"GROWING NATIVE" SEED-COLLECTION

Another good VH activity. You do not have to collect the nuts at Yankauer,
but it's a fun event.



"GROWING NATIVE" SEED-COLLECTION EVENT SET FOR OCT. 8

The Potomac Valley Audubon Society is once again partnering with the Potomac Conservancy to hold a "Growing Native" seed-collection event at the Society's Yankauker Nature Preserve in Berkeley County on Saturday, October 8.

The event will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon, rain or shine.

Everyone is welcome to participate. A state forester will be on hand to aid with seed identification, and seed-collection bags will be provided.

These events are very popular with children and make good family outings.

The Conservancy's Growing Native program is aimed at improving water quality in the Potomac River.

It recruits volunteers to collect seeds of native hardwoods and shrubs and delivers the seeds to state nurseries where they are nurtured into small seedlings.

The seedlings are then planted along streams and rivers in the Potomac watershed to help restore forests that filter pollution and run-off.

Since the program's inception in 2001, more than 50,000 volunteers have collected over 150,000 pounds of seeds.

The Yankauer preserve is located on Whiting's Neck, in the northeastern corner of Berkeley County. Directions can be found on the Potomac Valley Audubon Society website at http://www.potomacaudubon.org/yankauer.html#dir.

Pre-registration for the October 8 event is suggested but not required; people can register on site that morning if they wish. To pre-register or get more information, contact Deanna Tricarico, the Conservancy's Outreach Coordinator, at tricarico@potomac.org or 301-608-1188, extension 204.

For those who cannot attend the October 8 event but would like to help, the Conservancy will be installing seed-collection kiosks at the Yankauer Preserve, the Farmers Market in Inwood, and the Nature Niche store in Berkeley Springs. Families and individuals can gather seeds on their own at their own pace and drop them off at any of these locations anytime through October 23. Full instructions on procedures for gathering and dropping off seeds can be found on the Growing Native website at http://www.growingnative.org.

PVAS Picnic

Don’t miss one of the best (eating) events of the year! This Saturday, June 11, is the PVAS annual meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the pavilion at the Yankauer Nature Preserve.

All PVAS members are invited and children are welcome! As a MN, you were given a one-year membership in PVAS and if you haven’t already renewed, you can come and remember what makes PVAS such a great organization.

The meeting includes the election of directors and recognition of volunteers, but we always eat first!! (And the meeting is pretty short.)

The potluck supper is provided by YOU and everyone asked to bring a dish to share. Those whose last names begin with the letters A-H are asked to bring vegetables or fruit; I-L, a dessert; M-R, a protein dish; and S-Z, a starch dish. The chances are good that some of the BEST pies you will ever eat will be there (hint, hint, Susan!)

All are asked to bring their own dishes, flatware, and the like. You might also want to bring a lawn chair if you don’t want to sit on the benches.PVAS will provide water and lemonade.

For more info, contact Kristin Alexander at 304-676-3397 or pvasmail@aol.com

PVAS preschool Volunteer Opportunity

If you are looking for some volunteer hours, and you like working with kids, this is for you! The PVAS preschool session for 3 and 4 year olds and a parent is Tuesday May 31-June 3. Hours are 9:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. This is at Yankauer Nature Preserve in Berkeley County, between Shepherdstown and Martinsburg.

You are NOT in charge of the program, just helping the main instructor with distributing materials, getting activities set up, and helping with the activities. Parents accompany their camper so all kids have a parent on site and involved in the activities.

All hours count toward Master Naturalist certification. Help each day during the week and you have 10 hours!

If you are interested, contact Ellen Murphy.

May Volunteer Opportunities

Most of these were postponed by the weather earlier this month.

May 3 and May 4 are 2^nd graders at Yankauer, 8:30-1:00.  We are in DESPERATE need on Tuesday May 3 as we have about 75 kids coming (with teachers and chaperones), but that is a HUGE group to handle with only 2 people.

May 5 is a hike on the Kingfisher Trail with middle school students from The Park School in Baltimore.  They come every year as a school trip.  Time is 2:15 to 3:45.  There are only about 12 students expected (with chaperones).

May 24 and 25 are watershed field trips at Back Creek, on Route 9 past Hedgesville, just before Tomahawk School.  This is 4^th grade and we will have a couple of classes in the morning, then a couple right after lunch.  Time is approximately 8:30-2 p.m.  Activities will be water quality testing, looking for macroinvertebrates, and a short nature hike/stream bank assessment.

May 26 is a watershed field trip at Mountain Ridge School on Route 45 out of Inwood (Exit 5 off I-81).  We have several activities for them to do outside the school as well as cross the road to get to Mill Creek so they can look for macroinvertebrates.  Time approximate is 8:30-2:00. 

If you can think of someone who might like to help, please pass on the information or let Ellen know and she will contact them.  (It all counts as VH!)

WV Garlic Mustard Challenge

The West Virginia Garlic Mustard Challenge is coming to Yankauer Nature Preserve on Saturday May 7 from 10 a.m.-12 noon! It is sponsored by PVMN and all members are encouraged to be there! There’s certainly plenty of garlic mustard to pull and it’s always more fun to have lots of volunteers helping. Bring your family and friends even if you can only stay for an hour.

This is our first PVMN sponsored service project for the year. Others are the Mile A Minute Eradication effort at Flowing Springs Park on Saturday June 4 and service projects at Cacapon State Park and Yankauer Nature Preserve later this year.

The Garlic Mustard Challenge is a cooperative effort by the Monongahela National Forest, the Potomac Highlands Cooperative Weed and Pest Management Area, and the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area. This is the third year of the Garlic Mustard Challenge. The state goal for 2011 is pulling up 20,000 pounds of garlic mustard!

image source

Garlic mustard is one of West Virginia’s most invasive plant species. It out competes native plants by hogging all the light, moisture, nutrients, soil and space. Garlic mustard also deprives wildlife, such as the rare West Virginia white butterfly, of food sources that are instrumental to their survival. Garlic mustard likes the moist, shaded soil of floodplains, forests, roadsides and forest openings. Areas that have been disturbed are even more vulnerable to invasion.

We look forward to your help on May 4!

Ellen, Wanda, Krystal, and Nancy

2011 Class dates

For those continuing with the Master Naturalist classes this year, the TENTATIVE list of dates for 2011 is as follows. You can use this to determine when the classes you need to complete the course will be offered.


Core classes are required for you to graduate. Elective hours can be substituted hour for hour with any approved elective, but it is easier for you to plan on the ones offered.

March 19-20 Cacapon Orientation, General Ecology, Names/Classification/Identification and Soils (elective), Nature Interpretation/Teaching and Geology (elective)

April 30 Shepherd University Birds and Wildflowers/Weeds

May 21 NCTC Terrestrial Habitats and Recording/Sharing and Preserving What You Know

June 11 Cool Spring Farm Reptiles/Amphibians, Beavers (elective), Mammals

July 16 Cacapon Aquatic Habitats

August 6 NCTC Slime Molds (elective), Insects/Spiders & Such

Sept 10 Cool Spring Farm Wetland Habitats and Habitat Improvement

Oct 1 Yankauer Trees/Shrubs/Woody Wines, Service Project and Elective (elective)

Nov 5 Cacapon Service Project, Auction, and Casual Picnic

Nov 19 NCTC Annual Meeting and Presentation of Certification

Core classes are required for you to graduate.  Elective hours can be substituted hour for hour with any approved elective, but it is easier for you to plan on the ones offered.

Yankauer Volunteer Opportunity

Dear Master Naturalists,


If you are available, Tuesday Sept. 14th is the United Way's Day of Caring. We typically have about 80 people out at Yankauer hauling mulch, pulling stilt grass, getting the flower garden under control, and other various projects.

While this year we have LOTS of volunteers, we don't have a lot of knowledgeable volunteers to lead the charge for trail trimming (the difference between a fern and multiflora rose when trimming trails) and weed pulling (stilt grass vs. a native grass).

I would LOVE some Master Naturalists on hand to help lead the charge on these types of nature-oriented projects, and this would definitely be worth some volunteer hours.

I'm expecting volunteers to arrive at Yankauer around 8:30 am and everyone is usually gone by 3pm. (Of course, if you'd like to help clean up and get more hours, I won't complain.) There's also a breakfast for volunteers at 7:30 at War Memorial Park, we provide a hot lunch at the preserve, and there's a delicious "backyard barbecue" type dinner at the Clarion in Shepherdstown from 4:30-6:30 for volunteers. What more could you want? Breakfast, lunch AND dinner, complete with some VH on the side! (And if you still want more to do, there's a free concert at Yankauer from 6:30-7:30!)

Please let me know if you'd be willing to come and be a crew leader and share some of your MN knowledge with others. Spending a weekday in the woods with wonderful fellow volunteers is an added perk. You can e-mail me at PVASmail@aol.com or call me at 304-676-3397 to let me know of your willingness.


Thanks,
Kristin Alexander

May 1, 2010 Itinerary -Yankauer Preserve

Pavilion

 

Schedule of Events -

• 8:00 – 8:10 Welcome
• 8:10 – 9:10 Wanda Miller, Classification (1 hour core)
• 9:10 – 9:20 Break, 10 minutes
• 9:20 – 10:20 Nancy O’Berry, Latin for Naturalists (1 hour elective)
• 10:20 – 10:30 Break, 10 minutes
• 10:30 – 11:30 Ellen Murphy, Using Your Field Guide (1 hour elective) (focus is on BIRDS)
• 11:30 – 12:30 Lunch (Remember to pack your lunch/beverage since
• There are no food services at Yankauer – or close by)
• 12:30 – 4:30 Dr. Carl Bell, Wildflowers (4 hour core)

 

 

Please note the following:

• Please remember to bring a folding/lawn chair.
• You may wish to bring bug repellant, field guides – PLEASE make sure to have your name marked on your own (no need to purchase any prior to class), camera (no need to purchase prior to class), binoculars (please do not buy if you do not have them, Yankauer has a few extra to use); wear sturdy shoes and dress appropriately (since we will be outside all day.)
• Again – You must bring your lunch & drinks!
• No need to bring your large MN notebooks.
• You may want to bring a notebook/pen/pencil to take notes.

 

And thank you for joining us today!

Directions to Yankauer

Yankauer Preserve Volunteer Opportunity

Hi!


I know some of you in the 2010 MN class have expressed the hope for volunteer opportunities on the weekends as you work during the week. We pass on what comes our way, and this time you are in luck!

A 4-H Cloverbuds group would like to come to Yankauer on Sunday afternoon May 23 for a program. This can be just a directed hike on the trails or it could be a more focused program. Either way, we (I guess that means me) can help you get started and provide you with program supplies. Usually groups in that age range are good with sensory hikes or general nature themed hikes. The time has not been set, so that can be what works for you and the group.

If you are interested, let me know. The time you spend working on the program and the program itself are all volunteer time.

Ellen

Yankauer Preserve Volunteer Opportunity

If you are looking for a reason to “ be a kid” for a while, we have 2 programs coming up at Yankauer Preserve. On Friday April 23, we have kindergarteners from Faith Christian Academy who will be there from 9:30-1, learning about Insects. It’s all fun and games!


On Thursday May 6, we have middle schoolers from the Park School in Baltimore who are coming for a hike through the woods in the afternoon.

If you are looking for volunteer hours (VH) or just like playing nature games with kids, let me know and I will be happy to have your help!

Contact Ellen