"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.

The Big Year

Fox will release The Big Year on Oct. 14. The film stars are Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Steve Martin. The movie was inspired by Mark Obamscik’s best-selling chronicle of three colorful and obsessive birders as they compete for the biggest “Big Year.” Audubon served as a resource for the filmmakers, contributing both expertise and Audubon branded materials for set-dressing. Audubon’s take is that it's a positive, engaging look at birding and birders. It even presents a fairly accurate version of Audubon’s founding and its history.

Clearly, it’s not every day that a major film with high profile talent injects birds and birding into the pop culture mainstream. This is a rare opportunity to engage both current members and new audiences. You can watch the trailer online on YouTube (The Big Year (2011) Movie Trailer HD). The movie is featured in the latest issue of Audubon Magazine

Tree Planting Volunteer Opportunity

TREE PLANTING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED SEPTEMBER 24TH

SCWA members and friends are needed to help with a tree planting event in the Morgan County Industrial Park on September 24, 2011 at 9 A.M. We will be planting 200 trees in the area surrounding the Washington Homeopathy Building to help slow storm water runoff into tributaries of Sleepy Creek and to stabilize the soil. The trees have been ordered and will consist of white pines and deciduous trees such as oaks and maples. Once the trees are established, they can absorb up to 68 percent of rain fall and are a good filter of phosphorus and nitrogen as they uptake moisture through their roots. This will help keep these chemicals, as well as sediment from erosion, out of our creeks and waterways.

Holes will be pre-augured, and top soil and wire cages (to prevent deer damage) will be on the site. Volunteers should bring buckets, shovels and hammers or small sledges to pound metal stakes to support wire cages. SCWA will provide gloves and drinking water. A bag lunch will also be provided for those who sign up in advance.

To reach the planting site, from Route 9 East and US 522 (at Sheetz) go south 10.7 miles to the entrance of the Morgan County Industrial Park. Turn left onto J.R. Hawvermale Way and follow the paved road two-tenths of a mile to the end. Turn right onto paved road to the Washington Homeopathy Building.

Everyone is invited to participate, and trees will be planted RAIN OR SHINE. Please sign up in advance in order to provide enough bag lunches. Contact Gale Foulds at 304 258-6155 or dgfoulds@aol.com.

PVAS Volunteer Opportunities

PVAS really, really needs help for these events! Working a booth is not hard—you just have to answer questions from folks. It’s usually rather fun and if there are 2 people, the time goes really fast!

PVAS is going to be represented in three locations on September 17th. We'll be spread pretty thin, so we'd LOVE some help staffing booths for all or partial days. We're seeking friendly faces, folks familiar with PVAS and the Master Naturalist Program, and good people skills. We'll provide the tents, information, and activities. Interested? Here's where we'll be:

Berkeley Springs Birding Festival:
Judy Webb is coordinating the festival and is looking for volunteers throughout the weekend to help staff the festival information desk, hand out brochures, sell tickets, etc...
Friday, Sept. 16 3:30-10pm: At the Country Inn
Saturday, Sept. 17, 9am-10pm: At the Country Inn
Sunday, Sept. 18, 9-11am: Country Inn. Help clean up room, silent auction pickup, etc..
Please contact Judy Webb directly if you'd like to help with this any portion of this event at natureniche@earthlink.net or 304-258-0992.

Sharpsburg Heritage Festival, Sept. 17th:
Vendors set up on Saturday morning between 7:30 AM and 9:30 AM. The event begins at 10:00 AM. Vendors are asked to remain set up from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM during the festival. Breakdown may begin at 5:30 PM.

Charles Town Heritage Festival, Sept. 17th:
http://historiccharlestownwv.com/heritagefestival.htm
Vendors set up on Saturday morning between 7:30 AM and 9:30 AM. The event begins at 10:00 AM. Vendors are asked to remain set up from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM during the festival. Breakdown may begin at 5:00 PM. (You could meet Richard Dreyfuss!)If you are interested in helping with either of these for at least part of the day, please contact Kristin Alexander at 304-676-3397 or PVASmail@aol.com. Thank you!

Future booth event:
Looking ahead, we could also use help at the Berkeley Springs Apple Butter Festival in October.
Saturday, Oct. 8th, 10am-5pm (parade is at 9 if you like parades)
Sunday, Oct. 9th, 12-5pm
Contact Peter Smith if you'd like to volunteer for this event at pvsmith@frontiernet.net or 304-876-1139.

Thanks, all!

Day of Caring

If you are looking for volunteer hours, the Day of Caring is a great way to go—lots of specials like food and shirts to thank you! This info is specific to Flowing Springs Park, but similar work will be going on at Yankauer. You can volunteer for Flowing Springs Park at the bottom of this letter. To volunteer at Yankauer, contact Tim Murphy at timurf@comcast.net The schedule for Yankauer is the same as listed here.
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The City of Ranson will be participating in the United Way's "Day of Caring" on September 13th at Flowing Springs Park. Similar to the April 2 event, we'll be doing some tree planting, some invasive removal, trash pickup, installation of a deer fence (electric this time) and give the trees from the spring planting some TLC with some water, mulch and beating back of some competitive weeds.

We'd love your help in accomplishing as much as we can on this day! Because it's widely recognized as a community volunteer day, employers often allow staff to participate in the Day of Caring, so please ask about it at work.

A couple of perks include: 3 free meals that day, a sense of accomplishment, and a t-shirt! Here's the schedule for the day:7:30am: Breakfast & Kick Off at War Memorial Park in Martinsburg
OR8:00am: Volunteer Open House & Refreshments at the Inn at Charles Town8:30am-4pm: Volunteers on Site (lunch provided around 12)4:30pm - 6pm: Dinner at the Clarion in Shepherdstown We'd love your help in accomplishing any of the tasks mentioned above. To sign up, please click on the link below. It will send you to a google doc spread sheet where you can provide me with your contact information and preferred task. I signed up myself as an example. If you are uncomfortable sharing your contact information in this way, please still sign up for your task, but you can send me a separate e-mail so I know how to reach you.

Everyone who signs up or contacts me will receive an e-mail the week before the Day of Caring with further instructions of what to bring, etc...

Thanks so much in advance for your help! Feel free to bring a friend! (But let me know ahead of time so I have enough food and shirts!)

Hope to see you soon!

Kristin Alexander
Potomac Valley Audubon Society

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0AmHKnqBGzzmjdGM3T0xLRzhtbXNLN3F2VFdoaWRpZ1E&output=html

Blue Ridge Center for Environmen​tal Stewardshi​p courses

The Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship is located just off of Harper's Ferry Road, about 5 miles from Harper's Ferry. The BRCES is a beautiful spot--600 acres of largely pristine woods, streams, ponds with hiking trails, and education center, etc. I love to walking there.  If the classes would qualify, feel free to pass on the information to others. There are also other classes if you take a look at the Website (blueridgecenter.org). Thanks!

Wild Edible Plant Walk
Instructor: Tim MacWelch
Sunday, September 18, 2011, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
$40 Members, $50 Non-members
Wild About Mushrooms
Instructor: Michael Judd
Saturday, September 24, 2011, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.$10 Materials Fee + Registration Fee ($30 Members, $40 Non-members)

Karen Eddlemankmeddleman@comcast.net

National Hunting Days Sept 24 and 25

The annual National Hunting & Fishing Days Celebration will be held Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 24 & 25 at Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park. The WVDNR has several children’s activities that need volunteers. In years past we’ve had many Master Naturalists volunteer their time at this event.

The times are: Saturday 9:00-6:00 and Sunday 9:00-4:00. Folks can volunteer for any amount of time (all day, half day or even a few hours).

If you are interested in earning volunteer hours, please let me know at your earliest convenience and I’ll send you more details. Thanks for helping us in the past, your help is REALLY appreciated.

Jim Fregonara
WVDNR
Wildlife Resources Section
Wildlife Diversity Program
phone: 304-637-0245
fax: 304-637-0250
email: Jim.M.Fregonara@wv.gov