Creek Mapping Part 2

Connie H shares a couple more pictures of creek mapping project on the second excursion to Booker T. Washington National Monument in Hardy, Virginia. 

Click here for more details on this project and the first excursion photos.

Don and Rick at the drafting table

Amapping We Will Go…

Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes Chapter head out to our local National Monument on another cool project!

The mapping team (Tommy, Dr Don, Meg, Rick, Connie and myself not pictured)

Found Among the Potatoes

WHAT IS IT? READ ON TO FIND OUT!

By Meg Brager 

Dick LeRoy found this casing while we were digging sweet potatoes at the Booker T. Washington National Monument heirloom garden. We had no idea what it was, maybe a cicada…but it looked too big. You could see the wings through the casing, and it was actually wiggling. 

Those present will attest to the fact that in true Master Naturalist fashion I reacted to this unexpected movement by throwing the pupa straight up in the air. I took it home and did some googling.  

It appeared to be the pupae of a Sphinx Moth, also known as the Tobacco Hornworm. Apparently it was unharmed by my frightened response, as it has now hatched and is unfurling its wings and proboscis  in a box of dirt on my porch.  Maybe it would have waited until spring except for the warm weather?  

Find more info on these fascinating creatures that are often mistaken for baby hummingbirds.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphinx_Moth 

Visit Booker T Washington National Monument year-round, for free here.

The Power of Water

Visiting Booker T Washington National Monument with the aspiring master naturalists we were able to see what changes have occurred in the park due to some high water from heavy rains! 

I took this photo in 2011, the changes and sediment were noticeably changed at this same spot with recent heavy rains.

I saw this sign today and wanted to share this thought with you:

Photo courtesy of Larry W Brown "Guide to the Shenandoah National Park"

Have you ever considered the power of water? We think of the strong winds and gale forces from a hurricane and many times neglect to consider the force of water...

In Nelson County Virginia less than 2 hours from our BRFAL region, 1969 brought rain from the heavens likened to a river flowing straight down. 

The strength of water tore up the rivers and the mountains to the point that parts of mountains were exposed with 10,000 years worth of erosion done in less than 8 hours. Click here for more on Hurricane Camille in Virginia. FEMA was born from this natural disaster that took 123 lives in Nelson County VA. A recommended book on this topic from those who survived is "Roar of Heavens" by Stefan Bechtel. Click here for more about it. 

A sign in Nelson County at James River State Park 27" of rain in less than 8 hours

Learn more about the Virginia Master Naturalist Program here.

Forest and Fields Training

Today I was privileged to assist the new trainee class of 2012 Virginia Master Naturalists on a Forest and Fields field-trip at Booker T Washington National Monument. The beautiful 75 degree sunny day was perfect for exploring outside!

Part of the day was Tree Identification

Using field guides helped to ID trees by their leaves 

Road salt's second sting

UNC Asheville biologist learns it harms amphibians - and helps mosquitoes thrive

BRFAL VMN Guy B "Water Monitoring" at Booker T Washington National Monument

By T. DeLene Beeland Correspondent

Water Quality Monitoring at Booker T. Washington National Monument

Today I was able to volunteer with other BRFAL Chapter members at Booker T Washington National Monument in Hardy Virginia.

The data gives Booker T. Washington Nat’l Monument baseline values for future comparison and may reveal early warnings of degrading conditions in the watersheds.  Without BRFAL’s help, the Park would not be able to conduct this valuable monitoring, and the natural resource management decisions of the Park would be based on sporadic visual information only.

Volunteers and staff will conduct monthly water chemistry measurements at five sites in the Park. A YSI Professional Plus electronic meter is calibrated against known standards and then is used in the creeks to measure temperature, pH, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen in the water. A long term YSI water quality sonde is also used to make specific conductance measurements every 15 minutes at one site.  Water samples are also collected for laboratory analysis of additional chemicals and sediment.

Shellie "Since today was my first day on the job, I tried to follow what the other members were doing as we calibrated the YSI Meter and then took samples as well as sediment samples that were to be sent off to a lab. It was a hot, muggy and buggy day, but uber interesting! I look forward to going back next month to give it another shot.

I will now show a few photos from the Water Quality Monitoring without getting too technical. At the end you have an opportunity to click a link to learn more about the Virginia Master Naturalist Program. We invite you to join this group, take the training, getting involved as a citizen scientist!"

Ranger Timbo and Don preparing to collect data from the long term YSI water quality sonde

PCC at Booker T Washington National Monument

Water quality monitoring

Marshall collecting sediment for testing

Guy entering the calibrations

BRFAL Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalist wants you to get outside, explore and learn something new today. Get involved in something cool! Learn more about the Virginia Master Naturalist program here. Keep an eye on this blog for updates and announcements for BRFAL CHAPTER classes! 

Is it a Great Day for Making Hay?

Don K of BRFAL leads Virginia Master Naturalists en-training on a field trip at Booker T Washington National Monument in Hardy Virginia

Don K explains why the Fescue is a bully!

A Mushroom with Gills

Field-Trip to Booker T Washington National Monument Brings up Interesting Flora, Fauna and Fungi! 

One of the fun and unique things we spotted in our field training was this Oyster Mushroom.  As every good Virginia Master Naturalist does, I came home and immediately had to get more information!  So enjoy these photos from today and the information I found afterward, online. Tim Quinn, Victoria Keenum and Don Kelso led this troupe of Naturalists-en-training and did a fantastic job!

BRFAL Virginia Master Naturalists en-training using their field guides for identification

Oyster Mushroom

This mushroom has gills!

Pleurotus is a genus of gilled mushrooms which includes one of the most widely eaten mushrooms, P. ostreatus. Species of Pleurotus may be called oyster, abalone, or tree mushrooms, and are some of the most commonly cultivated edible mushrooms in the world. (No we didn't eat it or cut it to bring home, since this is National Park Service land!)

The caps may be laterally attached (with no stem). If there is a stem, it is normally eccentric and the gills are decurrent along it. The term pleurotoid is used for mushrooms having this general shape.

Pleurotus fungi are found in both tropical and temperate climates throughout the world. Most species of Pleurotus are white-rot fungi on hardwood trees, although some also decay conifer wood.

Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Pleurotaceae
Genus: Pleurotus

*Information from Wiki, more here.  

• Visit Booker T Washington National Monument - admission is free. Directions and more info here
• Booker T Nat Monument is in Franklin County, VA - where is Franklin County? Learn more about it here

BRFAL Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalist are all about FUN (gi)! Get outside and see what fun you can find.