Merrimac Farm Continuing Education Corner - March 2026
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
March is here! Be sure to enter all of your hours into Better Impact each month. Please always check the chapter website, for registration, cancellations and more information on all continuing education opportunities.
The Continuing Education Team is looking for volunteers. Team members are needed to assist with set up, clean up, hospitality, and people. If you have event planning, advertising & marketing skills, we want you! We need light refreshments. If you can contribute refreshments, (no messy things that can be eaten with fingers, even if you don’t join the team), please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/aw6JYNEcLMRkxNes7.
Merrimac Farm 2026 Chapter Continuing Education Lecture & Event Series
March 19, 2026 Thursday, 7 PM - 8:30 PM - Join us for a fun, engaging and informative presentation with Drew Uglow, Senior Environmental Analyst, MS4 Coordinator and the Neabsco Bandalong Project Manager, with Prince William County. What is a Bandalong and why is it important? Come and find out! Drew can help you connect with the volunteer opportunities at the Bandalong too.
Cokesbury United Methodist Church,14806 Blackburn Rd, Woodbridge, VA 22191.
March 28, 2026 1 PM Our first field event is with the very knowledgeable Drew Uglow, Senior Environmental Analyst with Prince William County at the Neabsco Bandalong. You will get an in-depth, in-person, close-up tour of the Neabsco Bandalong in Woodbridge, Virginia, the premier floatable trash capture system spanning the Neabsco Creek in PWC. You will never see plastic water bottles in the same way.
Parking is limited. Ride sharing is encouraged. The dirt road leading to the Bandalong is small. Please park responsibly with respect in the neighborhood. To find the Bandalong, From Rte 1 take Cardinal Drive. Once you pass the Wawa on the left, see the guard rail (also on the left.) Once the guardrail stops, the turn left to get into the area. If you pass the neighborhood, park, or Service Authority area you have gone too far. Park in the neighborhood and walk a short distance, (⅛ mile).
NEW Continuing Education Opportunity! Volunteer to learn to clean out the Neabsco Bandalong, Prince William County’s premier flottable trash capture device spanning Neabsco Creek. This is a Continuing Education opportunity, and after you’ve been trained, a service opportunity. The massive metal contraption sits in the middle of the creek and needs cleaning out monthly. Additionally there are opportunities to clean up the sides of the bank. These volunteer opportunities require steady balance, gait and full mobility, with stamina, upper body strength, along with waders and being okay in water up to your hips for several hours. It’s a lot of fun with a great team of people! You will see tangible results of your efforts.
Prince William County Senior Environmental Analyst, Bandalong Project Manager, and MS4 Coordinator, Drew Uglow will teach you to assist his team in cleaning out the Bandalong of debris and floatable trash. Join them the third Wednesday of every month, 10 AM -1 PM typically, sometimes longer, maybe sometimes different hours. Contact Drew at 703-792-7104 or AUglow@pwcgov.org for more information and to volunteer.
Prince William County Government Dept. of Public Works | Environmental Management
Stream Monitoring! The Virginia Master Naturalist theme for 2026 is Water.
Save the dates!
Join the knowledgeable, dedicated, stream monitors in Prince William County, (The Prince William Stream Monitors Collective), and help us determine the health or pollution of our local bodies of water. We can teach you the protocol and help you learn about benthic aquatic macroinvertebrates hands-on. We can help you prepare for the Certification exam to become a Certified Stream Monitor. See vasos.org for instruction on the Rocky Bottom Protocol, and benthic macroinvertebrates identification guides. Wear boots and dress for the weather. There are several Spring stream monitoring events planned. Please save the dates and join us in gathering, identifying and counting the aquatic macroinvertebrates! Ride sharing is encouraged.
Spring Stream Monitoring in Prince William County
[Editor's note: private contact details for team leaders are not printed here on the public website. For team leader contact information, see the CE Column in the March 2026 edition of the Merrimac Farm VMN Monthly News email.]
Maria Stewart's team:
Location: Manassas Regional Airport
Date: March 22, 10:00 AM
Cannon Branch
Contact Maria Stewart, Certified Stream Monitor, Master Gardener
Team WQC: Susan Howell, Deanna Sherman & Lyn Kennedy
Date: Thursday, March 26, (3/26) 10 AM - 1 PM
Location: Prince William Forest Park, Lot A. 18100 Park Headquarters Road, Triangle, VA 22172.
Parking will be at Parking Lot A on Scenic Drive. ( From the Main Park Entrance, turn left onto Scenic Drive. Drive all the way until you cross the Scenic Bridge after Carter's Pond.) Parking Lot A will be on the left. Parking is limited, please share the ride.
Contact: Susan Howell, Master Gardener, Certified Master Naturalist, Certified Stream Monitor
Lisa Starling's team:
Location: Andrew Leitch Park
5301 Dale Blvd, Dale City, VA 22193
Date: March 22
Raindate: March 29
Contact: Lisa Starling, Certified Master Naturalist, Certified Stream Monitor
Josie Anderson's Team
Location: Powells Creek on Northgate Dr
Montclair, Virginia
Date: April 11, 10 AM
Backup date: 4/18 at 10:00 am .
Meet at Hockersmith Park ( 15875 Northgate Dr, Montclair, VA 22025)
Contact: Josie Anderson, Certified Stream Monitor, waterqualityassistant@pwswcd.org
Elaine Wilson's team:
Location: James Long Park, Sunday 4/12, 12 Noon - 2PM
Backup date: Sunday April 19, 12 Noon - 2 PM
Meet in the Education Center parking lot, (second lot on the right as you come into James Long Park). The stream is Catharpin Creek and down the hill to the right of the tennis courts.
Contact: Elaine Wilson, Certified Stream Monitor
Jess McCaulley's team:
Location: Ben Lomond Park
7500 Ben Lomond Park DR.
Manassas, VA 20109
Date: April 25, 11 AM - 1 PM
Contact: Jess McCaulley, Certified Stream Monitor, CSM Trainer, Master Gardener
Save the dates!
April 11, 2026 10 AM - 2 PM Gabby Youngken, will discuss the history of Occoquan Bay Wildlife Refuge, give us a tour around the Visitor Center starting with a bird walk and talk. 14050 Dawson Beach Rd, Woodbridge, VA 22191. Please note due to fire code the inside presentation is *Limited to 40 registrants. Please share the ride. This is a hybrid presentation and field event opportunity.
"Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets" - Leonardo da Vinci.
Save the date! Chapter Continuing Education opportunity May 21, 2026 7 PM - 9 PM Tom Dombrowski, Environmental Scientist with Prince William County will talk about Wetlands, Streams & RPAs (Riparian Buffers) Cokesbury United Methodist Church 14806 Blackburn Road Woodbridge, VA 22191
For online continuing education opportunities, please see
Online Opportunities - available at any time
Izaak Walton League
Explore their Clean Water Webinar series from policy to landscaping and everything between, join to learn about clean water issues and what you can do to protect America’s waterways. Sign up to be notified about those by checking off “Clean Water Webinars” on this form.
Other webinars available on demand.
Virginia Master Naturalists - Lots of interesting webinars! https://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/continuing-education/webinar-series/
Virginia Save Our Streams https://vasos.org/ Learn how to become a Certified Stream Monitor!
Feel free to search out continuing education opportunities with our community partners.
Continuing Education Opportunities
Here is a list of our partners that you can use to find additional CE opportunities.
Sponsoring Agencies
VMN - Continuing Education Webinar Series
Prince William - Virginia Cooperative Extension (& PW Master Gardeners)
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation - Leesylvania State Park
Additional Partners
Greater Prince William Trails Coalition
Clifton Institute
Prince William Conservation Alliance
Virginia Native Plant Society (& Prince William Wildflower Society)
Northern Virginia Bird Alliance
Plant NOVA Natives (& Plant NOVA Trees)
Prince William Forest Park
Leopold’s Preserve
Prince William Soil & Water Conservation District
Keep Prince William Beautiful
Prince William Parks & Recreation
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