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A note about our programs:
We hold most programs rain, snow, or shine, unless we notify you otherwise. If you cancel your registration seven days or more prior to the program date, we’ll refund your fee in full. If you cancel within seven days of the program date, we are unable to refund your fee. If the Foundation of the State Arboretum cancels a program for any reason, we will refund your fee in full. Programs open to children/youth require an adult to attend with them and the adult is responsible for their supervision for the duration of the program. Advance registration is required for all programs. Space is limited.
Hot Chocolate Hike: Cozy Conifer Mysteries
2:00-3:00 PM Sunday, January 11th
Enjoy a mug of hot chocolate (or tea!) as you work together to solve a conifer-themed mystery. Along the way, you’ll find out all about conifer identification and ecology.
What to expect: An outdoor nature walk (less than 1 mile) with clues to unravel along the way.
Audience: All ages! Minors must be accompanied by a caregiver at all times. No pets, please!
What to bring: Wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather. Hot chocolate/tea provided!
Where to meet: Meet in the library at the Quarters building.
"Wild Gardening" and how to turn your backyard into a haven for biodiversity
7:00-8:30 PM Thursday, January 29th
Always wanted to be the kind of person with a wildlife-friendly yard, but don’t know where to start? This talk is for you! Blandy’s Assistant Curator for the Native Plant Trail Jack Monsted shares beginner-friendly advice about how to support birds, bees, butterflies, and other creatures in your yard. This talk is tailored to small yards (less than an acre), but the advice can be applied to much larger spaces. Featuring real-life success stories from Jack’s yard in Winchester!
What to expect: A lecture in the library.
Audience: Designed for adult audiences.
What to bring: Paper and pen/pencil to take notes, if you wish.
Where to meet: Meet in the library at the Quarters building.
Hot Chocolate Hike: Leaf Litter Detectives
2:00-3:00 PM Saturday, January 31st
What’s going on in the leaf litter? There's a whole ecosystem down there! In this program, we’ll find out all about the insects and invertebrates that shelter in leaf litter during the winter. We’ll fill up our hot coca mugs and go out to investigate the forest floor and gather leaves to investigate. Then back to the library, where we’ll use science-y tools to search for tiny leaf creatures and learn about their fascinating little lives.
What to expect: An outdoor nature walk (less than 1 mile) with clues to unravel along the way.
Audience: All ages! Minors must be accompanied by a caregiver at all times. No pets, please!
What to bring: Wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather. Hot chocolate/tea provided!
Where to meet: Meet in the library at the Quarters building.
Hot Chocolate Hike: Our Cherished Chestnuts
10:00-11:00 AM Monday, February 16th
Enjoy a mug of hot chocolate (or tea!) as you find out all about the American Chestnut. Discover how the decline of the American Chestnut due to chestnut blight reshaped local ecosystems and economies, and learn about how scientists are trying to save American Chestnuts from extinction.
What to expect: An outdoor nature walk (less than 1 mile) with clues to unravel along the way.
Audience: All ages! No pets, please. Minors must be accompanied by a caregiver at all times.
What to bring: Wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather. Hot chocolate/tea provided!
Where to meet: Meet in the library at the Quarters building.
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Science Night!: Virtual Talks from Blandy Environmental Science Graduate Students
7:00-8:00 PM Thursday, March 12th
7:00-8:30 PM Tuesday, March 17th
How to “tune in”: Expect to receive a link to the Zoom meeting during the week of the program through the email used in Eventbrite at registration. Can’t find it? Check your spam folder, or email public programs coordinator Ariel Firebaugh (alf7f@virginia.edu) to request a new link. Still having trouble? We hope to livestream the program on Blandy’s Facebook page.
Registration link coming soon!
Thursday, March 12th
- Ethan Skuches- Tupelo Tree Restoration Ecology. It’s no secret that the Earth’s climate is changing. In response to global changes, our forests are changing too. We’re seeing plant species range’s shift in response to a warming and changing temperature regime. What do these changes mean for how we think about restoring a landscape? Join Blandy graduate student Ethan Skuches to learn about his research in restoration ecology and restoration genetics. Ethan specifically works with the tupelo tree, and he spent this past fall collecting over 3000 tupelo tree seeds across its native range in eastern North America. Join us to learn about the plan for all these seeds, and what we hope they can tell us about the future of restoration projects!
- Kim Union- Planes, Drones, and Automobiles. There are many different ways to look at ecosystems, whether it be from the ground, or overhead. As scientists, have all sorts of different cameras to collect data by hand, by satellite, and everything in between! Join UVA grad student Kim Union to learn about how we monitor vegetation throughout its life cycle, and the synthesis of multiple tools to do so.
Tuesday, March 17th
- Willow Lovecky- Chimney Bee Nesting Behaviors
- Mia Murray- Going on a Butternut Hunt: The Quest to Save Virginia’s Remaining Butternut Trees. The native Butternut tree (Juglans cinerea) is a tree that was never dominant on the landscape but has served as an important ecological, cultural, and medicinal staple in the eastern forests of the US for centuries. Since the 1960s, populations have been decimated by an invasive fungus known as the Butternut Canker Disease. Despite the ongoing research efforts that have gone on across much of its native range, knowledge on Virginia butternut’s distribution, health, and potential resistance is poorly understood. Join Blandy graduate student Mia Murray to learn more about how she plans to tackle these questions and how you can join her efforts in the search of butternut trees across Virginia!
- Stephanie Petrovick- Nutrient Cycling in Grasslands. Join Blandy grad student Stephanie Petrovick to learn about grasslands and how they are shaped by nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. This talk will detail how the different amounts of varying nutrients can impact plant growth and populations, as well as the encroachment of invasive plant species. How these interactions can relate to conservation efforts, and how human activity comes into play, will also be explored.
Blandy at 100: A century of scientific and community contributions
Spark: From a Virginia Farm to a University Field Station
2:00-4:00 PM Sunday, March 15th
One hundred years ago, a farm 90 miles north of Charlottesville became a University of Virginia biological field research station. How did that happen? In this program, we’ll explore the beginnings of Blandy Experimental Farm as a research arboretum and community resource. We’ll imagine what the property and the surrounding landscape might have been like a century ago, hear personal accounts from the first “Blandy Farmers”, and consider the challenges they may have faced as they pursued pioneering plant genetics research in a sleepy little corner of Clarke County. Join Clarke County Architectural Historian Maral Kalbian and Blandy Director Dave Carr for this peek into the past.
What to expect: Talks followed by a discussion in the Blandy library. Time and weather permitting, we may also go on a short walk outdoors to see points of interest featured in the talk. Light refreshments provided (it’s a birthday celebration, after all!).
Audience: These programs are designed for adults.
Where to meet: The library at the Quarters building.
Can’t make it? Recordings of the program will be available online--- hopefully livestreamed on the Blandy Facebook/Youtube page.