Join Us for a Special Free Program --

Beavers and Why They Matter

April 1, 2PM 

Photo by Randy Streufert

If you have walked Mason Neck State Park's Bayview Trail, you have noticed the vibrant wetlands about halfway along the trail. The wetlands have been improved by a colony of beavers, whose lodge you can see toward the far end of the wetland.  Would you like to learn more about beavers and their impact on the environment?  Join us at 2 PM on April 1 for a free online program, Beavers and Why They Matter.  

Alison Zak, the Executive Director of the Human-Beaver Coexistence Fund, will present a brief history of human interactions with beavers over time, an overview of beaver ecology and behavior, and an exploration of the benefits that beavers and the wetlands they create provide to the health of our watersheds, landscapes, and communities.  Park Staff will present a short overview of how the beavers in the wetland along the Park's Bayview Trail have changed the ecology of the wetland.  

Alison studied anthropology and human-wildlife conflict in graduate school, then worked for six years in environmental education and outreach before founding HBCF. She is particularly intrigued, inspired, and challenged by human-beaver coexistence work, because few other animals have such an impact on the world around them. Alison is also the author of Wild Asana: Animals, Yoga, and Connecting Our Practice to the Natural World, which comes out in June.

You can register for the program here. We will send Zoom login information to registered guests on March 31.

Come to the Eagle Festival

Saturday, May 13

10 AM to 6 PM

Come to Mason Neck State Park on Saturday May 13 for the Eagle Festival -- a day filled with special presentations, shows, and interactive exhibits by environmental organizations. Parking and admission are free!

We'll have two programs with live raptors, presented by longtime park favorite Secret Garden Birds and Bees. There will also be puppet shows for young and old and programs on reptiles and amphibians.

  

  

You'll be entertained by two live bands, and costumed characters will roam the festival grounds. And if you get hungry, the Lions Club will have food and drinks for sale.  

  

We'll have more information and a complete schedule of events in the May 1 newsletter. Be sure to mark the festival on your calendar!

Wanted: Volunteers for

the Eagle Festival

The Eagle Festival is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Mason Neck State Park, but it can’t happen without a lot of volunteers. The park needs people to help with parking, greet guests, coordinate with exhibitors, dress up as costumed characters and more. Can you help out for a couple of hours either before or after you enjoy the festival?  You can learn what volunteer positions are available and sign up for them here.

Photo of the Month:

Tundra Swans On the Move

 

Barbara Bladen and some companions walked the Woodmarsh Trail to see the Tundra Swans a couple of weeks ago. She says that as they reached the observation platform, a flock of Tundra Swans flew in. It's always wonderful to see the swans as the fly in or out of the marsh. But you'll need to go soon if you want to see them before they start their migration back to the Arctic.  You can check with Park Staff to see if they're still around. 

Do you have an interesting, beautiful, funny, or informative photo you'd like to share? Send it to us at friendsofmasonneckstatepark@gmail.com and we may publish it in our newsletter or website.

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.