PAGE 16 | FEBRUARY 23 - MARCH 1, 2023
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
F.C. Resident Launches App to Help Local Students & Families
by Kylee Toland
Falls Church News-Press
When it comes to school calendars or college admission dates, everything can be found with a click of a mouse or tap of a finger. If a parent or parents find themselves still confused on where to look or what to click, one Falls Church resident made it even easier to access these various academic sources with a new app. Let’s face it, the internet has made finding one’s academic resources stress-free. However, for some people, the internet isn’t as simple as it seems, making it trickier for those who may not be “tech-savvy” to find access to important academic dates. Peter Larsen saw these struggles and decided to do something about it. As a father of two high school graduates, Larsen said he came up with the idea of the app “out of pure frustration” after not being able to find his children’s spring break schedule while they were attending college. Laren said he then remembered how he would go through the same strife when his children were high school students; having to “dig all over” websites to find school cal-
endars and other academic resources. “It should be right there for parents,” Larsen said, “instead of having to dig into one website and know whether you are looking at the right thing.” Enter the app “Whensit,” which came about two years ago when Larsen faced these difficulties, to finally December 31, 2022 when the app was officially launched. A person can use the app to find running lists of academic resources such as college application deadlines and school calendars, and even social events such as upcoming concerts, conferences, or even movie and book releases. Nicknamed after the phrase “When is it,” people can find important dates for various Virginia schools and even out-of-state universities. Once finding a date that is needed, a user can click on the date and the app will export it on to one’s device. “[The team and I] looked and saw that nothing like [Whensit] was really out there,” Larsen said. “We really want this app to be something that parents in different communities can go to and find those important dates.” To create the app, Larsen teamed up with Chetu, a software development company based in Homestead,
Florida. Chetu was responsible for the technology that went into the creation of the app.. Since its launch almost two months ago, the app can be downloaded nationwide, with Larsen stating that 60 cities have been built into the app with various school systems, concert and sports venues and conferences in those cities. The feedback from users have been “really good” according to Larsen, with guidance counselors having reached out to him to state how Whensit has been used as a “toolbox” to help students and their families. Alan Jacobson is a friend of Larsen and also a local user of Whensit, having downloaded the app to keep up with his children’s high school sports dates, as well as upcoming State Theatre shows. Jacobson stated he thought the app was a “great idea” as he also has faced challenges with trying to find important academic dates. “I think it’s got a lot of potential,” Jacobson said. “The more people use it, the more useful it will be.” Jacobson’s favorite part of using Whensit is the “convenience” of being able to find the events that he wants. He recommends that both Falls Church and surrounding com-
Vexed by Deer in Your Garden? by Henry Cauley
Gardeners everywhere know the feeling: you come out one morning to stroll through the landscape, only to find that many of your plants have been decimated by deer. Whitetailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are large, native mammals that wreak havoc in our gardens, not only by browsing on our flowers and shrubs, but also by knocking down our plants to create bedding sites and rubbing up on young trees during mating season (buck rub). As the population of these deer continue to grow, so does their need to find more sources for food, and thus gardeners continue to grow increasingly frustrated, exasperated, and ultimately defeated in their attempts to keep these animals out of their yards. The countless products and advertised solutions to keep these creatures from entering our gardens generally fall into two groups: physical barriers and chemical barriers. Yet neither group often proves to be a complete solution. Adult deer can jump over 7 feet high, but an 8-foot fence is neither an aesthetic nor financial option for many. Chemical barriers may result in a
deer only taking a single bite of a plant before turning away in disgust, yet this assumes the chemical has been applied correctly and consistently, a timely affair. Given these incomplete and inconsistent solutions, what is a gardener to do? One simple option with outsized impact is to introduce more native plants into your garden. Native plants offer a myriad of benefits: fewer disease problems, easier care solutions, more attractive to pollinators, and more suited for our climate. Importantly, these plants have also evolved alongside deer, meaning they have developed various natural defenses to make them less attractive to these animals. Now, there is one important caveat: there are few truly deer-resistant plants. Instead, these native plants have specific characteristics that put themselves in a better position to be unattractive to deer: fuzzy leaves; tough, leathery, fibrous leaves; aromatic leaves; aromatic flowers; spines or bristles; and poisonous compounds. By filling the garden with native plants that have these different characteristics, gardeners will be making their landscapes beautiful, impactful, and resilient.
Thankfully many types of native plants are now commonly available at major nurseries in our area, and several excellent native-specific nurseries are also in business to offer an even greater selection of plants. Below are several examples of native perennial flowers for a wide variety of garden types: Try These Deer Resistant Native Perennials Spring Blooming: Eastern Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana), Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis), Eastern Red Columbine (Aqueliga canadensis), Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense), Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis), Winecup (Callirhoe involucrate) Summer Blooming: Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum), Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Green and Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum), Star Tickseed (Coreopsis pubescens), Fringed Bleedingheart (Dicentra eximia), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pupurea), Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium), False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) Fall Blooming: Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), Spotted
WHENSIT can help users find various academic and local events (Photo: Peter Larsen) munities download the app to reach a “snowball effect” that can allow Whensit to expand its resources to further areas and cities. Future goals for Whensit include including “all major school systems of the country built into it,” and for it to remain a useful app so everyone
can use it no matter the circumstance. “I think if we can be the go-to thing for people as they’re preparing for their college admissions dates or for a busy [parent] who needs to know when their child’s school holiday is, that’s really the goal,” Larsen said.
Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum), Common Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale), Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata), New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis), Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima) Sun: Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum), Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis), Winecup (Callirhoe involucrate), Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), Star Tickseed (Coreopsis pubescens), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pupurea), Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium), Spotted Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum), Common Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale), False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides), Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata), New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis), Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima) Part Shade/Shade: Eastern Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana), Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis), Eastern Red Columbine (Aqueliga canadensis), Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense), Green and Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum), Fringed Bleedingheart (Dicentra eximia) Dry: Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Eastern Red Columbine (Aqueliga canadensis), Butterfly Weed
(Asclepias tuberosa), Star Tickseed (Coreopsis pubescens), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pupurea), False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides), Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima) Moist/Wet: Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum), Eastern Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana), Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis), Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense), Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis), Winecup (Callirhoe involucrate), Green and Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum), Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), Fringed Bleedingheart (Dicentra eximia), Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium), Spotted Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum), Common Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale), Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata), New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)