[BSW] 2 talks and a walk coming up this week

[Kathy Bilton]

Forest Communities and Geology of Washington and Vicinity

Wednesday, May 10, 2017 – 7:30 pm
Huntley Meadows Visitor Center
3701 Lockheed Boulevard, Alexandria, VA 22306
703-768-2525

Join the Friends of Dyke Marsh on May 10, 7:30 p.m. at our quarterly 
meeting at Huntley Meadows Park to hear about natural communities.  Much 
of the greater Washington, D.C., region comprises the physiographic 
provinces called the Piedmont, Fall Zone and Coastal Plain, perhaps the 
most geologically and floristically diverse area in the eastern U.S.  The 
underlying geology and soils give rise to a diversity of natural 
communities.

Rod Simmons will give a presentation on the geology and the common forest 
communities in and around the nation's capital, including less well-known 
ones like diabase and siltstone flatwoods of the Triassic Basin, 
serpentine barrens, D.C. area pine barrens, magnolia bogs, small stream 
forests, shell-marl ravine forests and associated communities.  He will 
also explore coastal bottomland communities and nontidal wetlands, which 
collectively give rise to freshwater tidal wetlands such as Dyke Marsh.

The program is cosponsored by the Friends of Huntley Meadows Park, the 
Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, the Friends of Little Hunting Creek, 
the Four Mile Run Conservatory Foundation, and the Friends of Mason Neck 
State Park.  If you use a GPS device to find the park, do not use the 
park’s name.  Enter the park’s address, 3701 Lockheed Boulevard, 
Alexandria, VA 22306, ph. 703-768-2525.

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The Potowmack Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society invites you to:

The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife - Talk by 
Nancy Lawson

Thursday, May 11, 7:30 to 9:00 pm
Green Spring Gardens
4603 Green Spring Road
Alexandria, VA

VNPS programs are free and open to the public.

Traditional cultivation practices all too often ignore the needs and 
valuable contributions of our fellow species, exploiting myths and fears 
about the animals and plants living among us. Learn why rejecting this 
dominant paradigm is so important to a healthy environment and how 
partnering with nature through native plantings, gentle cultivation, and 
humane conflict resolution can bring new life and beauty to your own 
backyard.

Nancy Lawson is the author of The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard 
Habitat for Wildlife, published in April 2017, by Princeton Architectural 
Press and already in second printing. After an early career in newspaper 
journalism, she has worked for over 15 years as an editor and publisher at 
The Humane Society of the United States, leading the creative teams behind 
the nation’s top print and digital animal advocacy magazines. A columnist 
for All Animals magazine, she is the founder of an outreach initiative 
dedicated to cultivating compassion for all creatures through 
environmentally sensitive landscaping methods. Lawson volunteers as a 
master naturalist and master gardener in Maryland.

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Walk & Weed: Spring at Fraser Preserve

Led by Margaret Chatham
Saturday, May 13, 2017, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Fraser Preserve, 101 Springvale Road, Great Falls, VA 22066

Space is limited on walks, so please register at 
http://vnps20170513.eventbrite.com

There’s always something interesting to see at Fraser Preserve.  We may go 
off-trail to see some Twayblade orchids that may be blooming.  Along the 
way, we can discuss trees, grasses, sedges, or wildflowers and ferns.  In 
any case, we’ll pause on the way to pull up some Wavyleaf Grass 
(Oplismenus undulatifolius) -- no tools needed, but dress for the woods, 
bring insect repellent, water, and any snacks you need.  Please clean your 
boots before and after to avoid transferring seeds.

Margaret is a devoted Fraser Preserve Volunteer Visitation Committee 
Member who removes invasive barberry shrubs in winter and Wavyleaf Grass 
in summer and knows the preserve intimately.  She is also editor of the 
VNPS Potowmack News newsletter, a volunteer at the VNPS propagation beds 
at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, a Arlington Regional Master 
Naturalist, and active member of VNPS’ “Grass Bunch”.

Check for other VNPS events at http://vnps.org/potowmack/events/