Photo by Diane Lepkowski, Cohort VII, September 22, 2023.
Stellar turnout to learn about bats
Peggy Plass, of the Headwaters MN Chapter, educated us on bats in general and on our local bats as we watched them coursing above the pond. Fun evening!
On Friday, September 22, Headwaters Master Naturalists partnered with Bat Conservation and Rescue of Virginia (BCRV) and the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum at James Madison University to offer a “bat watch” at the pond in the Arboretum. More than 80 people from the community came to talk about bats, and to watch them emerge and fly around the pond just after sunset.
Work that BCRV and HMN have done at the Arboretum over the summer has indicated that there are populations of Eastern Red Bats and Big Brown Bats at the Arboretum, and very likely some Tri-Colored Bats as well. Tri-Coloreds are endangered in Virginia, so knowing that they’re living in the middle of Harrisonburg is quite exciting! In addition to offering information about bats, HMN Peggy Plass talked with the participants about doing acoustic bat monitoring, and there was a bat monitor on hand for visitors to check out.
The turn out for the event was unexpectedly large, so much so that we’re planning to make this a more frequent event next year! We’re discussing with the Arboretum and the BCRV about doing a “bat watch” with Harrisonburg community members every other week through the late Spring to early Fall bat season. If you’re interested in being a volunteer to host these events, you can talk with Peggy Plass (president) or Pam Gray (Projects Committee Chair) for more information!
– Peggy Plass, HMN President, September 2023
Thanks to Steven David Johnson for sharing these lovely photos from the evening:
Staunton Tree Stewards took root (we’re here for all the puns) in 2020, when Shenandoah Green, a local environmental group, began the Staunton Legacy Tree Project. In three years, volunteers planted 3300 trees, and then began to transition to long-term care and management of those trees. Staunton Tree Stewards focuses on four areas within the 24401 zip code: where there is an environmental justice focus, such as historically redlined neighborhoods; heat islands; flood plains; and riparian buffers.
Our current projects include geolocating trees that volunteers planted and monitoring them on an ongoing basis; removing invasives such as tree-of-heaven and English ivy; and planting trees (though on a much smaller scale than previous years).
We have work days on the second Saturday of each month and either the third or fourth Tuesday, and welcome volunteers. If you’re comfortable with tech and want to get better at your tree ID, geolocating trees is a great way to do that (during the growing season, at least). During November, our work days will be planting trees. We also have a goal of organizing one educational walk per season. Anyone is welcome to join; we share events on Facebook and through our newsletter. We can also be reached at stauntontreestewards [at] gmail.com.
– Lora Steiner, Staunton Tree Stewards, September 2023
Depending on what you do, HMN Volunteer Service Project hours for these activities can be logged under:
Wildlife/ Plant Inventories and Monitoring: Staunton Tree Stewards – Geolocating
Invasive Species Management: Invasive Plants Removal, and/or
Habitat Restoration/Maintenance: Tree Planting and Maintenance
Dave Forrer leading a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience activity at the EJC Arboretum, September 13, 2023. Photo by Katie Rankin.
HMNs Help Provide Environmental Education to City 4th Graders
The Edith J. Carrier Arboretum’s Katie Rankin and Harrisonburg Public Schools’ STEM Director Amy Sabarre (with a grant from DCR) put together a wonderful program for all of the City’s 4th grade classes. The watershed project was held at the arboretum on September 12 through 18, and there’s still one more day, October 10, to catch the last class.
More than 500 4th graders attended and visited each of these five different stations:
1) “Just Passing Through” – The kids, acting as raindrops during a storm, ran along a straight hose (which represented a straightened-out stream or ditch), a curvy hose , and a curvy hose with human “trees” and “shrubs” planted along the “stream.” Each time, the kids were timed – showing them how a stream in its natural state with curves and trees, slows down the water.
2) “Freddy the Fish” – Freddy, a fish cut out of a sponge, was living happily in a stream (actually a 2 gallon container) until he decided to explore the world downstream, where he encountered fertilizer, road salt, litter, acid rain, toxic waste, and oil dumped down a storm drain. Each time a pollutant was added to Freddy’s water, the kids shouted in unison “Oh no! Poor Freddy!!!” Freddy dies, but the kids took home valuable lessons about stream pollutants and how to reduce them.
3) Scavenger Hunt and Stormwater Discovery Walk – The kids were given a form on which to tally all wildlife and pollution they observed, and to describe various pond and stream features, including riparian buffers and stream improvement measures.
4) The Shenandoah Valley Soil & Water Conservation District had an “erosion box” and provided a demonstration of runoff across various surfaces. They also had a rain barrel and described how they can help reduce runoff.
5) The City’s STEM director led a STEM project that challenged students to design structures and landscapes that provided optimal runoff reduction.
The following HMNs participated as “Station Leaders”: Ann Murray, Anthony Adamovich, Rob Beaton, and Dave Forrer. JMU first-year Education students assisted at a couple of the stations. The activities were a lot of fun for the presenters, and the kids learned valuable environmental lessons from the experience – and yeah, they had a lot of fun too!
– David Forrer, Cohort VI, September 2023
Click on an image below to enlarge it and find a caption. Photos by Katie Rankin and Dave Forrer unless otherwise noted.
Gail Fisher presenting about bluebirds, August 13, 2023. Photo by Cindy Westley.
Welcome Back Bluebirds Presented by Gail Fisher August 13, 2023 Sunnyside Retirement Community
Since 1978 the North American Bluebird Society (NABS) has been helping people increase bluebird populations.
Bluebirds, a member of the thrush family, build nests in cavities but their beaks aren’t strong enough to dig the hole themselves so they use holes in trees. In our area we have Eastern Bluebirds all year. With increased land development, cavity nesting birds lost habitat so their populations declined. Another issue is the introduction from Europe of starlings and house sparrows (which are not in the sparrow family, but rather the house weaver family). They aggressively compete with bluebirds. They are invasive species and so are not protected by law. They can be trapped and killed, and their eggs can also be “addled.”
Most bluebird eggs are blue but occasionally are white. Eggs are laid one at a time over 3-7 days. Sixteen to 20 days after hatching they will fledge. The bluebird box should not be opened after day 12 because the birds may fall out. Fledglings stay in the area. They have brown spots on their chests. Bluebirds rely on insects. Sometimes mealworms can be used to supplement their diet but too many can impede the development of babies’ bones.
Cindy showing a bluebird nestbox at Sunnyside to Eunice, Sharon and Jay. Photo by Ann Murray.
Nest box designs have evolved over time. Factsheets and plans for nest boxes are on the NABS and VA Bluebird Society websites. Location is important: open lawn, short grass with a nearby perch where pesticides are not used. Boxes should be installed by late winter since eggs are laid by late March. They should be placed about 100 yards apart. It is important to monitor nest boxes weekly during the season to ensure the health of the birds and provide data to the Virginia Bluebird Society. Predators and competitors include mice, feral cats, squirrels, raccoons, snakes, paper wasps, starlings and house sparrows. Baffles on the pole will keep snakes out. Noel guards also help keep out predators.
Other cavity nesters that might use a bluebird nest box include: tree swallows, chickadees, titmice, house wrens and nuthatches. Nest boxes can be winterized to provide a place for cavity nesters to stay warm in the winter.
Sunnyside Community has 5 monitored trail systems with 40 boxes. This past season there were 178 eggs laid, 118 hatched, and 97 fledged. Only 3 boxes didn’t have nests. After the presentation a trail tour was provided by Cindy.
Virginia Master Naturalists Headwaters Chapter members in attendance expressed interest in having a workshop to make nest boxes and learn the basics of monitoring. This may happen in February 2024. More information will be sent as plans are finalized.
Headwaters Master Naturalists in attendance: Ann Murray, Eunice Sill, Cindy Westley, Sharon and Jay Landis, Elaine Smith and guest, Bill Howe, Lynne Eggert, Vicki Langdon
The information below is from Katie Rankin at the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum at James Madison University. She is asking for help from our volunteers. This would be a VERY fun way to rack up some volunteer hours under General Outreach and Education. Please note the link to a sign up sheet. – Pam Gray, Projects Committee Chair
Monday-Friday, Sept. 11-15 and Monday, Sept. 18
The programming will be daily from 9:45 to 1:05. We have 4 content stations planned, each rotation lasting 40 minutes. Students will also get a lunch period. 4 of our 6 schools have 4 classes, and 2 of them have 5. So on the days we’re hosting a school with 5 classes, we’ll add in that 5th group as shown below.
I’m hoping the Master Naturalists would be able to largely take in hand the leadership of station 1. We will have college students and some other volunteers on hand for providing support assistance to station leaders, so you won’t be alone!
Station 1 is a lot of fun in my opinion. It has 2 parts: “Just Passing Through” is a movement activity that we’ll do on the tiers of the lawn behind the pond in which students pretend that they are the raindrops of a storm, and we time them as they come barreling down the hill together toward the stream. We’ll have chart paper for producing a bar graph showing how fast the “water” flows following a simple straight gully, then if we introduce curves into the stream, and then if we introduce riparian plantings (some students become trees who tag the ‘raindrops’, which then have to circle the tree 5 times before proceeding downhill). We’ll have a microphone out for this, so you can be heard by the group.
The other part of station 1 is “Freddy the Fish”, which is a pollution demonstration in which you tell the sad tale of Freddy’s journey to the ocean that is riddled with a variety of pollution sources (erosion, road salt, litter, factory waste, motor oil). The more dramatic, the better, and there’s a script. My favorite part is getting the students to exclaim, “Oh no! Poor Fred!” after each pollution source.
I will train volunteers on how to do each activity, and we have all the supplies!
Here is the sign-up link for the leadership roles at this program: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084FAFAD28A2FDC61-station People are very welcome to sign up for multiple slots (and it will be easier for all if they do!); I just didn’t want to ask someone for a multiple day 4-hour commitment!
In the sign-up, I’ve got these two activities split up since they will each need a leader.
Schedule for Each Day
9:45-10:25
10:25-11:05
11:05-11:45
11:45-12:25
12:25-1:05
Group A
2
4
LUNCH
1
3
Group B
2
1
LUNCH
3
4
Group C
3
2
4
LUNCH
1
Group D
1a, then 1b
2
LUNCH
4
3
Group E (Sept.11th and 15th)
1b, then 1a
3
2
LUNCH
4
Station 5 is lunch in the family garden, and the classroom teachers will take the lead on that. I’m hoping that the Soil and Water Conservation district will be willing and able to handle station 2 since those are sort of their natural programs. Ali Sloop from JMU stormwater compliance is prepared to do most of the scavenger hunt/walk through the arboretum (station 3), though she needs coverage on the 18th and I’m sure wouldn’t mind having someone to swap out with the other days. Station 4 is the STEM design challenge that has to be completed after students have at least seen the erosion box/rain barrel demonstration, but the school staff is handling the leading of that one.
I really appreciate your participation in this program! I’m sure there will be questions; please let me know what they are.
