By Rosemary Jann, Phenology Program Leader For the second year in a row, ARMN’s phenology project has been recognized as a top contributor of observations for Nature’s Notebook’s “Nectar Connectors” campaign. Nature’s Notebook, the database tool of the USA National Phenology Network, enables volunteer citizen scientists to submit observations that chart the timing and intensityContinue reading “Nature’s Notebook Recognizes ARMN Citizen Scientists”
Category Archives: Citizen Science
Stream Monitoring Volunteers Track the Health of Arlington’s Streams
Text by Shay Pratt; photos by Colleen O’Hara How can you tell if a stream is healthy? One of the best ways is to look at the tiny organisms that live in it. The flies, larvae, and worms found there can tell the story of a stream’s overall health, if you know how to readContinue reading “Stream Monitoring Volunteers Track the Health of Arlington’s Streams”
Join the 2023 City Nature Challenge, April 28-May 1!
by Caroline Haynes Mark your calendars for April 28 through May 1 to participate in the 2023 City Nature Challenge (CNC). Join your friends, family, and neighbors in this fun annual nature event. What is the City Nature Challenge? The CNC encourages interest in discovering urban nature by having individuals observe, record, and identify theContinue reading “Join the 2023 City Nature Challenge, April 28-May 1!”
ARMN Ozone Bio-indicator Garden: Report From the 2022 Growing Season
by Leslie Cameron The ozone bio-indicator garden at the Walter Reed Community Center (WRCC) is concluding its second full growing season. Arlington Regional Master Naturalists installed the garden in 2020 and are collecting data on the impact of tropospheric or ground level-ozone air pollution on plants, in cooperation with NASA, the Harvard Smithsonian Center forContinue reading “ARMN Ozone Bio-indicator Garden: Report From the 2022 Growing Season”
ARMN Summer Chapter Meeting Highlights the Four Mile Run Conservancy Foundation and Mini Bioblitz
Text and photos by Rod Mackler, unless otherwise noted. ARMN held its summer chapter meeting in Alexandria’s Four Mile Run Park. The “Arlington Region” for the Arlington Regional Master Naturalists includes Alexandria, Falls Church City, and parts of Fairfax County, as well as Arlington County. It was a glorious day, with temperatures in the 70sContinue reading “ARMN Summer Chapter Meeting Highlights the Four Mile Run Conservancy Foundation and Mini Bioblitz”
Impact of White-Tailed Deer on Arlington’s Forests
by Leslie Cameron and Bill Browning In mid-November, ARMN members Bill Browning, Jeff Elder, Steve Young, and Leslie Cameron met with Arlington Parks and Recreation Conservation and Interpretation Manager Rachael Tolman to evaluate a deer “exclosure” in Gulf Branch Park. The deer exclosure was built in 2017 as part of an Eagle Scout project forContinue reading “Impact of White-Tailed Deer on Arlington’s Forests”
ARMN Ozone Garden Work Continues at Walter Reed Community Center
by Barbara Hoffheins, Todd Minners, Terri McPalmer, and Jon Bell In 2020, Arlington Regional Master Naturalist (ARMN) volunteers initiated the Ozone Garden with the cooperation and support of Arlington County Parks at Walter Reed Community Center (WRCC) located at 2909 16th St S, Arlington, VA 22204. (The beginnings of this project were reported in anContinue reading “ARMN Ozone Garden Work Continues at Walter Reed Community Center”
Two Honors! Glenn Tobin Earned the 2020 Bill Thomas Volunteer Award, and ARMN is presented the Virginia Chapter of the Wildlife Society’s 2021 A. Willis Robertson Award
Glenn Tobin is the 2020 Bill Thomas Park Volunteer Award Winner On April 20, 2021, Glenn Tobin received Arlington County’s Bill Thomas Park Volunteer Award for the year 2020. The award recognizes an individual or group whose efforts show ongoing dedication and tangible benefit to Arlington’s natural resources, parks, and public open spaces. Glenn hasContinue reading “Two Honors! Glenn Tobin Earned the 2020 Bill Thomas Volunteer Award, and ARMN is presented the Virginia Chapter of the Wildlife Society’s 2021 A. Willis Robertson Award”
Yellow-rumps: A Bird Watcher’s Delight in the Winter, Spring, and Fall
Text and photos by Ginger Hays (except as noted) Yellow-rumped warblers ((Setophaga coronate) are a very abundant species of the Wood Warbler family—those small, often brightly colored birds that bird watchers go crazy about during spring and fall migration. Bird watchers affectionately call them “butter butts.” There are two primary subspecies of yellow-rumped warblers: the Myrtle warbler,Continue reading “Yellow-rumps: A Bird Watcher’s Delight in the Winter, Spring, and Fall”
Birds of A Feather: The Making of a Video on How to Identify Local Birds
by Joan Haffey (ARMN), with input from Charlie Haffey (helpful brother) When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the programming coordinator for a senior services center near me asked if I would do some “Bird Zooms” for isolated seniors. Their clients are often locked down in their apartments or worse, in their room, with few, if any,Continue reading “Birds of A Feather: The Making of a Video on How to Identify Local Birds”