ASNV Awards Two Audubon Hog Island Scholarships

Photo: Hog Island sunrise, Gretchen Linton

Bill Burton, Lisa Mackem

Chrissy Brownson, science resource teacher at Providence Elementary

Every year, ASNV awards a scholarship to “Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week” at Hog Island Audubon coastal Maine. The scholarship is awarded to a classroom teacher, specialist, or school administrator and covers tuition, room, board, and transportation. Hog Island has offered environmental education programs for adults, teens, families, and conservation leaders since 1936. The camp takes a multidisciplinary approach in helping instructors develop effective techniques for teaching children and adults about nature.  

Candice Centinkaya, Fairfax County Public Schools at-large science resource teacher

This year, ASNV selected two scholarship winners: Chrissy Brownson, science resource teacher at Providence Elementary and Candice Centinkaya, a Fairfax County Public Schools at-large science resource teacher. Each winner is expected to use her Hog Island experience to develop a new conservation-themed educational program or enhance an existing one.  The teachers will share their summer experiences in the September newsletter and submit final reports to ASNV next year. We look forward to hearing from them!

Upcoming Workshops and Classes

Photo: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, David Shipper/Audubon Photography Awards

Join us online! 

Celebrate Pollinator Week!

The World of Pollinators Workshop – Webinar, with Larry Cartwright

When: June 25, 7 PM 
FREE, but space is limited and registration is required. WAITLIST ONLY
To be added to the waitlist, click here

There is a wide diversity of pollinators in the world. Most of us are aware of bees and hummingbirds as major pollinators, but there are many other insect and mammal species that distribute pollen from one plant to another to support fertilization. Some plants co-evolved with specific pollinator species and rely solely on them to ensure reproduction. We will discuss how this process is accomplished and what threats face many pollinator species today.

Instructor: Larry Cartwright has been a nature lover for most of his life and is fond of creatures that fly, especially birds and bats. Larry leads the Dyke Marsh Breeding Bird Survey for the National Park Service and the Winter Waterfowl Survey for the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia and compiles the Washington D.C. Christmas Bird Count sponsored by the Audubon Naturalist Society. He is also a participant in a five-year project to update the Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas. Larry has received several awards from scientific and conservation-based organizations, including the Virginia Society of Ornithology’s Jackson M. Abbott Conservation Award for 2013.

Coming Soon: Ecological Landscaping – Webinar

When: TBD
Fee: TBD

Coming Soon!

Participants will learn to apply ecological principles to creating backyard habitats and restoring ecosystems. Focus will be on looking not only at the needs of animals, but working with nature and using local ecosystems as examples for selecting species, building soils and providing natural structure.

This webinar is open to all. It is especially relevant for volunteer Audubon at Home Ambassadors, and will augment basic training for Virginia Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners and qualifies for advanced training hours. It is recommended that attendees have some familiarity with the book, "Bringing Nature Home" by Douglas Tallamy and the ASNV publication "The Nature of Change" which can be downloaded here.

Instructor: Charles Smith

ASNV Online Programs

Blackburnian Warbler, Shirley Donald/Audubon Photography Awards

We’re now offering most of our classes and workshops online due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. We will provide recordings of as many of these events as possible and make them available here, both to keep our members and community engaged while staying at home and to develop an ongoing collection of educational resources. Check back often, as we will add videos and resources as we receive them.

Also Coming Soon - Virtual Field Trips! 

Keep your eyes on your inbox and our website. We’ll be offering field trips from near and far! Weekday events will include visits to birding hot spots from around the world including Florida, Midway, Columbia and Ecuador just to name a few!

Youth Education Mini-grant Winners 2020

Photo: Birding, Tom Hissong/Great Backyard Bird Count

Every year, the Youth Education Committee of ASNV sponsors a mini-grant program to support teachers, schools, and non-profit organizations in youth-oriented education about birds and the environment.  The committee is proud to announce three recipients ($500 per grant) in 2020:

Fairview Elementary School in Fairfax Station, VA will use funds to build bluebird houses and purchase binoculars for its K-6 students.  They will couple existing indoor environmental lessons with outdoor activities along their newly built bluebird trail.  Students will engage in seasonal observations and analysis of a wide variety of avian behaviors to complement their science standards of learning.

Cub Run Elementary School in Centreville, VA will purchase wildlife cameras and bird feeding kits so that their K-1 students can track birds in their natural habitat.  They will incorporate the data and observations into curriculum on the basic needs of animals. 

H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program in Arlington, VA will launch a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) around the topic of single-use plastics, from their environmental impacts to their re-use in the school’s makerspace. The mini-grant will help to fund a field trip on 2020 Potomac Watershed Clean-Up Day to trawl for and analyze micro-plastics.

Youth Education Mini-grants

Photo: Birding, Tom Hissong/Great Backyard Bird Count

Deadline: March 15, 2020

The Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) is sponsoring a mini-grant program in 2020 to help teachers, schools, and non-profit organizations educate youth about birds and the environment. ASNV anticipates awarding three mini-grants, up to $500 each.

Funding may be used to support Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs), professional development, field trips, speakers and admission fees, equipment, transportation, trees, plants, etc. All projects must include an educational component.  

You must complete the project and submit a one-paragraph summary and photos by December 31, 2020. Your summary and photos will be used in the ASNV newsletter, blog and on the website.

Visit our Scholarships and Grants page, or download the application here.