________________________________________

Don’t Miss our Fifth Annual Holiday Event: Swanfall 2019

Please join us at 2:00 pm on Sunday, December 8, 2019 for the Friends of Mason Neck State Park’s special holiday program at the Jammes House.   

The Jammes House is a former hunting lodge in Mason Neck State Park, located on the banks of Occoquan Bay.  It will be decorated for the holidays and has stunning views of the Bay and the Potomac River. This unique home is not normally open to visitors, so take advantage of this opportunity to see the house and experience its magnificent setting and enjoy a light buffet with lots of tasty treats.    

           

Then sit back and listen to a fascinating program presented by naturalist and author Bob Blakney. Bob is author of the field guide “Northern Virginia Dragonflies and Damselflies.” He has participated in regular surveys of the Mason Neck area for the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia for more than 12 years. Bob will present photographs he has taken of dragonflies and damselflies in the region and talk about these fascinating creatures that inhabit our local ponds and streams. 

  

          

Photos by Bob Blakney

Did you know that:

•          Dragonflies have been around for about 300 million years.
•          Fossil dragonflies have been found with two-foot wingspans.
•          Dragonflies can fly straight up and down, backwards and hover like a helicopter.
• Dragonflies are among the most efficient predators on Earth.

The Holiday Party is open to members of the Friends of Mason Neck State Park.  Each member may register one guest.  The program fee is $15 per person, which includes admission to the park. 

You can register at Holiday Event Registration.

Not a member?  Has your membership expired?  You can join or renew your membership for as little as $20 per year for up to two people at Join the Friends of Mason Neck State Park.  

Be sure to register soon.  Space is limited and this event always sells out!  

_____________________________

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.