Tiny Critter, Big Clues: What Macroinvertebrates Tell Us About Willowsford Water Quality
The fall macroinvertebrate monitoring season is wrapping up and we're here to share the process and shine a spotlight on some of the little-known water quality warriors we have here at Willowsford. What Are Benthic Macroinvertebrates? Benthic ("bottom-dwelling") macroinvertebrates are the little critters that lack ...
Wine Down For a Cause Raised Almost $14,0000!
All in Support of Dulles South Food Pantry We couldn't have asked for better weather or a better crowd for our second annual Wine Down for a Cause on October 1! Co-hosted with our wonderful partners at Stroll Willowsford, the event brought our community together for a beautiful fall evening ...
Team Members from Whole Foods Get Their Hands Dirty
The best learning happens when you're getting your hands dirty. Recently, we took a team from the Tysons Corner Whole Foods Market into the fields at Willowsford Farm to work the soil and see firsthand what it takes to grow food. The ...
Giving Bluebirds a Place to Thrive
Why Do We Do It? In the late 1900s, our Eastern Bluebirds lost 90% of their population in Northern Virginia due to the compond threat of habitat loss and invasive introductions. The arrival of the European Starling and English House Sparrow caused the cavity-nesting bluebirds to struggle ...
A Native Meadow Takes Root Along Willowsford Lane
A Native Meadow Takes Root Along Willowsford Lane You may have never noticed the small meadow beside Grassland Grove and Willowsford Lane. Tucked behind the popular walking path and tiny in size compared to most of the meadows in Willowsford, it is easy to pass by on the way to ...
More Than a Buffer: The Story of Willowsford’s Riparian Forests
Take a moment to close your eyes and picture a pond, a stream, a stretch of river. Think of everything within these ecosystems, the organisms that belong to them. Now ask yourself: where did your mental image end? For most people, it ends at the waterline, a ...
Lotus Pond Restoration Update
If you've walked by Lotus Pond recently, you may have noticed the addition of a solar-powered aeration system. While it might resemble a decorative fountain, it's actually one piece of a larger effort to restore one of Willowsford's oldest ponds. Why Ponds ...
A Close Call at Willow Lake
Last week, one of our smallest Conservancy residents found himself in a big predicament. A duckling, now affectionately named Trooper, was discovered at Willow Lake with a fishing hook lodged in its neck. Concerned residents alerted our team, and we quickly sprang into action to get him the help ...
Forestry Mulching
Forestry MulchingBy Sam Adams, Assistant Land Stewardship ManagerOver time, the forests managed by the Conservancy, like many forests throughout the region, have become increasingly dominated by invasive trees and shrubs that crowd the understory and limit the growth of native vegetation. These invasive species compete with native plants for sunlight, ...
2026 Deer Management Program Application
Willowsford Conservancy has provided a Deer Management Program for the last ten years. The program has a successful track record of curbing the deer population and is shared as an example by DWR to other communities. The objective of the program is to manage the deer population primarily through ...
Small Shifts, Lasting Impact
Photo Credit: Hulton Archives and Getty Images Earth Day began in 1970 as a nationwide call to action, an opportunity for people to come together and rethink how we care for the environment. More than 50 years later, it remains a powerful reminder that collective impact ...
Early Risers on the Forest Floor: Spring Ephemerals
As winter loosens its grip on Virginia’s forests, a brief but beautiful display unfolds on the forest floor starting around the end of March continuing through April. Spring ephemerals—some of our earliest wildflowers—emerge, bloom, and disappear all within a matter of weeks. These plants are perfectly adapted to take advantage ...
