(VA) (Northern Virginia Bird Alliance) This talk will cover the common species in Northern Virginia as well as the diversity and biology of these elusive creatures. Leeanna Pletcher is a Park Naturalist Aide for Arlington County Parks and Recreation where she teaches about amphibians and reptiles. She has studied the population and health of Ambystomid salamanders in vernal pools in ...
(DC) (Smithsonian Associates) What do an annoying house fly, the nearly endangered Mexican long-tongued bat, and a poop-eating butterfly have in common? Each creature, respectively, is the reason we can enjoy a bite of chocolate, a nip of a tequila, or the calming scent of lavender. Naturalist and educator Liana Vitali of Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Maryland offers an ...
(MD) (Smithsonian) Join us to learn about ospreys, the often-seen “fish hawk” of local rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, with Patuxent River Park's senior naturalist Greg Kearns. Roughly one-fourth of the ospreys in the continental U.S. nest in Chesapeake Bay. But the birds suffered massive declines in the 1950s and 60s due to widespread use of the pesticide DDT. In ...
(VA) (Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy)In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Dulles Greenway Wetlands Mitigation Project, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy invites you to learn about these important wetlands and the wildlife that call them home. Join us for this second program in the five-part series. Ever wonder what happens in the wetlands when no one is around? While investigating the reptile ...
(VA) (Arlington Parks) Want to learn more about nature and science? Join a naturalist for a crash course in how to teach environmental science and place-based nature education. Participants will get to be hands-on with learning items, can interact with live animals, and practice presentation skills. Adaptations can be a tricky subject to explain, but we'll break it down as ...
(DC) (City Wildlife) Rat poisons don't just kill rats—they ripple through the entire ecosystem. When predators and scavengers consume poisoned rodents, they too suffer the consequences of these indiscriminate pesticides. Despite the well-documented risks, anticoagulant rodenticides (a specific type of rodenticide) remain widely used. In California, a coalition of lawyers, scientists, and activists successfully pushed for a moratorium on these ...
(VA) (Arlington Parks) This mushroom walk will begin inside the Long Branch Nature Center with an introduction to identification for beginners. We will learn how fungi grow in the soil and their role in the environment. Then we will walk outside, rain or shine, to observe mushrooms in the forest. Adults. Teens ages 12 and up are welcome to attend ...
(MD) (Nature Forward) When the first warm rains of the season come, the amphibian world explodes into activity. Starting in late winter, temporary pools of shallow water, known as vernal pools, come alive with the kickoff of the annual amphibian migration. Since vernal pools dry up with the heat of summer and are not wet year-round, fish populations can’t survive. ...
