The Prince William Conservation Alliance (PWCA) is hosting their annual Bluebell Festival at Merrimac Farm on April 17.
Located in Nokesville at 15020 Deepwood Lane, the 302-acre farm is wildlife management area that is protected permanently, thanks to a partnership with the Quantico Marine Corps Base, PWCA, and the Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, according to PWCA’s website.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m, and will give participants a chance to “welcome spring, celebrate nature close to home and meet local organizations and people who are working to improve our community,” according to PWCA’s website.
During the festival there will be 90 minute tours that include a one mile walk through the floodplain, stated PWCA’s website.
More on the schedule for the festival, from PWCA’s website:
| 10:20 am |
Dave Larson
NoVA Birder |
Birding the Bluebell Trail |
| 10:40 am |
Ernie Sears
PWCA |
Visit the best places for photos with camera and guide |
| 11:00 am |
Charlie Grymes
PWCA |
The story of Merrimac Farm |
| 11:15 pm |
Charles Smith
PWCA, PWWS |
Native plants – interaction with wildlife and role in the floodplain environment |
| 11:30 pm |
Harry Glasgow
PWCA, PWSWCD |
Birding the Bluebell Trail |
| 11:45 pm |
Larry Meade
NoVA Bird Club |
Things that fly — Birds, butterflies and dragonflies |
| 12:00 pm |
Jeannie Crouch
VCE Prince William Master Gardeners |
Native wildflowers and habitat connections |
| 12:20 pm |
Julie Flanagan
PWC Arborist |
Native trees and forest ecosystems |
| 12:35 pm |
Kevin Parker
PWCA |
A home for every bird |
| 12:50 pm |
Tom Dombrowski
PWC Watershed Management |
Floodplain Wetlands – Values and Interactions |
| 1:10 pm |
Nancy Vehrs
PWCA/VNPS |
Woodland wildflowers and other native plants |
| 1:30 pm |
Janis Stone
Audubon Society of NoVA |
Farm to field to forest – how human interactions shaped today’s Merrimac Farm |
| 1:50 pm |
Judy Gallagher
VA Master Naturalists |
Bees & other pollinators that make wildflowers possible |
| 2:10 pm |
Dr. Larry Underwood
BRUU Green Team |
Forest Ecosystems |
| 2:30 pm |
Jeff Irwin and Bill Olson
Historic PW/PWCA |
History in the woods at Green Level Cemetery |
| 2:50 pm |
Randy Strueffert
Friends of Potomac River Refuges |
The ABCs of Nature Photography |
| 3:05 pm |
Jim McGlone
VA Dept. of Forestry |
Forest Ecosystems |
