Walker Nature Center
BRANCHING OUT
A LOOK INSIDE • Calendar 4 • Kids’ Corner 6 • Eco-friendly Gardening 7 • Biodiversity 8
Nature Notes By Pam Findley
JUNE • • • • •
Toad tadpoles swim in ponds. White-tailed Deer fawns are born Fireflies and dragonflies are active. Spotted Wintergreen and Partridgeberry bloom. JUNE 20—Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year
JULY • • • •
Listen for Annual Cicadas, Snowy Tree Crickets and katydids. Red Admiral and Monarch butterflies are in flight. Indian Pipe, which lacks chlorophyll, grows in deep woods. Butterfly Weed, Orange Jewelweed and Cardinal Flower bloom.
AUGUST
• Sedum, asters and goldenrod bloom. • Fall webworms appear. • Swallows, martins and swifts begin to migrate south. • Hazelnuts mature. • Perseid meteor showers peak on August 12.
Nature Uplifts Us By Susan Sims
Backyard barbeques, beach vacations, birthday parties—are they on or off? As I write this, we’re still experiencing the impacts of COVID-19, and it’s difficult to predict where we’ll be this summer. Yet, summer will still come. Some things are guaranteed – the sky is blue, water is wet, and we’ve all figured out appropriate hand washing. While times of crisis have weighed heavily on us all, nature has been there to fill our hearts with joy and our lungs with fresh air. This unique time in history has shown just how elemental nature is to humankind. People around the country and the world took refuge in parks, open spaces and nearby nature in their yards and neighborhoods. While concerns about health and finances restrict much of our regular lives, nature is steadfast. Here at the Nature Center, we are grateful for the positive feedback from visitors to our trails, fans sharing nature photos from their walks and people embracing creative ways to continue environmental education and the pursuit of science.
Data Matters
During these times of social distancing, our volunteers have continued to engage with nature through solo citizen science. Working independently and staying at least six feet from others, bluebird box monitors have been checking 32 nest boxes on a weekly basis throughout Reston’s natural areas and at the Nature Center.
They check for active nests, count eggs and report when baby birds leave their nests. They make sure that measures stay in place to protect the birds from threats like snakes and ants. Data is reported to the Virginia Bluebird Society. Nest box programs have contributed to the comeback of this beautiful bird of happiness, a sight for sore eyes, especially in tough times like this. If we find ourselves under orders to remain distanced this summer, there are abundant ways to take part in citizen science. You can document plant and animal species using the iNaturalist app, taking photos even if they are through windows or just in your yard. It’s a great way to crowdsource information from around the world and make it available to researchers and scientists. Restonians are encouraged to add observations to the Reston Biodiversity Project in the app. Other projects include Caterpillars Count and stream monitoring for water quality.
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Summer | 20 | Volume Twenty Two