________________________________________

We’re Bringing the Wildlife to You!

Get your Cameras Ready!

                                                           

 

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to photograph magnificent raptors, out in the Park, from just 10 feet away!  You’ll never get this close to an owl or a hawk in the wild.  Just imagine snapping shots of at least four of them!    

                  

Join the Friends of Mason Neck State Park and

wildlife rehabilitators Secret Garden Birds and Bees

for this special Photo Encounter Fundraiser.

Standing just a few feet away from your subject puts you in the ideal spot to take what might well be some of your best photographs.  During each session, at least four raptors including a Red-shouldered Hawk, a Red-Tailed Hawk, an Eastern Screech Owl and a Barred Owl, will pose for you on a natural looking perch.

Learn about your subjects!

Hear from Secret Garden Birds and Bees staff about each one of them, making this a learning experience too!

Space is limited to 20 participants per session.

This event has sold out in the past so don’t wait to register!

Date: Saturday October 19

Location: Mason Neck State Park, Lorton VA

Morning Session: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Afternoon Session:  1:00 PM -  2:30 PM

Each session is $65.00 per participant, which includes the park entry fee.  $40 of each    registration fee is tax deductible to the extent permissible by law. You can register here:  Raptor Photo Event

This is a fundraising event that will help the Friends of Mason Neck State Park continue to present programs and work on projects in support of the Park. 

_______________________________

SAVE THE DATE!

We’re all getting together for the

Friends of Mason Neck State Park, Inc. Annual Meeting

                                                                             Image by Ulrike Leone from Pixabay

November 9, 2019    10:00am

Mason Neck State Park Visitor Center

7301 High Point Road, Lorton, VA 22079

All members are invited (and encouraged) to join us for our 2019 annual meeting.  It’s a great opportunity to meet your board members and hear about everything the Friends have accomplished during the year, thanks to your support.  Did you know that you helped bring more than 4,000 people a little closer to nature and inspired many of them to take action to protect the environment this year?

Remember, this is your organization!  The meeting is a time to let us know what types of activities and programs you would enjoy going forward.  We’d like to know what we can do for you.

What’s in store for our Park?   Assistant Park Manager, Ariel Hartman will talk about the challenges and triumphs the Park has had. She will answer all your questions and looks forward to your suggestions. 

The annual meeting is also the time to vote for your board members!  If you can’t join us, keep an eye out for an email that will allow you to vote by proxy.

Immediately following the meeting, enjoy a guided hike along the Bayview Trail.  Hope to see you there!

_________________________________

Come to "Park After Dark" for a Unique Evening!

Mason Neck State Park will hold its annual Park After Dark evening from 7 to 9 PM on October 19.  Have you ever wondered what goes on in the park after it closes at dusk?  This is your time to find out.  There will be an Enchanted Forest walk for children, where they get to meet costumed characters representing animals that live in the park -- an owl, an eagle, a raccoon and a frog -- and learn about their lives.  There are "lights out" hikes for teens and adults; and storytelling, a campfire and s'mores for everyone.  

 

The event is free and open to everyone. Standard parking fees apply.  

______________________

Friends of Mason Neck State Park

Join the Fight Against Disposable Plastic

The Friends of Mason Neck State Park are doing their part to slow the production and disposal of plastics.  Plastic bottles take as long as 450 years to decompose in the environment.  Before they do, they break down into "micro-plastic" bits that are eaten by animals and can end up in our own bodies.  On land, plastic adversely affects soil fertility, and can choke our streams and rivers.

The Friends of Mason Neck State Park have stopped offering disposable water bottles to Park volunteers and at Friends events.  Instead, they are offering free multi-use bottles that recipients can take home with them.  Hopefully, people will use these bottles instead of buying more disposable ones.  

Mason Neck State Park also is committed to reducing the use of disposable plastic bottles and has installed water bottle filling stations at the Visitor Center and the picnic area.  

                                                                   

Do your part too:  find ways to limit your use of disposable plastics, including those grocery store bags that have a typical useful life of 15 minutes -- the time to get from store to home -- and take 1000 years to decompose in a landfill.