Text and images by Alisa Wong At Four Mile Run Park in Alexandria, the challenge is familiar to many habitat restoration practitioners: there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of mature bush honeysuckle shrubs (Lonicera spp.), which are invasive Eurasian plants, many standing 5 to 7 feet tall. These plants are also a challenge for homeowners. WithContinueContinue reading “Fighting Bush Honeysuckle Without Herbicide”
Category Archives: News
A Summer Sparkle: Why Fireflies Need Our Help
by Desirée-Marie De Haven When you think of summer nights as a kid, do you picture chasing fireflies? I certainly do. Growing up in rural Virginia, summer evenings meant running through the yard with a mason jar in hand, carefully recreating the “perfect” firefly habitat inside. We’d poke air holes in the lid, add aContinueContinue reading “A Summer Sparkle: Why Fireflies Need Our Help”
When the River Gets Sick: Ecological Effects of the Potomac Sewage Spill
by Laura Gilmore The iconic Great Falls of the Potomac River. In winter, the Potomac River can look deceptively quiet. The boats are gone. The lilies are dormant. Many fish are absent from the shallows. Ecologically, however, the winter months are not an off-season. Beneath the surface, the tidal freshwater Potomac River, which includes theContinueContinue reading “When the River Gets Sick: Ecological Effects of the Potomac Sewage Spill”
Microplastics for Microorganisms: How Caddisfly Larvae May Use Microfibers for their Homes
Text and images by Joseph Barnes, except as noted. I was about a month into the ARMN Spring 2026 Basic Training course, juggling work and classes, while knowing I would have to miss a field trip focused on stream macroinvertebrates (animals without a backbone that can be seen with the naked eye). Fortunately, a fewContinueContinue reading “Microplastics for Microorganisms: How Caddisfly Larvae May Use Microfibers for their Homes”
When a Grassland Bird Survey Turns to Other Residents of the Grassland
A Photo Essay from Poplar Ford Park: Fairfax County Grassland Bird Survey Text and photos by Kayla Hinrichs On a dewy spring Saturday morning, a fellow Master Naturalist from the Fairfax Chapter and I participated in a Fairfax County-sponsored grassland bird survey at Poplar Ford Park in Centreville, VA. As the recorder for our team,ContinueContinue reading “When a Grassland Bird Survey Turns to Other Residents of the Grassland”
Huffman’s Falls: A Geologic Gem in Glencarlyn Park
Text and photos by Hutch Brown. Four Mile Run in Glencarlyn Park below Huffman’s Falls. The stream has exposed a metamorphic bedrock type almost half a billion years old. Glencarlyn Park (shown at right) straddles the spectacular gorge cut by Four Mile Run and its tributaries in west-central Arlington. About a hundred acres in size,ContinueContinue reading “Huffman’s Falls: A Geologic Gem in Glencarlyn Park”
Cleaning the Bay Starts Here
by Jo Allen Question: What is missing from upper course of Four Mile Run that flows through five contiguous parks that are managed by ARMN Park Stewards after “Clean the Bay Day” on May 2? ARMN volunteers led by Dominion Hills Park Steward Noreen Hannigan, (center in yellow vest), and crew from Quetzal Lawn &ContinueContinue reading “Cleaning the Bay Starts Here”
City Nature Challenge 2026: A Retrospective
Text by Rosemary Jann; photos by Barbara Saffir The City Nature Challenge is now complete for 2026, and the final results are impressive, showing solid increases over 2025 totals. This year the CNC, a global bioblitz that seeks to measure urban biodiversity, included 754 metropolitan areas in 61 countries across six continents during the four-dayContinueContinue reading “City Nature Challenge 2026: A Retrospective”
Soldiers2Scientists Rise to the City Nature Challenge at Chinn Ridge
By Terri McPalmer On a chilly Saturday morning in late April, I joined a small group of master naturalists in the Manassas National Battlefield Park to assist Soldiers2Scientists (S2S) as they took part in a City Nature Challenge (CNC) event, an annual four-day global bioblitz. S2S is a non-profit organization that facilitates the participation of active dutyContinueContinue reading “Soldiers2Scientists Rise to the City Nature Challenge at Chinn Ridge”
ARMN’s 2026 Honeymooners Heronry Hike
Text by Anna Dixon; photos by Barbara Saffir, except as noted. Hike participants assemble to photograph the great blue herons. Photo by Ajani Simmons. On a glorious March morning, about 25 participants gathered at Burke Lake in Fairfax County, VA for The Honeymooners Heronry Hike, a lively walk to Vesper Island’s great blue heron “rookery”ContinueContinue reading “ARMN’s 2026 Honeymooners Heronry Hike”