American Chestnut Appreciation

Goin’ up to Reston, Reston, Reston … Three Headwaters members set out on Sunday morning, January 19th to the Walker Nature Center in Reston, Virginia, to hear one of our own present on the History of the American Chestnut as a teaching story for children.  RoxAnna and Betty Forrest are from the same Headwaters 2011…

Imperiled Monarchs

by Stephanie Gardner   Once a bright and sure sign of autumn, monarch butterflies are now in worrisome decline. Scientists have tracked their decreasing numbers for several years. A recent study showed the lowest ever population of migrating eastern monarchs.   A number of factors have contributed to the decline of the monarch butterfly. Here…

Winter Hummingbird

The story that grabbed my heart this year is of a critter that never entered our doors. JANUARY 2013 Last winter I got a call from a woman named Becky in far southwest Virginia who wanted to know what she could do to keep her female hummingbird warm during the anticipated cold snap that was…

Journalist in Our Midst

Headwaters Chapter certified master naturalist Stephanie Gardner penned a monthly naturalist column for our area’s Daily News-Record’s North Fork Journal and Shenandoah Journal in 2012. In her words, here’s how Stephanie got started as a columnist: In autumn of 2011, Lauren Jefferson, then editor of the Daily News-Record’s North Fork Journal and Shenandoah Journal, was looking…

Nature Nuts 4-H Club Activities Review

The Nature Nuts 4-H Club is one of over 20 groups available to Augusta County youth through the Virginia Extension Service’s 4-H Youth Development program.  It serves as a project vehicle for several Headwaters Master Naturalists including Ann Murray giving us this 2013 review. In 2013, the Nature Nuts have had a variety of interesting…