This Week in the Natural Capital: May 4-10

Each week, we will list opportunities to get outdoors, to learn about nature, and to do service. We'll list just brief teasers about each one. Please click through to the organization hosting each event for more details.

This week's highlight: numerous trips to Thompson Wildlife Management Area in Linden, VA. The woods in this 4000 acre area are full of wildflowers, including sights rarely seen in the District: big swaths of trilliums, plus a few yellow ladyslipper orchids. While we often aim to stay closer to home, this park is worth the trip at this time of year. You've got your pick of groups, from a leisurely plant-id oriented Audubon trip with our friend Cris Fleming, to a vigorous 15 mile hike with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

Runner-up: Full moon on Friday! The Sierra Club and the Capital Hiking Club are both hosting moonlight hikes.

Sierra Club
Fri: Moonlight hike on the Mall
Sat: Fairfax Cross County Trail (8 mi)
Staunton River Trail (16 mi)
AT trail work in SNP
Sun: Glover Archbald Park and C&O Canal (7 mi)
Thompson WMA (7 mi).

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club
Many cabin and trail crew work trips.
Mon: Conservation Cmte.
Tue: Thompson WMA (15 fast mi)
Great Falls (8 or 13 mi).
Wed: Thompson WMA (10.5 mi)
Riverbend/Great Falls (5 mi)
new member meeting
Sat: Staunton River/Jones Mtn in SNP (16 mi).
Sun: Lewis Mountain to Fisher Gap, SNP (9.5-11.5 mi).

Audubon Naturalist Society
Fri: bike on C&O (12.3 mi)
Sat: Thompson WMA (leisurely, with a skilled botanist)
Sun: birding at Rileys Lock, MD
Thu/Sat: 2-part Spring Warblers class.

Center Hiking Club
Sat: AT to Stoneyman (4 mi, slow)
Sun: Thompson WMA (10 mi)

Capital Hiking Club
Fri: Moonlight hike at Great Falls (4 mi)
Sat: AT: Skyland to Panorama, SNP (5 mi)

Rock Creek Park
Sat: Migratory Bird Walk
Sun: Hunting Methods of the Native Peoples

National Arboretum
Sun: Azalea Collection tours

The Nature Conservancy
Thu: early morning birding at Constitution Gardens, DC

Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Sat: underwater grass planting at Mason Neck

FOR KIDS

Audubon Naturalist Society
Thu: Predators and Prey (ages 3-6)

Rock Creek Park
Thu: Woodland Trail Hike (ages 5+)
Fri: Creature Feature (all ages)
Sat: Migratory Bird Walk (ages 8+)
Sun: Hunting Methods of the Native Peoples (ages 6+)

Sierra Club
Fri: Moonlight hike on the Mall (kids who can hike 3 miles)

ENJOY!