By Sue Dingwell The Potomac Overlook Park Native Shade Garden is growing up! ARMN members have been carefully tending this little niche, encouraging the natives, discouraging the weeds, and doing battle royale with the deer. This is the garden’s second spring. Volunteers were greeted on Tuesday, April 23 with colorful blooms and vigorous green shootsContinue reading “Potomac Overlook Park Native Shade Garden’s Second Spring”
Tag Archives: community outreach
Homeowners save wildlife by creating a green network across Northern Virginia
By Leigh Pickering In the past month, seven local properties have joined the ranks of homeowners creating a green network for wildlife in Arlington and Alexandria. This critical work is intended to blunt the impact of habitat loss in our area by providing small sanctuaries desperately needed for the survival of wildlife in our increasinglyContinue reading “Homeowners save wildlife by creating a green network across Northern Virginia”
Woodfrogs at Potomac Overlook Regional Park
By Joanne Hutton If you had been out volunteering with Meet Me on a Sunday on this glorious afternoon, you too might have enjoyed the chorus of woodfrogs spawning at the pond and in vernal pools. Thanks to Sherry McDonald for the great shot and for throwing herself into the Master Naturalist enterprise with wholeContinue reading “Woodfrogs at Potomac Overlook Regional Park”
Turtle Talks
By Esther Massey … and frogs and toads and snakes. O, my! Showing the Gulf Branch reptiles to the birthday party attendees has been an absolute blast for me. As a former teacher, I really appreciate being able to enjoy the instructional part without the daily toil. Each party is different, as are the parents and the children. The children vary in ages from 3-6 and sometimes their older siblings come along as well. Before the children and parents arrive, I decorate the room with posters and pictures availablable at the center and put up the “Private—Birthday Party” sign. I gather the materials that I intend to use for the talks on a table in the front of the room and place a cloth over them to keep the children from playing with them. The center provides puppets, skeletons, models, and other audiovisual aids to help the kids learn about the life cycle of the different reptiles and amphibians. The one they seem to like the most is the frog croak identifier. Pushing a button elicits the different calls of the specific frog. I let the kids take turns pushing the buttons.
Join ARMN for MLK National Day of Service events
Throughout the year, ARMN volunteers contribute to a myriad of service activities that benefit our neighborhoods and communities. For Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, ARMN inivites you to join our dedicated volunteers to honor Dr. King’s legacy by participating in two of our focus service projects to restore habitat in Barcroft Park and in Tuckahoe Park. Barcroft Park January 19th at 9:30 am Our main focus will be to clear ivy off the trees so that IPC (Invasive Plant Control), Arlington County’s contractor, willContinue reading “Join ARMN for MLK National Day of Service events”
Rod Simmons on ecological restoration
By Monique Wong How useful is the idea of planting on public lands as a part of ecological restoration? How do we create a solid conservation agenda for a natural area that is degraded in various ways? How do we know that we are getting it right? What are the pitfalls of using cultivars? What are theContinue reading “Rod Simmons on ecological restoration”
Power of Passion and Persistence
By Sue Dingwell The power of passion and persistence brought to life a new wetland last Saturday at Campbell Elementary School, a Title One, alternative school bordering Long Branch Park in Arlington. Two and a half years in the planning and fund-raising stage, the garden was installed by an all-volunteer crew at an event they calledContinue reading “Power of Passion and Persistence”
Flowers Come to Tuckahoe Park
By Mary McLean Thanks to Eagle Scout Jacob Heidig, Tuckahoe Park now has beautiful blue, red, and yellow flowers to admire. These plants (listed below) provide the best natural source of food and nectar for beautiful butterflies, goldfinch, and hummingbirds. In June, guided by a plan he developed, Jacob led a team of high schoolContinue reading “Flowers Come to Tuckahoe Park”
ARMN Invasive Plant Species Education Volunteer Opportunities Intersect at PORP
By John Bernard Several endeavors by Arlington Regional Master Naturalist (ARMN) on education of invasive plant species and alternatives converge at Potomac Overlook Regional Park (PORP). One is the ARMN Audubon at Home (AAH) focus summer project which had its kick off meeting on June 24 at ARMN’s native plant garden after “Meet Me OnContinue reading “ARMN Invasive Plant Species Education Volunteer Opportunities Intersect at PORP”
Demonstration Native Plant Garden for Shady Backyards
By Kathy Landis and Joanne Hutton On Sunday May 6, 2012, Potomac Overlook Regional Park (PORP) held a dedication ceremony that marked the official opening of the new demonstration native plant garden for shady backyards. The garden is adjacent to the Master Gardeners’ demonstration vegetable garden, across the driveway from the Native American garden. NextContinue reading “Demonstration Native Plant Garden for Shady Backyards”