Every Monday until further notice, at Long Branch Nature Center on Carlin Springs Road in Arlington, from 11:00 to 2:00: We are continuing to process the meadow seed that we collected last fall, especially goldenrods, broomsedge, and various asters. We are partnering with the Arlington Regional Master Naturalists, and our "Diva" volunteers are also coming out. One other big draw for these events: Alonso Abugattas, Natural Resource Specialist for Arlington Parks, may be able to talk to us occasionally about the relationship between the plant species we're working with and the animal wildlife that those plants support.

Directions to Long Branch Nature Center: The Center is located at 625 South Carlin Springs Road in Arlington. (See the ADC Northern Virginia Map Book, map 5647, square A3.) The closest major intersection is just half a mile south of the Nature Center, at Carlin Springs Road and Columbia Pike (244). View the Nature Center's location on Google Maps.

Saturday, February 11, at our Native Arboretum in Mclean, from 11:00 to 2:00: We'll continue pulling invasive vines. There will be also our regular Weeding Diva Workday at MBLP. Our "Weeding Diva" volunteers will be working on a more sensitive area of the Preserve. At least some of us might be able to join the Divas. (Only a small number of people can work on a sensitive site at any one time.)

Directions to the Native Arboretum: The Marie Butler Leven Preserve is in McLean, Virginia. The street address is 1501 Kirby Road. (See the ADC Northern Virginia Map Book, map 5526, square G2.) If you're coming from the Beltway, exit on Route 66 East; from 66, take the first exit, to Leesburg Pike (Route 7); turn left on Leesburg Pike, then almost immediately after the underpass, turn right onto Idylwood Road (695). Just stay on Idylwood, which becomes Kirby Road after the intersection with Great Falls Street. Stay on Kirby; once you have passed the stop sign at Chesterbrook Road, the Preserve is about half a mile up on the right. View the Preserve's location on Google Maps.

Saturday, February 18, at the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge, from 11:00 to 2:00: Join us at our 13-acre meadow restoration site for several hours of prying eastern gamagrass rhizomes out. This species of grass is native but it has achieved a very unnatural density over much of this 800-acre reserve. We're trying to make our plot more diverse, so we need to reduce the gamagrass density. We may also dig some Japanese knotweed. Wear sturdy, protective clothes (lots of thorns and tough vegetation), and very sturdy boots.

Directions to the Refuge: Occoquan Bay NWR lies near Route 1, less than a mile south of the Occoquan River. If you're traveling south on Route 1, turn left on Dawson Beach Road. The road leads directly to the Refuge entrance, about half a mile from the Route 1 intersection. We will meet in the central parking lot at the end of Dawson Beach Rd. Just pass the entrance and keep going until you reach the parking lot. View the location on Google Maps.

Saturday, February 25, at our Native Arboretum in McLean, from 11:00 to 2:00: More invasives control! (See February 11.)

Directions to the Native Arboretum: The Marie Butler Leven Preserve is in McLean, Virginia. The street address is 1501 Kirby Road. (See the ADC Northern Virginia Map Book, map 5526, square G2.) If you're coming from the Beltway, exit on Route 66 East; from 66, take the first exit, to Leesburg Pike (Route 7); turn left on Leesburg Pike, then almost immediately after the underpass, turn right onto Idylwood Road (695). Just stay on Idylwood, which becomes Kirby Road after the intersection with Great Falls Street. Stay on Kirby; once you have passed the stop sign at Chesterbrook Road, the Preserve is about half a mile up on the right. View the Preserve's location on Google Maps.

Sunday, February 26, at the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge, from 11:00 to 2:00: More gamagrass and, possibly, knotweed control. (See February 19.)

Directions to the Refuge: Occoquan Bay NWR lies near Route 1, less than a mile south of the Occoquan River. If you're traveling south on Route 1, turn left on Dawson Beach Road. The road leads directly to the Refuge entrance, about half a mile from the Route 1 intersection. We'll post a note here about where to meet. View the location on Google Maps.

Saturday, March 3, and subsequent Saturdays, at our Wild Plant Nursery in Springfield, from 10:00 to 2:00: Our nursery work begins in earnest! It's time to get ready for sowing. We'll fill lots of pots and organize our growing spaces. Sowing will mostly be done by our Divas or Arlington Master Naturalist volunteers during the weekdays. We'll also need to do some weeding. The nursery work will be supervised by our new Nursery Manager, Leigh Pickering. Wear shoes that you don't mind getting muddy! Please bring a bottle of water. If you are able to work at the nursery during the weekdays, please write Lisa.

Directions to the Nursery: The Nursery is in Springfield, Virginia, in Franconia Park, which lies just south of the Beltway, and just east of the Beltway’s intersection with Routes 95 and 395. (See the ADC Northern Virginia Map Book, map 5762, square E4.) Access is from Franconia Road (644). From Franconia, turn north on Thomas Drive, less than half a mile east of the 395/95 intersection. There is a traffic light at Thomas. From Thomas, turn right onto Meriwether Lane. Turn left onto Cloud Drive. Please park in the parking lot at the bottom of the entrance road, then walk down the dirt road along the community gardens. Our nursery lies beyond the community gardens. View the nursery's location on Google Maps. (The Google pointer is set to Cloud Drive, not directly on our nursery, which has no street address. From Cloud Drive, follow the directions above.)

Sunday, March 4, at Arlington Village in Arlington, from 10:00 to 2:00: We have been partnering this Arlington HOA, which has been working conscientiously to preserve the woodland on its property by clearing it of invasives, especially English ivy. We and our Arlington Village partners have made a lot progress but we don't want to let up! The disappearing ivy means more room for native groundlayer plants, such as upland low-bush blueberry, various woodland ferns and asters. A group of Dalton State College students will be visiting DC and plan to join us. Please come and help us preserve this wonderful woodland in the heart of Arlington.

Directions to Arlington Village: From 395 North toward DC, exit on South Glebe Rd./State Route 120 N; go about a mile, and take a slight right to South Walter Reed Dr.; take your 3rd right on 16th St.; take next left at Edgewood St. You will soon see our meeting point. Park on the street. The meeting point is marked on the View the meeting point on Google maps.

Saturday, March 10, at the Meadowood Recreation Area on Mason Neck, from 10:00 to 1:00: We will be working on a one-acre meadow right by the small parking lot near Meadowood's Belmont Blvd. office. (Note that this is not the main entrance.) We hope to cut down a lot of White snakeroot (native but too weedy) and some Chinese lespedeza. We will provide tools and work gloves and trash bags.

Directions to Meadowood's Belmont Blvd. office: The street address of the office is 10705 Belmont Blvd. (Route 601). (See the ADC Northern Virginia Map Book, map 5993, square G4.) Take scenic and bucolic Route 1 to Lorton and turn east (left if you’re traveling south) onto Gunston Road. Stay on Gunston Road for about 2 miles; shortly after Gunston Elementary School, turn right onto Belmont Blvd. Stay on Route 601. The BLM office will be on your left, a little more than a mile from that turn. Please look for a Meadowood sign. Pass the first sign and when you see the SECOND sign, please turn left to a small parking lot. If the lot is full, you can park along the road.

Saturday, March 10, at our Wild Plant Nursery in Springfield, 10:00 to 2:00: More spring organizing! (See March 3.) Leigh, our nursery manager, would like to keep the group down to about a dozen or so, so if you would like to come, please write Lisa ahead of time.

Directions to the Nursery: The Nursery is in Springfield, Virginia, in Franconia Park, which lies just south of the Beltway, and just east of the Beltway’s intersection with Routes 95 and 395. (See the ADC Northern Virginia Map Book, map 5762, square E4.) Access is from Franconia Road (644). From Franconia, turn north on Thomas Drive, less than half a mile east of the 395/95 intersection. There is a traffic light at Thomas. From Thomas, turn right onto Meriwether Lane. Turn left onto Cloud Drive. Please park in the parking lot at the bottom of the entrance road, then walk down the dirt road along the community gardens. Our nursery lies beyond the community gardens. View the nursery's location on Google Maps. (The Google pointer is set to Cloud Drive, not directly on our nursery, which has no street address. From Cloud Drive, follow the directions above.)

Saturday, March 17, at our Wild Plant Nursery in Springfield, 10:00 to 2:00: We're going to keep at it! (See March 10.) If you want to come, please write Lisa ahead of time.

Directions to the Nursery: The Nursery is in Springfield, Virginia, in Franconia Park, which lies just south of the Beltway, and just east of the Beltway’s intersection with Routes 95 and 395. (See the ADC Northern Virginia Map Book, map 5762, square E4.) Access is from Franconia Road (644). From Franconia, turn north on Thomas Drive, less than half a mile east of the 395/95 intersection. There is a traffic light at Thomas. From Thomas, turn right onto Meriwether Lane. Turn left onto Cloud Drive. Please park in the parking lot at the bottom of the entrance road, then walk down the dirt road along the community gardens. Our nursery lies beyond the community gardens. View the nursery's location on Google Maps. (The Google pointer is set to Cloud Drive, not directly on our nursery, which has no street address. From Cloud Drive, follow the directions above.)

Sunday, March 18, at the Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary in Arlington, from 12:00 to 4:00: This ecologically significant tidal basin and the surrounding parkland is owned by the National Park Service. We have been collaborating with NPS here for several years, helping to control invasive alien plants and replant natives. NPS is making a lot of progress against a huge Amur honeysuckle infestation in the northern part of the Refuge, and is now ready to install several hundred native shrubs—perhaps as many as 500. Please come out and help us plant!

We are partnering with a group from Ohio's Kent State University for this event. About 15 students and faculty visit Washington every spring, and it has become one of their traditions to donate a day of volunteer labor with us. (That's why the timing of this event is a litle unusual.) But we'll need some of our regular volunteers to make this planting a success. We would like to have as many as a hundred people out. Please join us!

Directions to Roaches Run: Roaches Run Wildfowl Sanctuary lies along the George Washington Parkway north of Reagan National Airport. (Not shown in the ADC Northern Virginia Map book, but it would be on map 5648, square D2.) From 395 north towards DC, exit onto George Washington Memorial Parkway (400) south; very shortly thereafter, you will find the Sanctuary exit on your right. Be alert! You cannot enter the Sanctuary from the northbound lanes of the Parkway. View the location on Google Maps.

Sunday, March 25, at the Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary in Arlington, from 10:00 to 2:00: We'll continue with last Sunday's planting. (See March 18.)

Directions to Roaches Run: Roaches Run Wildfowl Sanctuary lies along the George Washington Parkway north of Reagan National Airport. (Not shown in the ADC Northern Virginia Map book, but it would be on map 5648, square D2.) From 395 north towards DC, exit onto George Washington Memorial Parkway (400) south; very shortly thereafter, you will find the Sanctuary exit on your right. Be alert! You cannot enter the Sanctuary from the northbound lanes of the Parkway. View the location on Google Maps.