With the March 2025 episode of Shenandoah Valley Ever Green, we straddle the seasons to say farewell to Winter and prepare ourselves for Spring. We’ll address several natural systems that exhibit a reset as warming weather arrives in the Valley.
Forester Stuart Baker headquartered with the Virginia Department of Forestry in Crimora, VA, describes threats and remedies of the fire season that begins in mid-February in Virginia.
Medical personnel from the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro describe their year-long project to raise 7 orphaned black bear cubs. The arrival of Spring marks the period when these now-adolescent bears must be prepared to enter the wild on their own. We share this story from WMRA reporter Randi B. Hagi originally broadcast during January 2025.
Through an archived installment of “Natural History Note” (from WTJU 91.1 FM in Charlottesville, VA), late naturalist Bess Murray discusses the Atlantic Flyway which hundreds of bird species will use to migrate this Spring from their winter nesting territories in Central and South America to their breeding grounds in the North.
Plein air painters gather at Blandy Experimental Farm in Clarke County, VA, to discuss their techniques for painting outdoors and capturing the colors of each season.
Also, Vine & Fig educator Kathy Yoder from Harrisonburg, VA compares notes with Jenna Potter of the educational group Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful from Belfast. Both organizations address sustainable practices and a changing climate in their localities. UVA Astronomer Dr. Kelsey Johnson provides facts to supplement our moon-gazing in the Valley. And in our newest feature, “3 Tips from Trey,” local outdoorsman Trey Smith offers 3 tips for enjoying rainy days outside.
Special thanks to WMRA News and to WTJU-FM sharing content for this episode.
Reporters: Alex Baker, McLaren Reed, Zada Suddeth, & Carolynn Unger
Executive Producers: Ryan Alessi, Tim Thomas
Sound: JMU Libraries Media Production Services
Editing by Ryan Alessi
All music for the program is performed by the group “Many Nights Ahead” with recording by Gene Bowlen at Cross Keys Studios.
Graphic Artist: Annie McGowan
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Environmental Education on Each Side of the Atlantic
Examine the work of 2 community-based educational groups who spoke with McLaren Reed:
* Vine & Fig Educational Outreach Program https://www.vinefigeducation.org/
* Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful https://www.keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org/cgi-bin/greeting?instanceID=1
Plein Air Artists at Blandy Farm
Carolynn Unger interviewed the artists as they painted outdoors during September 2024. The Nova Plein Air Artists group shares photos of another excursion to Blandy during July 2023 at their Plein Air Blog: https://www.novapleinair.com/blog/187899/paint-out-at-blandy-experimental-farm
Facts for Moon-Gazing
During this episode, UVA Astronomer Kelsey Johnson offers details about the Moon that describe how important this heavenly body is to our survival. Dr. Johnson also has some candid thoughts about her most preferred and her least favorite phases of the Moon:
Raising Orphaned Black Bear Cubs
As WMRA reporter Randi B. Hagi first reported during January 2025, the Wildlife Center of Virginia received 7 orphaned black bear cubs during Spring 2024: https://www.wmra.org/2025-02-05/how-the-wildlife-center-raises-orphaned-black-bear-cubs
Details about each of the 7 orphaned black bears who were rehabilitated at the Wildlife Center in the “Class of 2025” are discussed here: https://wildlifecenter.org/patients/black-bear-cubs-2024#2025-01-23
Safe Migration on The Atlantic Flyway
“Natural History Note” was a Saturday-morning feature on WTJU FM (91.1) in Charlottesville, VA. Bess Murray the creator and host of “Natural History Note” discussed efforts to support the Atlantic Flyway in this archived episode from 2002.
Bess, who passed away in 2017, is eulogized here: https://www.vawilderness.org/news/bess-murray-1933-2017-a-virginia-wilderness-hero
In the interest of caring for migratory birds, you can see video clips of ongoing conservation efforts using ultralight planes. One conservationist in France, Christian Moullec performs an imprinting effort with wild birds to show them safe locations and routes for their migration in Europe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fJhTu-0zmo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QAjfH05IUE
Some additional information about migrating birds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
* The Basics of Bird Migration: How, Why, and Where https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/the-basics-how-why-and-where-of-bird-migration/
* Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds
https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/seven-simple-actions-to-help-birds