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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.
Creating and Maintaining a Perpetual Journal Practice
7:00 - 8:00 PM Thursday, August 6th
Discover the transformative practice of the perpetual journal—a forgiving, incremental approach to connecting with the natural world through drawing that builds year after year. Lara will present her latest book, A Perpetual Journal Practice, to help you get started. Over many consecutive years, your perpetual journal will become a rich record of nature discoveries, seasonal changes, and artistic growth—all achieved by adding small sketches at a reasonable pace that fits into even the busiest life. Whether you're an artist, gardener, naturalist, or simply someone seeking a creative break from screens, the perpetual journal offers a living document that invites retrospection, fosters curiosity and wonder, and becomes a treasured record of both nature's cycles and your own artistic development.
What to expect: An indoor talk and book signing. Bring your own copy of Gastinger's book A Perpetual Journal Practice. Copies also available to purchase at the program.
Audience: This program is designed for adults, but teens welcome. Minors must be accompanied by a caregiver at all times. No pets, please.
Where to meet: The library at the Quarters building.
Speaker:
Lara Call Gastinger is an artist and botanical illustrator from Charlottesville, Virginia, and was the chief illustrator of Flora of Virginia, a botanical reference. She has an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in plant ecology from Virginia Tech. She has been awarded two gold medals (2007, 2018) at the Royal Horticultural Society Botanical Art Show in London and her work is in the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. Her art appears in Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms of North America and the American Society of Botanical Artists’ Botanical Art Techniques. She teaches online and in person (occasionally as a lecturer at UVA) and has traveled to Japan, Romania, and France to lead workshops. Gastinger is renowned on Instagram for teaching her perpetual journal process.
August Bird Walk
8:00 - 10:00 AM Friday, August 21st
Scout for birds with Blandy Director Dr. Dave Carr!
What to expect: We will walk about a mile over gently rolling terrain.
Audience: This program is designed for adults. No pets, please!
What to bring: Dress for the weather. Wear comfortable walking shoes that can withstand morning dew on the grass. Bring your own binoculars or borrow a pair from Blandy.
Where to meet: Meet at the flagpole at the front parking lot close to the “Arboretum Information” kiosk.
Pawpaws and Pints
1:00 -3:00 PM Sunday, September 13th
Discover North America’s largest native fruit at Blandy’s second annual pawpaw fest!
Featuring:
- Talk by Neal Peterson of Peterson Pawpaws (talks at 1:30 and 2:30)
- Small batch pawpaw beer supplied by Winchester Brew Works. Ticket includes one pawpaw beer tasting.
- Pawpaw fruit tasting
- Pawpaw crafts and activities
- Info on pawpaw natural history, wildlife value, and human uses
- Blandy’s role in the history of pawpaw cultivation
- Pawpaw seedlings available to purchase
- Optional guided walk to the Pawpaw Trail at 3:00
- And more!
Sip small-batch pawpaw beer from Winchester Brew Works as you stop at interactive stations to find out all about this quirky Appalachian fruit. Then catch a talk from "Johnny Pawpawseed" Neal Peterson of Peterson Pawpaws (as featured in numerous articles and books, including Pawpaw: In Search of America's Forgotten Fruit by Andrew Moore).
Peterson will share recollections from his quest to breed bigger, better-tasting pawpaws by tracking down the descendants of the winning tree from a national 1916 pawpaw contest--- a quest that led him to a historic Blandy pawpaw orchard at what is now the Pawpaw Trail. Many of Peterson's most popular pawpaw cultivars trace their origins back to the fruits he collected at Blandy in the 1980s.
As the program wraps up, join Blandy naturalists for an optional tour of the Pawpaw Trail at 3:00 PM.
Ticket fees will help support trail improvements and interpretation. Pawpaws, pints, and a good cause? Sounds like the perfect way to spend a fall afternoon!
What to expect: An informal program with pawpaw-themed talks, tours, and educational activities. Stay for one hour or three, and participate in as many or as few of the activities as you like. Restrooms will be available at the event.
- Talks from Neal Peterson repeated at 1:30 and 2:30.
- Optional tour of Pawpaw Trail: From the Quarters, expect to walk ~2 miles (round trip) over gravel and dirt paths. Limited parking available within a 0.4 mile walk (round trip) of the Pawpaw Trail. 1-2 parking spots at the Pawpaw Trial for individuals with limited mobility.
Audience: This program is designed for adults, but all are welcome. Of course, pawpaw beer is only available to those who are 21+ with ID. No pets, please!
Where to meet: The courtyard at the Quarters building.
What to bring: Bring a full water bottle, dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes.
Event is rain or shine. No refunds within two weeks of the event.
What’s “Native,” Really?
Species range maps: The development and interpretation of maps as essential tools for conservation action
7:00 - 8:00 PM Thursday, September 3rd
Planting native plants is one of the best things you can do as an individual for our local wildlife. As many can attest to, there is much to learn, starting with learning what is “Native”. This question will inevitably lead you towards a map. A map might show nativity through highlighted states, or dotted counties. Sometimes colors and an associated legend make an appearance. Although simple, these range maps provide important and influential information for scientific researchers and gardeners alike. However, interpreting these maps can sometimes be confusing. For example, how does a map depicting nativity by state differ from one that uses ecoregions? How do we know what map to use and when? This talk will provide an overview on species range maps: how they are made, how they are best used, and how they ultimately influence our understanding of “What’s “Native,” Really?”. A question with real implications for the future of our ecosystems.
Speaker: Dr. Iara Lacher is a landscape ecologist with expertise in plant ecology, ecosystem function, land use, and native plant propagation. She is the owner of Seven Bends Nursery, a native plant nursery located in Berryville, Virginia offering landscape design, consultation, and long-term ecological management planning services. She comes to this role after an academic career focused on ecological conservation and its intersection with management and policy. As a nursery owner, she is attracted to projects that involve local communities, serving through education and outreach as well as through her role as board chair for the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center, a wildlife hospital focused on rehabilitation, release, education, and research on wildlife and OneHealth.
What to expect: An indoor talk.
Audience: This program is designed for adults, but teens welcome. Minors must be accompanied by a caregiver at all times. No pets, please.
Where to meet: The library at the Quarters building.
History on Tap: Weird Science
Strange but true stories from Blandy Experimental Farm
7:00 PM Thursday, September 3rd
Winchester Brew Works (320 N Cameron St, Winchester, VA 22601)
What do "Kentucky bananas," blown up rivers, and atomic vegetables have in common? Join us on September 3rd at Winchester Brew Works to find out, and sip on some small-batch pawpaw ale while you’re at it!
Free program, but onsite donations appreciated. Refreshments available for purchase from Winchester Brew Works.
Presented in collaboration with the Piedmont Virginia Heritage Area and Historians on Tap.
Rare: Chestnuts, Corn, and the Radiation Age at Blandy
2:00 - 4:00 PM Sunday, September 20th
It’s 1955. West Germany joins NATO. The Disneyland theme park opens in California. Patsy Cline parades through Winchester in the 31st Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. And Blandy scientists are irradiating chestnuts to beat the blight.
The 1950s-1960s marked a colorful era at Blandy. Fresh from his role as senior geneticist at the Brookhaven National Lab, Blandy’s second Director Dr. Ralph Singleton launched an ambitious research program harnessing radiation as a tool to develop drought-, pest-, and disease-resistant plants through the generation of rare mutations.
Science historian and Blandy alumna Dr. Helen Ann Curry will give a talk reflecting on the “radiation age” and Blandy, contextualizing this period within larger national and international efforts to discover peaceful applications of nuclear technology for medicine, industry, and agriculture.
Speaker: Dr. Helen Anne Curry is Melvin Kranzberg Professor of the History of Technology at the School of History and Sociology, Georgia Institute of Technology. From 2020–2026 she led the multi-researcher project, “From Collection to Cultivation: Historical Perspectives on Crop Diversity and Food Security” at the University of Cambridge with funding from the Wellcome Trust. Her current research centers on the histories of seeds, crop science, and industrial agriculture. She is author of Evolution Made to Order: Plant Breeding and Technological Innovation in Twentieth Century America (University of Chicago Press, 2016) and Endangered Maize: Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction (University of California Press, 2022).
What to expect: Talks followed by a discussion in the Blandy library.
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.