A Sample Field Note
Lisa mailed this note to her list on Monday, June 20, 2011.
Dear Friends,
Summer begins tomorrow officially. The last few weeks, however, had us taste what lies ahead: the relentless muggy heat that pastes onto your skin. Never mind the external condition, however. Our volunteers braved the weather and worked hard. Even in the open grassland like the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife in Woodbridge on Sunday, 12th. Our Braddock SS Environmental Science AP students who helped control Mile-a-minute and other invasive plants and helped to install a solarization trap in the middle of grassland. I myself nearly fainted from the heat. Our admiration to Cory Rowan, Chris Donlon, Chrissy Pillbeau, Ben Deng, Jordan Morris (all students of Maureen Goble and Mark Khosravi) and our Bob Hassett and his amazing two boys, Thomas and Henry. Thomas and Henry are fearless!
Also like pulling out prickly Mile-a-Minute under the full and hazy Sun at MBLP in McLean on Saturday, 11th. It was so rewarding to see the result of our work: a huge patch of Mile-a-minute was gone after only a couple of hours of our sweat! Randy Wood and his son, Logon; one of our weeding Divas, Donna Chandler; Stefan Schweizer, all the way from DC; our Braddock SS students, Travis, Ben, and Mary Catherine. Our Bob Hassett and Matt Bright.
Our Weeding, Watering and Wednesday Divas never miss the ball no matter what. Our Watering Divas for the weekends take their responsibility seriously: they come all the way to the Nursery even though it rained. They want to make sure the rain indeed fell onto our plants at the Nursery! I am the sole beneficiary of their selfless help: I no longer have to rush to the nursery to water after our field events!
Last Friday, 17th, we had about 25 corporate volunteers from Discovery Communications (sponsored by Greater DC Cares) at Meadowood Recreation Area in the Mason Neck. We were divided into 3 teams and managed to install over 50 wire cages to protect the tree seedlings at the Ecological Display site and made some stone check dams, and another team protected 150 young Oak and Hickory Seedlings in the woods near the Thompson Creek that are vulnerable to deer browse by installing tree shelters over these seedlings. And yet another team installed several large solarization traps over highly invasive Chinese lespedeza in the open meadow section. They also hand pulled some Chinese lespedeza growing among Goldenrod and Milkweed that we planted in early Spring. Although the Discovery Communications people are not experienced in the field, they were really great at figuring out what and how to do and worked beautifully! We want them back again!
Our special thanks to Jerry Schrepple (Arlington Master Naturalist) and Matt Bright and Philip Latasa (our Nursery manager) to help lead the field event! It was good to have experienced leaders who know what they are doing!
Our independent film maker friends, Chuck and Nelson, spent the whole day on the 17th following us around to film our activities.
We will have two more field events scheduled next week: our good friend who's biology professor at NOVA in Annandale, Lisa Williams, will bring her students to MBLP this coming Wednesday to tackle some invasive plants. We will return to MBLP on Saturday, 25th to continue our work. You can join us on 25th from 10 am for a couple of hours.
The trick to work though the Summer heat is not to think about it. If we just focus on the work itself and accept the external conditions as they are, it does not seem bad at all. Actually, the work gives us a sense of satisfaction. Quite fulfilling, in fact. Thank you.
Lisa Bright