Updated: 11/10/14

AGENDA Pony Barn Recreation Area Working Group

Monday, November 10, 2014, 6:30 pm

Meeting Purpose: The Working Group has been established to develop and review potential changes to the Pony Barn Recreation Area, including the pavilion and riding ring sites, and recommend alternatives to the Reston Association (RA) Board of Directors for final consideration and implementation by staff. A. Call Meeting to Order & Opening Remarks

Larry Butler, Senior Director of Parks, Recreation & Community Resources

6:30 pm

B. Member Comments NOTE: Individual Members representing their own interest or opinion are allotted three (3) minutes to speak. Individuals speaking on behalf of a Reston-based organization are allotted five (5) minutes to speak.

6:35 pm

C. Review Minutes of October 27, 2014 Working Group Meeting Larry Butler, Senior Director of Parks, Recreation & Community Resources

6:40 pm

D. Presentation by Pony Barn Alliance Marianne Zawitz, Pony Barn Alliance

6:45 pm

E. Presentation on Meadow Program Claudia Thompson-Deahl, Environmental Resource Manager

7:00 pm

F. Highlight of a Smaller Accessible Playground Larry Butler, Senior Director of Parks, Recreation & Community Resources

7:15 pm

G. Examples of Play Equipment with Public Art Larry Butler, Senior Director of Parks, Recreation & Community Resources

7:30 pm

H. Begin Determining Site Amenities Larry Butler, Senior Director of Parks, Recreation & Community Resources

7:45 pm

I. Next Steps: 1. Establish Next Meeting Date and Time 2. Suggested Agenda Items for Next Meeting

8:15 pm

J. Adjourn

8:30 pm Alignment with Reston Association 2012-2016 Strategic Plan The purpose of this evening’s meeting aligns with the following components of RA’s Strategic Plan:

Strategic Area of Focus Strategic Goal Objective to Achieve Strategic Goal Community Leadership & Engagement

To be the leader, representing Reston’s interests, promoting partnerships, and fostering community involvement.

1. Regularly engage the diverse elements of the community on issues and opportunities that impact Reston.

Sustainability & Community Viability

To effectively manage all resources, resulting in a sustainable and viable community.

1. Develop and allocate appropriate financial resources to sustain and enhance the Association’s physical infrastructure.

To obtain a complete copy of the Association’s Strategic Plan, please visit www.reston.org.

VISION Leading the model community where all can Live, Work, Play, and Get Involved. MISSION To preserve and enhance the Reston community through outstanding leadership, service and stewardship of our resources. CORE VALUES Service. Collaboration. Stewardship. Innovation. Leadership.

The camps that occasionally use Pony Barn are Teen Camp and Science Camp because they are on the south side of Reston. They will go 1-3 times per summer either for a cookout or as a rainy day facility. So they would benefit from good sized grills and a concrete floor. They also like play equipment and of course everyone appreciates bathroom upgrades. We get quite a few calls at the nature center asking if we have grills and we don't (only the grate over the campfire pit). So we tell them the closest pavilion with grills is at Pony Barn. As far as nature center use goes, one of the pluses of working at the Reston nature center is that we have access to all 800 acres of natural areas managed by RA. While the great majority of our programs are held on the 72-acre nature center property designed and managed specifically for its designated environmental education use, we do many off site programs to introduce patrons to other points of interest in the community, especially those with the best trail network and ecological features for programs. Next to the WNC site, the most visited natural areas for exploration are Twin Branches, Buttermilk Creek and the Sunrise Valley Wetland Park. The nature center will use the Pony Barn area 1-3 times per year mostly when Nature Camps are occupying the nature center facility. Usually these are for pre-K programs that have short walks and make use of the covered tables I do not anticipate expanded use of the Pony Barn by the WNC. It is in the same general area as the nature center with similar habitat. The most noteworthy ecological feature for environmental education use is the wildflower meadow which has been a location visited on the Reston Butterfly Counts. The nature center supports continued natural resource management of that meadow. It also supports, as in all wooded areas, the protection of mature tree canopy as well understory species for biodiversity and habitat. Submitted by Katie Shaw, Nature Center Manager October 27, 2014

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T his summer, if you see a splash of orange, black and white hovering over the flowers in your gar-den, you may be one of

the lucky few to see a monarch but-terfly (Danaus plexippus). This tiny creature, with a wingspan of two and a half inches, is known for its mi-gration, but there are other North American butterfly species that also migrate. Every late summer and ear-ly fall, millions of monarchs make a treacherous 2,500 mile journey to the transvolcanic mountains of Mexico. They endure harsh weather conditions, drought, lack of nectar sources, predators and even cars to hibernate high in the mountains in the oyamel fir trees. Amazingly, the monarchs that manage to find their way to Mexico are four or more gen-erations removed, depending on the breeding season from those who origi-nally traveled north. Scientists who study these tiny creatures are still not sure how they find their way to a place they have never been to be-fore. Just like the osprey who don’t travel with their parents but manage to find their way back to the over-wintering areas, it is genetic. In the past two decades the number of monarchs recorded in

Mexico has dropped from a high of 20.97 hectares in 1997 (1 hectare is about 2.5 acres) to a low of just .67 hectares this past winter. (Data courtesy of Monarch Watch) What has caused this precipitous decline in their population? There are sev-eral factors. The first and most sig-nificant is habitat loss. Monarchs rely on milkweed for their survival. Unfortunately, the area covered by milkweed has diminished tremen-dously due to the introduction of herbicide-resistant corn and soybean plants, including genetically modi-fied organisms (GMOs). These plants are resistant to the herbicide glypho-sate (also known as Roundup), but milkweed is not. Farmers who use glyphosate to eliminate weeds also eliminate milkweed, which grows around the edges of the fields. As a result, millions of acres of monarch habitat have been lost. Habitat loss does not only oc-cur due to herbicides. In Mexico, illegal logging conditions have re-duced the suitable areas for monarch hibernation. Finally, drought condi-tions in recent years have caused a significant reduction in the number of monarchs. In the United States, Canada, and Mexico, over-develop-ment is also an issue. Urbanization

threatens the areas that monarchs need in order to rest and feed dur-ing their migration.

THE PLIGHT OF THEBY GEORGINA CHIN

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Michoacan (Mexico)

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FARMERS WHO USE GLYPHOSATE TO

ELIMINATE WEEDS ALSO ELIMINATE MILKWEED

WHICH GROWS AROUND THE EDGES OF THE

FIELDS. AS A RESULT, MILLIONS OF ACRES

OF MONARCH HABITAT HAVE BEEN LOST.

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Addressing the PlightWhat can we as homeowners do to help monarchs? The answer is quite simple — plant milkweed. Milkweed is a fast-growing “weed” which has a beautiful flower after two years. It is the only food source for monarch larva. Because a single monarch cat-erpillar gains 2,700 times its origi-nal weight in less than two weeks, the female monarch will general-ly lay only one egg per milkweed plant. The average is about 300, but a healthy female laid around 1,200 in a study done by Monarch Lab’s Karen Oberhauser. With so many eggs to deposit over her short life-time (approximately one month), she will need to visit a tremendous number of plants. In addition to helping the monarch, milkweed is attractive to many species of insects and pollina-tors. There are several varieties that grow in our area, namely butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa — not to be confused with butterfly bush), swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and common milkweed (Asclepias syria-ca). These plants can grow four to five feet tall and the common milkweed is best suited to full sun. Milkweed seeds can be purchased; however they take more time and effort to germinate.

The second thing we can do to help the monarch is to try to elim-inate the use of chemicals in our gardens. Butterflies of all varieties prefer gardens that are pesticide and herbicide free, and find many pes-ticides to be toxic. Thirdly, we can establish mon-arch waystations which contain the resources that monarchs need to survive, including milkweed for the larvae, and nectar sources for the adults. By planting milkweed and nectar sources we can provide a place for females to lay their eggs,

and nectar for them to drink. The nectar sources which attract mon-archs will also attract many other species of insects and Lepidoptera. At last count, there were about 8,000 waystations in the United States, according to the Monarch Watch registry. For more informa-tion about monarchs and how to establish a waystation, visit http://monarchwatch.org. Finally, we can be on the lookout for monarchs during their breeding season, which lasts from late spring to early fall. Recently, a concerned citizen in our area, Mona Miller, was able to convince the Williams Gas Pipeline to mow their fields in Reston in mid-October instead of mid-August. This small change in the mowing sched-ule has probably saved many, many monarch larvae which live on the milkweed found in the area of the pipeline.

Many small individual acts such as these can collectively help keep the monarch migration from becom-ing a thing of the past. Together we can ensure the survival of the mon-arch migration — one of the true wonders of nature.

Georgina Chin is a FCPS teacher who has been raising monarchs for the past four years.

More information about Milkweed Planting and Care is available at http://www.loudounwildlife.org/PDF_Files/Monarch_Campaign_Milkweed_Planting_and_Care.pdf

IN ADDITION TO HELPING THE MONARCH, MILKWEED IS ATTRACTIVE TO MANY SPECIES OF INSECTS AND POLLINATORS.

Left: Milkweed in Reston. Right: This Monarch Waystation sign was donated by Mona Miller. She has worked with the pipeline representatives to delay mowing to protect an important milkweed patch for the Monarchs. Bottom: Mona Miller is a naturalist whose hobbies include raising butterflies and moths for conservation.