Sssssnake ssscience on the preserve with natural science fellow, Lauren Fuchs

2021-22 Natural Science Fellow Lauren Fuchs has been hard at work sampling the skin microbiomes of BRMNAP’s resident snakes. We will be sharing the full results of her ambitious study of the prevalence of the fungal pathogen Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola (Oo) among snakes throughout the state of Virginia soon, but in the meantime, we are proud to report her work has already led to a publication!

Volume 42 of the Virginia Herpetological Society’s journal, Catesbeiana, featured a research note authored by Lauren, her assistant, Erica Lyon, and the VOF’s own preserve manager, Joe Villari! In it, Lauren and team shared the exciting news that they had documented the first official sighting of a Dekay’s brown snake (Storeria dekayi) in Fauquier County. In fact, over the course of the study, they documented two Dekay’s brown snakes, both found on sunny days under carefully placed coverboards in the preserve’s north section.

While Dekay’s brown snakes are common throughout the state of Virginia, they had never been officially documented as appearing in Fauquier County until now. By taking the time to publish this finding, Lauren and team ensure that other scientists will have the most up to date information regarding this important species. As Lauren explained, “Reporting observations is important as it helps us better understand the distribution of a species within a particular region. There’s definitely something exciting about “filling in a gap” on a distribution map…With the case of the Dekay’s, I didn’t even think to check whether it was a county record because it seems like such a common species… luckily, Joe brought it to our attention!”

Filling in such “gaps” are especially important for snakes these days, as much of their preferred habitat is shrinking due to development and changing climates. As Lauren said, “Herpetological surveys provide valuable data on species diversity, distribution, and population demographics. This information can be critical in recognizing trends over time.”

Stay tuned to hear more from Lauren about the results of her research and her favorite parts about her time here at BRMNAP!

Ssssstay tuned for more updates from Lauren!

T.G. Howard Community Center and Calfee Community & Cultural Center, Pulaski County

The Calfee Training School and the T.G. Howard Community Center sit just across a creek from one another and have provided African American families with educational and recreational programming for generations. After decades of service, both buildings sat unused until the late 2010s, when momentum to restore each facility started to build. “The projects have some of the same DNA,” says Guy Smith, director of Pulaski County Department of Social Services, “but if Calfee is an ocean liner, T.G. Howard is a little tugboat.”

Built in 1939 by the Works Progress Administration, the Calfee Training School building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The school’s history exemplifies the struggle of African Americans for equal education in the early- to mid-20^th century, says Binti Villinger, communications director for the Calfee Community and Cultural Center (CCCC). “The courage shown by Calfee’s African American faculty and families to challenge discrimination during segregation is an integral part of Pulaski’s, and America’s, history,” she notes. While T.G. Howard’s building is less architecturally significant, its history is just as important. Known as “the Black Y,” the center was built by the Black community in 1965 as an alternative to Pulaski’s whites-only YMCA.

Calfee closed its doors in 1966, when public schools in the area desegregated. Over the years, the building housed kindergarten classes and was later used as office space for local businesses, though it has been vacant for the past decade. T.G. Howard discontinued operations due to lack of funds in 2013. Though both buildings fell under disrepair, they still hold a special place in the hearts of Pulaski’s African American community. Smith states that older people recall their school years at Calfee fondly. “It’s hard to meet anyone of a certain age in Pulaski’s African American community who didn’t experience T.G. Howard growing up,” he says. “I did. And most of our parents went to Calfee.”

Villinger, whose mother attended Calfee, agrees. “Both spaces rallied around African American families as strong community centers during challenging periods of history. Once Calfee closed in the mid 1960s, that hub shifted to T.G. Howard. It was hard to see such significant places neglected.”

Each building took its own route toward renewal. The CCCC nonprofit was formed in 2019 and concentrated on raising funds to restore its historic building, which will serve the New River Valley in multiple ways, Villinger says. A childcare center, community kitchen, local African American history museum, digital lab and pay-what-you-can café are among the planned offerings.

T.G. Howard started some renovation work with Habitat for Humanity and local volunteers, but the GO Fund award helped push the project forward.

T.G. Howard also formed a nonprofit, but board members decided the building could wait. Instead, they focused on addressing the needs of the local community during the COVID pandemic. “One of the earliest was bringing food to first responders,” Smith states. “We also started a mask initiative when masks were hard to come by. With the spirit of community service taking off during the pandemic, we were well-equipped to react to needs in the moment.”

Now, both buildings are getting a second life with the help of twin $80,000 grants from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Preservation Trust Fund. Both properties will be protected with a no-division open-space easement that requires public access. The creek that runs between them, Tract Fork, will gain buffer protections. T.G Howard completed extensive renovations in 2022 and is positioned to reopen later this year. Calfee plans to begin construction this spring and has just been awarded an additional $20,000 from VOF’s Get Outdoors Fund to develop the Greene Outdoor Play Space, which will provide the preschool with a space to foster creativity and an appreciation of nature. The space will be open to the public on evenings and weekends.

“Both projects have seen tremendous local support and the two centers will complement each other,” Villinger adds. “We look forward to collaborating and serving the current needs of the entire community.”

$2 million available in latest grant round for open space projects

The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is making $1.8 million available from its Preservation Trust Fund program and $200,000 from its Get Outdoors Fund for grants that protect open space for public use and other public benefits.

Preservation Trust Fund grants for the spring 2023 grant round will prioritize projects that result in significant public access, but funds may also be used for projects that protect exceptional conservation values such as water quality, historic and cultural resources, wildlife habitat, and high-quality farmland and forestland. A real estate interest must either be acquired by a local government or conveyed to VOF to be eligible for funding, and protection must meet the requirements of Virginia’s Open-Space Land Act. There is no minimum or maximum on Preservation Trust Fund grants, but historically they have averaged approximately $150,000.

Get Outdoors Fund grants may be used to fund projects that create, protect, expand, or enhance access to open space in underserved communities. Proposals up to $25,000 may be considered.

The Get Outdoors Fund requires pre-applications to be submitted through VOF’s online grants portal by February 21, 2023. Invitations to submit a full application will be issued within one week of pre-application receipt. If an organization has been awarded more than $5,000 in a past grant round, the previous project must be completed before an applicant may reapply. Past applicants must submit new pre-applications. A resubmitted pre-application without significant revision will not be considered. In addition, applicants may not apply more than twice with the same concept.

Full applications for both programs must be submitted online using our grants application portal. Full applications must be submitted by March 7, 2023. Grant awards will be announced in June. Eligibility requirements, sample applications, and other materials may be found online at https://vof.org/ptf and https://vof.org/go. VOF encourages potential applicants to contact staff prior to applying to discuss eligibility and seek guidance on producing a successful application. Contact grants@vof.org with questions or for information on how to apply. To schedule a short meeting with grant program staff to discuss project ideas, use https://doodle.com/bp/emilynelson/time-to-talk.

Richard Bland College, City of Petersburg

As a biology professor at Richard Bland College, Eric Miller knows students have different learning styles. “I certainly applaud those students who can sit in a classroom and memorize facts, but it’s not every student,” he states. “So I try to provide opportunities for those who are interested in learning outside of the classroom and in learning by doing.”

Students went kayaking during an eco-tour of the Northwest River Area Natural Preserve in Chesapeake.

Through a grant from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Get Outdoors Fund, Miller and other faculty were able to get students outside on seven different outdoor trips in 2022 and are planning more for 2023. Miller encourages his colleagues to design trips, as well. “I want to open it up to whoever has a cool idea.”

Last year’s trips included one organized by an art professor whose students designed a field trip to a state park. There, they collected natural items for pigments and used the paint they made to depict the natural scenes around them. A sociology professor organized a walking tour in Richmond, where students learned how the cityscape was shaped by the Civil War, Jim Crow laws and gentrification while exploring Church Hill and other historically significant neighborhoods.

“These were really great trips that I never would have thought of,” Miller says. “I’m so impressed with what other people come up with that’s in their wheelhouse.”

Miller’s own property in Chesterfield has hosted trips in which students study fish anatomy while learning to fish.

A self-professed “water guy,” for his part Miller has taken students flyfishing, kayaking, and snorkeling. “I grew up fishing and hanging out on the water, and I want to share those experiences with others who may not have had the opportunity.” It’s also a way to spark students’ interest in science, he adds. “I’m always sprinkling in ways to make them think about what they’re doing. They may be having fun learning to fish, but when they catch something, we get a chance to talk about differences in fish anatomy and why they matter. Or we’ll do some bug ID while we’re snorkeling.”

A trip to Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences included examining a preserved great white shark and an Atlantic sturgeon. Atlantic sturgeon are a federally protected endangered species.

Miller remembers a student on the fly fishing trip who found a connection with the woman who ran the lodge where they stayed. “He has Native American heritage, and her property is full of Native American artifacts. She’s a real history nerd and they really bonded over their shared interests,” he says.

Later the student wrote a letter to the lodge owner, who shared it with Miller. “In the letter,” Miller says, “the student wrote that he hadn’t been sure that college was for him, but the trip to her place helped him see that there are other ways of learning, other things out there than this classroom-PowerPoint way of doing things.” Miller adds that the student has stayed in school and is working toward a career in environmental education.

Miller is looking forward to organizing more trips this year and recruiting other faculty to design trips within their areas of expertise. “It sounds clichéd,” he concludes, “but at the end of the day if we can light that fire in one student, that’s why we’re doing what we do.”

Stream Restoration in Jackson Hollow Follow-Up: A Student-led Conservation Success Story!

Student partnerships have been a constant source of inspiration and hope for our staff here at VOF’s Preserve at Bull Fun Mountains.

Back in 2019, industrious students form James Madison High School led a project to remove woody invasives along Catharpin Creek and replace them with native black willow (Salix Nigra) trees within our Jackson Hollow section. Following a few years of growth and three visits to care for saplings, I recently had the chance to return to spend a few hours tending to the planted trees and collecting survivorship data with Conversation Assistant, Deneith Reif.

We were happy to find that roughly fourteen of the twenty original black willow saplings planted at the restoration site survived! Six of those surviving trees did exhibit stunted growth as a result of significant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) browse, unfortunately.

Conservation Assistant, Deneith Reif, within the Jackson Hollow section of BRMNAP at the JMHS stream restoration and willow planting site along Catharpin Creek.

On a high note, substantial mechanical removal (trimming back, digging out, and removing any visible fruiting bodies) of woody invasives (multiflora rose, autumn olive, and Japanese stilt grass) proved effective, as they seemed to be eradicated from the immediate area with no regrowth or newer invasive plants taking their place. Further, no new woody invasive plants were emerging out of the refuse pile as care was taken to remove any extant fruiting bodies at time of removal, so that the whole plants did not have to be removed from site at the time.

I am happy to report further that there appears to be significant naturally occurring root/seed propagation of desirable native trees (willow and alder) along the riparian buffer that are a direct result of making that habitat available by removing so many mature woody invasives. This unexpected amplification of desired species is an encouraging result, especially in such a consistently open and disturbed area (this area is an active floodplain).

The woody invasive refuse pile sits in front left of the forked tree and has decayed significantly with no signs of unwanted fruiting bodies resprouting. Old tree tubes can be seen on the right of the photo. These were damaged or removed from use by a black bear (Ursus americanus) were removed and replaced with new cages.

To end this visit, Deneith and I removed all herbaceous overgrowth from desired trees in the area and all trees still small enough to need protection from deer browse were “recaged” in an attempt to prevent further browse. We will continue to regularly monitor the site and remove invasives as they appear. We are so grateful for the JMHS students that started this project and have been remained connected to continuing its long-term success!

A view of the riparian buffer along Catharpin Creek looking Northwest with black willows (Salix nigra) in the foreground marked with orange flagging.

Uncovering the Preserve’s storied past: Volunteer Spotlight on Patrick O’Neill

If you have been fortunate enough to attend one of the VOF’s guided hikes, you likely heard some pretty amazing stories about the people that once called Bull Run Mountains home. From the intrepid Hampton Cole, to the remarkable array of cemeteries where hundreds of ancestors are lain to rest, staff, fellows, and visitors alike can immerse themselves in a history found nowhere else. And while many individuals have made contributions to this wealth of knowledge, one person in particular has been investigating this special place for over 15 years!

Enter one Patrick O’Neill, newly elected president of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the Archeological Society of Virginia and valued VOF volunteer and research associate. Patrick, a graduate of Kansas State (B.A. in anthropology with an archeology specialization) and West Texas A&M (M.A. in history and political science), first started uncovering the Bull Run story while assisting the Turn the Mill Around Foundation with their investigation of the Chapman Mill and surrounding parcels. What began as an investigation into one family’s history blossomed into a years-long journey of discovery. Thanks to Patrick’s archival, deed, and on-the-ground research, we have learned so many important stories about the Preserve’s diversely peopled past.

Patrick exploring a homestead site with cultural history fellow Barinaale Dube and VOF Deputy Director Leslie Grayson. Photo by Joe Villari.

Through collaboration with other subject-matter experts, including Karen White of the Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County, Patrick helped lay the groundwork for VOF fellow Barinaale Dube’s groundbreaking research and interpretation of black and African American history on Bull Run. When asked about his favorite site, Patrick recalled fondly his co-rediscovery of the Hampton Cole homesite with preserve research associate Janis Stone and manager Joe Villari. Hampton’s story—of a free, literate Black man owning land in Virginia before the Civil War—is such a treasured piece of this mountain’s history. The injustice done to Hampton when his home was unlawfully stolen by a white enslaver is a solemn reminder that the past is a puzzle of victories and injustices with much to teach us today. As Patrick said, “Archeology releases the past from the purgatory of time.”

Patrick surveys the land below the still-standing cabin on the Fern Hollow Trail. Photo by Joe Villari.

Patrick has shared his passion for archeology with his students at Northern Virginia Community College through field trips to BRMNAP with his field methods classes, and with participants in community archeology days here on the Preserve.

Preserve Manager Joe Villari fondly refers to Patrick as our very own “archeological powerhouse.” We are truly blessed to have such a knowledgeable and devoted individual invested in this project. Patrick has no plans on slowing down anytime soon either. He hopes to explore Old Mother Leathercoat Mountain and the interior of the still-standing log house on the Fern Hollow Trail soon. Keep an eye on our facebook, Instagram, and meetup pages to see when he will lead his next community archeology adventure!

Sky Meadows State Park, Fauquier and Clarke Counties

According to a new map developed by an international group of researchers, more than 80 percent of the world and 99 percent of U.S. and European populations live under light-polluted skies. Most of us in North America can no longer see the Milky Way from our homes, and all but the brightest stars and planets are blotted out from the night sky because of the light emanating from our cities.

Yet, even in Northern Virginia, star-filled skies can be found. Sky Meadows State Park, which lies about an hour outside of Washington, D.C., was designated an International Dark Sky Park (IDSP) by the International Dark Sky Association in 2021. The designation is given to publicly accessible lands that possess exceptionally starry nights and are specifically protected for scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage and/or public enjoyment.

The park was established by a 1,132-acre donation from philanthropist Paul Mellon to the state in 1975, and has grown to 1,860 acres thanks to subsequent donations, including 460 acres from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation in 1988. The additional land expands the park’s trails, provides habitat for migratory birds, and protects the park’s nighttime views from encroaching development.

“We see the sky as one of our biggest resources,” says Erin Clark, the park’s Chief Ranger Visitor Experience. Even before the IDSP designation, she adds, the park had longstanding astronomy programming. “We’ve hosted Astronomy for Everyone nights for close to 30 years. Dark sky education has always been important to us.”

True to its name, the event has something for everyone, beginning with a junior astronomy activity for elementary school children. For science nerds, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab Ambassadors share new discoveries in astronomy and members of the NOVA Astronomy Club lead sky tours. There are also lessons on the importance of dark skies to the natural world and how people can lessen light pollution at home.

Sky Meadows is Virginia’s third IDSP. Its first was Staunton River State Park, followed by James River State Park.

Held on the Saturday closest to the new moon, Astronomy for Everyone is a four-hour evening under the stars, designed in partnership with the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Clark says around 300 people attend the monthly event, which is held in the observation field behind the park’s visitor center. Guests bring blankets and folding chairs to settle in under the night sky for four hours of stargazing.

“We hold the events on the closest Saturday to the full moon because that’s when the sky is the darkest,” Clark says, adding that the winter months are the best time to see what much of the world has lost sight of. “On cloudless nights from December through early March you can see the Milky Way.”

For more information on evening programming, dates, and what to bring, go to the Astronomy for Everyone page on the park’s website.

Bellemeade Park and Outdoor Learning Center, City of Richmond

For Robert Argabright, access to the outdoors is all a child needs to make a lifelong connection with nature. “It’s all about exposure,” he says. “How do you visualize a mountain? How do you visualize a butterfly? How can you even relate to a watershed if you’ve never been to any of those places?”

For the past 12 years, Argabright and the Friends of Bellemeade Park have been working on an answer: the Bellemeade Park and Outdoor Learning Center, 8 acres of city-owned open space in the heart of Richmond’s Southside. The once-overgrown parcel now hosts a bluebird trail, butterfly garden, rain garden, pollinator habitat, vermiculture bins, groves with native trees, and a chicken coop, offering the community diverse ways to engage with the natural world. A vegetable garden is the newest addition to the park, built by volunteers with the help of a $23,500 grant from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Get Outdoors Fund.

Kids get to grow their own vegetables in the new garden on the site.

The space is busy all week long. The James River Association and Bluesky Fund are partners in weekday programming, and the park’s Saturday Outdoor Club is run in partnership with Richmond’s Collegiate School. Hundreds of students from Richmond and Chesterfield County public schools are slated to participate in other park programs in 2023. In all, approximately 2500 kids throughout the fall, spring and summer gain opportunities to learn, work and explore at Bellemeade.

“These numbers will continue to grow,” Argabright states. “Many of the teachers from Oak Grove Elementary are utilizing the park, as well. They love the chickens and love being in the park.”

Homeschooling families regularly use the park for their outdoor learning sessions.

On a weekday morning in October, a group of homeschoolers worked under colorful shade canopies, part of a cohort of seven families who regularly come to learn and play. Said one mom, Ali, “We get to try out science experiments at this fantastic pavilion or we get to do nature journaling and reflecting at the creek. We can practice teamwork by growing [vegetables] in the garden, going from start to finish, so they can witness the whole cycle.”

To ensure that families will continue to have access to all that Bellemeade has to offer, the City of Richmond Parks and Recreation department has received a $150,000 award from VOF’s Preservation Trust Fund. The funds will make public access permanent, and will also be used to help construct a permanent outdoor classroom on the property. The classroom will allow for programming to continue throughout the year, says Argabright.

“All of the other features of the park are complete now,” he adds. “We just have to maintain and fine tune some of them.”

The park hosts a bike repair shop that has given out 2000 bikes in the last eight years.

Argabright would also like to reach out to more neighborhood residents. “Seeing those homeschooled kids out here is the biggest thrill of my life,” he says, but most of them come from outside the immediate area. The Friends group’s goal is to get more residents of Southside neighborhoods aware of what is right next door. “We want everyone to see that this park is their park,” he states.

For the people who’ve already discovered it, Bellemeade has become an essential part of their lives. As Ali put it, “We really love being here. This place feels like home.”

Reflections on Gratitude

This past Saturday, preserve manager Joe Villari and I were thrilled to welcome fourteen participants to the north section for a guided hike. While we spent the afternoon enjoying the unique cultural and natural features, I was struck with gratitude for the opportunity to be a part of this land’s ongoing stewardship, specifically as a natural area preserve.

The designation as a natural area preserve is the highest possible form of land protection in the state of Virginia, meaning the Preserve and all its special resources are protected to the fullest extent of the law. Unlike parks, preserves like BRMNAP have a responsibility to uphold the land’s conservation integrity first, over and above any form of recreation. That’s why we have additional rules like no dogs or bikes, and why we keep large sections of the preserve private except for research and educational purposes. But I am grateful to be part of a team that recognizes that BRMNAP is a community resource, and therefore must also be shared wherever possible.

It can be a difficult balance to strike, but in addition to our wonderful 6+ miles of publicly accessible trails on the south section, we are thrilled to be able to facilitate access to the Preserve’s north section and Jackson Hollow biodiversity hotspot. Keep an eye on our facebook, Instagram, and meetup pages for information on future guided hikes to these tightly managed sections. We are also working on creating brand new trails in the south section to highlight features not currently accessible without a staff guide. That is why we are so thankful for the community’s patience and passion as we work to share as much of this protected land as possible!

Defensores de la Cuenca, City of Fairfax

For those whose first language isn’t English, it can be difficult to access nature-based programming. Defensores de la Cuenca (DDLC) is working to change that, by organizing fun, family-friendly events that make it easier to for everyone to connect with the outdoors.

“We’re thinking about the perspective of the immigrant Latino family or individual who has limited time away from priorities—work, family, and church—and really wants to make the most of [an experience in nature],” DDLC executive director Abel Olivo states. “Battling through language, or access because of cost, or going into unknown spaces and not really feeling safe—it really is taxing all around from that point of view.”

Salsa en el Parque is just one of DDLC’s many events that builds community around the outdoors.

With funding from VOF’s Get Outdoors Fund, DDLC is hosting Spanish-language experiences in local, regional, state, and national parks that aim to build community around the outdoors. “Our number one goal is for people to have fun,” says Olivo. “While people spend time with us, we share information about the watershed, how everything is connected, and how we impact the environment and the environment impacts us.”

One of the best ways to have that conversation is through the sport of fishing, Olivo states. “We use it as an entry point to water quality issues.” A recent fishing event at Mott’s Run in the Rappahannock River watershed was a great success, he says, with multiple generations of families trying their hand at the sport. “There was a mother who said that her son had repeatedly asked her to take him fishing, but they had never had the opportunity to do it before. And there was another family whose grandmother caught the most fish of the day. She was rocking it.”

These events are also designed to point community leaders to DDLC’s more formal programming, La Academia de Defensores—a paid adult training program that holds workshops, hands-on activities, and participant-led capstone projects. A stipend makes participation possible for those who wouldn’t normally be able to take hours away from work. “We know that asking people to spend time with us means food, gas, the mortgage payment. It’s a real impact in their lives,” Olivo says.

Defensores Youth Corps gets young people from the community involved in projects where they can explore the natural world and earn service learning hours.

By providing these training opportunities, DDLC hope to scale up its impact and grow its reach, one watershed at a time. So far one cohort of Defensores has completed training in the Anacostia watershed, with another starting in January. The Patapsco watershed’s first cohort is in training, and events like the family fishing day at Motts Run are laying the groundwork for a cohort in the Rappahannock.

“When we talk to people, they say ‘We had a lovely day, I’ve never been here, we felt so welcome, we want to be involved, we want to stay connected with you,’” says Olivo. And staying connected is the goal. DDLC believes that repeat customers will build a network of Defensores whose training on watershed issues can lead to jobs in the environmental sector.

“The more we can work to bring people outdoors,” Olivo explains, “the more we can show them there are possibilities to make a livelihood in this space.”