, and more that will provide an opportunity for visitors to celebrate the environmental, cultural, and historical stewardship of the nature preserve. Hayrides and guided archaeological and nature walks are also planned for the open house. Admission is free.“

Nature Find is another tool to find outdoor opportunities

The National Wildlife Federation’s Nature Find website lets you search an area for nature related activities and sites.  You can refine your search by type of activity and zip code.

Once you locate a site you are interested in you can select it on the map and get a popup with site information,  driving directions, and event schedule.

Check out Nature Find at this LINK

New site Koddler offers search for “local activities for Kids and Toddlers”

Koddler is a new website that parents will find useful and interesting.

Koddler helps you find local activities for Kids and Toddlers.

At their home page you can do a quick search of “what you are looking for” coupled with the ability to limit your search to your own geographic area.  Audubon Naturalist Society’s Rust Nature Sanctuary is currently one of the featured sites on the home page.

Check it out HERE

Art and Nature Join Hands at Rust Nature Sanctuary

Today’s kids need more “doing”, less “watching”.

According to researchers and educators, nature experiences can provide lasting benefits to children.  In fact, researchers say connecting kids with nature is essential to their cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being.  In addition, research has shown that arts education provides children with mental stimulation and life lessons that help them succeed in school and beyond.

Children learn by hands-on experiences.

Since nature provides a challenge to all of our senses and art offers the perfect creative outlet, why not combine them?

Bruce McGranahan of Rust Nature Sanctuary and Wendy Green of KidzArt decided to do just that with a partnership between Audubon Naturalist Society and KidzArt.  “Art in Nature” will debut this September 16th at Rust Nature Sanctuary in Leesburg.  The program, designed for elementary school children, will combine  an interactive nature lesson led by a staff naturalist  with  an art lesson led by a certified  KidzArt instructor.  Topics will include: trees and plants, bugs, sea creatures, birds, amphibians and animals. Each session will begin with a nature presentation by a naturalist followed by art instruction and hands-on drawing.

“Nature is directly connected to our health,” says Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods:  Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder .  “It helps us feel better physically and psychologically. It helps us pay attention.”

Research shows that getting kids out in nature increases their physical activity, reduces loneliness, depression and attention problems.  KidzArt stresses problem-solving skills and children show increased self-confidence when they study art.   The “Art in Nature” program will encourage the young naturalist/artist to explore the details and intricacies in nature whether it is the subtlety of plants or the vibrant colors of birds and bugs.

WHEN: Wednesdays from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm beginning September 16 and ending October 21.

WHERE: Rust Nature Sanctuary, 802 Childrens Center Road, Leesburg, VA.  [MAP]

FEE: The registration fee for six lessons is $126.

This class is designed for 1st through 5th graders.  To register for this program go to www.kidzartva.com.  For more information contact Wendy Green at 703-669-3772 or Bruce McGranahan at 703-669-2561.

A great Bed and Breakfast with a Bonus

My wife and I spent a delightful two nights in a bed and breakfast last weekend.  She and I love Victorian era homes with all of the gingerbread and usually try to find a restored Victorian when we travel.

I must say that this weekend’s stay was a wonderful experience.  The Lady Linden Bed & Breakfast in York, Pennsylvania is an “almost” fully restored Victorian home circa 1897.  The owners are on the last leg of their three-year restoration project.   That in itself is not unique but the back story is what intrigued me.

Jim and Jean Leaman are the proprietors and quite frankly I felt like my wife and I had found soul mates.  What this couple has accomplished is an inspiration on many levels.  First of all Jean is from England and the child of botanists.  Her love of plants, and affection for native plants in particular, is demonstrated in her garden.  Underneath the colorful bounty of her flowers is a rain garden she and Jim installed to safely handle the roof runoff and overflow from the rain barrels tucked under the down spouts.

Jim is a retired biology and environmental science teacher with a love of the outdoors, wildflowers, birds, and hiking.  He is also a community activist and Chairman of the Codurus Creek Watershed Association.  Like many community advocates for clean streams and clean water, Jim knows that the only way things are going to improve is through citizen action.

The last part of my short story is how this couple rescued a house that was on the verge of being condemned.  Jim and Jean watched the house fall into severe disrepair.  Jim did not want to see it demolished leaving either a vacant lot or making way for a modern home that would not fit the historic neighborhood.  So he and Jean purchased the home and embarked on a three-year restoration plan.  They have taken painstaking care to bring this beautiful home back to life.  This is what I would call “Extreme Reuse and Recycle”.

The neighborhood, known as “The Avenues”,  is better for what Jim and Jean have done and I am better to have met them and heard the story of their journey.  What would have been landfilled has been brought back with renewed life and purpose.

York, Pennsylvania may not be the first place that comes to mind for a weekend get-away but it was one of the best I’ve experienced.  If you are a nature lover Jim and Jean can give you some great ideas for hikes in the area (we are planning a spring retreat to see the trillium). And the accommodations and hospitality were wonderful.

You can link to their website HERE

County Continues to Push for Road through Nature Preserve

Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve remains under serious threat by a County plan to to realign The Woods Road through the County’s own prized nature preserve.

“If you believe Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve is an important county resource, now is the time to demonstrate it.”

- President of the Friends of Banshee Reeks

Citizens have been asking for an “open and transparent” public process for years.  The County however, has been slow to react.   The last public meeting on the road was in April 2008.  Now, fifteen months later at the insistence of Catoctin District Supervisor Sally Kurtz, the County staff has agreed to another public meeting on July 29th.

Environmental Stewardship Adventure Days

I wanted to pass this along from my firends at Adventure Links.

Get Outside & Give Back This Summer

Environmental Stewardship Adventure Days 2009

With such a enthusiastic response in 2008, Adventure Links is once again organizing three Environmental Stewardship Adventure Days. These volunteer opportunities are designed to support our local parks and wildlife areas while getting families active and outdoors.  The giving goes both ways too – spend the morning doing trail and river clean up and the afternoon participating in complementary adventure activities! The day trips are free and open to all volunteers over the age of 8. We encourage families to come together, and participants under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Shenandoah River Clean Up DATE: June 27 TIME: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM MAX:  20 Volunteers Spend the day on the river cleaning up the banks and pulling out debris from the river. Rafting is a refreshing retreat from the hot summer rays. Elizabeth Furnace Clean Up DATE: July 18 TIME: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM MAX: 20 Volunteers Help clean up Elizabeth’s Furnace! We will be removing debris from the bottom of the rock and surrounding trails, then rewarding ourselves with an afternoon of rock climbing. Bear’s Den Clean Up DATE: September 12 TIME: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM MAX: 20 Volunteers Come hike the trails around Bear’s Den Hostel, a favorite Blue Ridge stop for Appalachian Trail hikers. We’ll help maintain the several loop trails around the hostel, while learning the rich history of the AT. Please call Adventure Links at (800) 877-0954 or visit our web site at www.AdventureLinks.net for more information.

Adventure Links
21498 Blue Ridge Mountain Road
Paris, Virginia 20130
800.877.0954

Fun Barn Dance fundraiser June 13 in Lovettsville

EcoStewards Alliance is hosting a good ol’ fashioned Barn Dance Saturday, June 13, 2009: 5:00 – 9:30 PM.  Here’s a way to have some fun and support a good cause.

This benefit for the non-profit EcoStewards Alliance, will be include appetizers, cookout and dessert, wine from adjacent Hiddencroft Vineyards and dancing – Contra, Circle and Square Dancing in the Barn – featuring caller Ann Fallon, fiddler Alexander Mitchell and guitarist Matt Levine

“Hillbilly Barn Dance,” by Kelly Fitzpatrick, 1945

WHERE: Nature’s Homestead, the farm of Peter Kelsey, ESA’s founder.

WHEN: June 13.  Explore the farm* (5 – 5:45PM), enjoy cookout (6:00PM) and have fun dancing to great music! (Not to worry, contra, circle and square dances will be taught!) Cash bar – wine, beer, soda and water.

COST: $25/person: includes appetizers, cookout, one beer or soda and dessert.  $50/Friend ($25 tax-deductible): includes the above plus a glass of wine. $100/Patron ($75 tax-deductible): includes the above plus an ESA tote bag or hat.

Purchase tickets by credit card at http://www.ecostewardsalliance.org/ or mail a check made out to EcoStewards Alliance plus your name, address and name(s) of those accompanying you to PO Box 2609, Reston, VA 20195.

ESA is a 501(C)(3)non-profit organization whose mission is to awaken our inner connection with Nature and to personal choices that enrich our lives and the environment.

For more information contact Maureen Becker,  Managing Director, MaureenESA@gmail.com or 571-323-2386.

May Programs at Rust Sanctuary

MAY 16: 8 to 10 AM—Beginning Birding

Learn Birding basics on the 3rd Saturday of each month at Rust Nature Sanctuary.  Binoculars, field guides and the basics of how to watch and learn to identify birds will be covered.

MAY 16: 10 to 11:30 AM—Cold Blooded Critters: Frogs and Toads

Saturday 10-11:30 This is the last in a 3 part series uncovering the mysteries of reptiles and amphibians. We will challenge myths about these fascinating creatures and explore the exciting reality about the way these creatures hunt, hide and survive.  Recommended for ages 3-6 with an adult. Call 703-669-0000 or email sortmann@audubonnaturalist.org to register

MAY 19: 4:00 PM—Musical Mark and the Batsong Tour

The Batsong Tour with Musical Mark makes a stop at Rust Sanctuary!  Kids of all ages will enjoy Musical Mark and this fun interactive concert about bats May 19th from 4:00-5:00 PM.  The Batsong Tour ‘09 is a dynamic theatrical event with lots of surprises. The show includes cave-like features, maybe some low lying fog to set the mood along with a batty backdrop and special lighting features. An audio soundtrack accompaniment will enrich the music.  Musical Mark will perform in his bat costume and get the audience singing along with “Matt the Bat” and “Batsong Rap-a-long” for starters.   $5.00/person admission.

MAY 21: 3:30 to 4:30 PM—Predators and Prey

Join us in this thrilling new series as we explore the true cat-and-mouse chases of nature. Foxes and rabbits, hawks and chipmunks, even ladybugs and aphids cannot escape young detectives as we discover how these animals hunt, fly, hide and swim to survive in the wilds of our sanctuary. Recommended for children age 3-6 with an adult. $8 for drop in. Please register by calling 703-669-0000 or email susanneo@audubonnaturalist.org.

MAY 21: 7:00 PM—Whitetail Deer, Friend or Foe

Suburban development and agriculture provide ideal “edge” habitat for this species, which has added to its proliferation throughout Loudoun County.  Human vs. deer conflicts have become a daily occurrence on highways, farms and backyards.

The Audubon Naturalist Society is sponsoring this free program about the Eastern Whitetail Deer.

• Why are there so many deer?
• Is the growing deer herd in Virginia healthy for the species?
• Is the growing deer herd in Virginia healthy for the environment?
• What natural population controls, if any, are currently at play?
• What can we expect in terms of herd management in coming years?
• What about those products that claim to keep deer away.  Do they work?
• Are there any sure-fire methods to make your garden “deer proof”?

John Rohm of Virginia’s Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will offer insight into these questions and more while he talks about the natural history of the deer, the history of deer herd management and what we can do to coexist with this wildlife species.

Light refreshments will be served.  For more information call 703-669-0000.

Childrens Outdoor Bill of Rights

Maryland’s “Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights“

Purcellville protects 1271-acres through a conservation easement

The Town of Purcellville filed its agreement with the Virginia Outdoor Foundation (VOF) to place 1,271 acres of land into a conservation and open-space easement on Earth Day, April 22nd.

“I am proud of the Council taking action to protect our reservoir and its watershed,” said Purcellville Mayor Robert W. Lazaro, Jr. “The Town has a proactive environmental record including holding an easement on a ten-acre stream valley property and placing an historic easement on our Fireman’s Field property. This latest easement is the largest easement in Loudoun and the first by a municipality in Loudoun.”

The easement will help protect a significant portion of the watershed above the J.T. Hirst Reservoir, three springs and the reservoir itself. The reservoir provides nearly one-half of the drinking water for the Town.

“I congratulate the Town of Purcellville for their foresight to protect the watershed for its drinking-water reservoir,” said Governor Timothy M. Kaine. “This conservation easement is remarkable, and it demonstrates the significant leadership role local governments can play in preserving open space. The town’s decision will help protect local drinking water and maintain the area’s natural beauty for generations to come.”

Loudoun Board honors volunteers

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors honored the recipients of the Volunteer Loudoun 2009 Outstanding Volunteer Awards during its April 21 regular board meeting.  Two winners in environmental volunteer work are worthy of additional praise and recognition.

Outstanding Volunteer Project: Banshee Reeks Weed Battalion – Affectionately known as the “Wee Bees,” the Banshee Reeks Weed Battalion is a dedicated team of nine volunteers who spent over 1,500 hours addressing the threat posed by non-native invasive plants to the biodiversity of Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve.

Outstanding Environmental Volunteer:  Nicole Hamilton – Over the past ten years, Nicole Hamilton has served in many leadership roles in The Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, providing countless hours of service to the group. With her initiative, many of the conservancy’s programs have grown as has membership in the organization. She has started or enhanced many programs, including the 2008 Butterfly Count which counted nearly 3,000 total butterflies and over 50 species.

Why we humans just don’t get it

In a treehugger post by April Streeter she examines Why Your Brain May Not Be Green. Based on a New York Times Sunday Magazine article by Jon Gertner, there may be good reason why we humans don’t react to threats like climate change or water pollution.

In a nutshell:

1. Humans have different decision-making modes. In the more analytical mode, we carefully try to weigh pros and cons to make a decision.  In analytical mode, unfortunately, we are unlikely to make decisions based on future green outcomes – in other words, we might do a less bad thing that costs less and delivers now rather than a much greener thing that costs more and stretches benefits into the future. We are not programmed to think decades ahead as the basis of our daily decision making.
2. In our primitive and emotional mode we react to immediate danger.  Although some of us believe the planet, or more appropriately the human race, to be in immediate peril, the majority do not.  Plus, emotional decisions are often not our best work.
3. The good news about our non-green brains.  We tend to have a huddle mentality. Gertner found in the experiments of Elke Weber from Columbia’s business school some evidence that might help form a blueprint for how to make collective decisions with environmental benefit – simply by considering distant benefits first! Groups, Weber observed, can be more patient about the future benefits than individuals. Basically, community pays – not only at the individual level, but in making better “common good” decisions.

Huddle up everyone!!

READ THE FULL POST >>>

Poisoned Waters coming to PBS April 21

After more than 3 decades of the Clean Water Act, we are failing.  Puget Sound and the Chesapeake Bay are examined in this two hour film.

Be sure to watch (or record) Poisoned Waters on April 21st.

more about “FRONTLINE: coming soon: poisoned wate…“, posted with vodpod

R U still buying bottled water?

[Cartoon by Steve Greenburg]

Via ENVIRONBLOG

Green for beginners

The New York post offers “Five Beginners’ Steps to a Greener Home“

Look for Vampires … put a soda bottle in the toilet … add a programmable thermostat.  Check it out.

READ MORE >>>

Is Vinegar some miracle solution?

Vinegar is often suggested as an eco-friendly, economical alternative to store-bought household cleaners.

AboutMyPlanet.com suggests:

Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and deodorizer and is a great all purpose cleaner, on anything but marble. The strong smell will disappear when it dries. Use it by:

-mix 1 part water to 1 part vinegar for an all purpose cleaner that you can use on the stove, appliances, & counter tops, stone and brick surfaces
-add ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle instead of fabric softener
-pour vinegar around the inside rim of the toilet bowl and scrub to get rid of rings
-mop the floor in the bathroom with a vinegar diluted with water
-add a couple teaspoons to a spray bottle filled with water for window cleaner

eHow.com gives us a whole room-by-room breakdown of how to clean with Vinegar.    Then there’s 62 Little Known Uses Of Vinegar, 131 Uses for Vinegar, and not to be outdone 1001 uses for White Vinegar!

Now ScienceDaily reports scientists are researching “Cleansing Toxic Waste With Vinegar“.  According to a March 10 post, Engineers and environmental scientists at the University of Leeds are developing methods of helping contaminated water to clean itself by adding simple organic chemicals such as vinegar.

The research team, led by Dr Doug Stewart from the School of Civil Engineering and Dr Ian Burke from the School of Earth and Environment, has discovered that adding dilute acetic acid (vinegar) to the affected site stimulates the growth of naturally-occurring bacteria by providing an attractive food source. In turn, these bacteria then cleanse the affected area by altering the chemical make-up of harmful chromium compounds to make them harmless.

“From the results we have so far I am certain that we can develop a viable treatment for former industrial sites where chromate compounds are a problem,” says Dr Stewart. “Our next step is to further our understanding of the range of alkalinity over which our system can operate. As society becomes more environmentally-aware, new regulations demand that past mistakes are rectified and carbon footprints are reduced. By designing a clean-up method that promotes the growth of naturally occurring bacteria without introducing or engineering new bacteria, we are effectively hitting every environmental target possible.”

Study finds pharmaceuticals in water near sewage plants

New study shows fish caught near wastewater treatment plants serving five major U.S. cities had residues of pharmaceuticals in them, including medicines used to treat high cholesterol, allergies, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder and depression.

This is further evidence that what we are putting into our water stays there.  Pharmaceuticals enter our waterways either through human waste or the practice of “flushing” unused, or outdated, medicines. Disposing of medicines in your toilet is no longer an acceptable practice.  Most areas of the country have facilities that will take outdated or unused medicines.

Click image to go to short video

Findings from this first nationwide study of human drugs in fish tissue have prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to significantly expand similar ongoing research to more than 150 different locations.

From Newsweek:

“A person would have to eat hundreds of thousands of fish dinners to get even a single therapeutic dose, Brooks said. But researchers including Brooks have found that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues can harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species because of their constant exposure to contaminated water.” … READ MORE