Spring is Coming! Daylight Savings Time went into effect last Sunday and the sun stays up longer in the evenings. My daffodils are blooming and the trees are budding. The robins with their big red, round & egg laiden bellys are gathering worms and building their nests. The whole world is preparing to awaken from its winter slumber. I love this time of year because it's so exciting to see everything “Spring” to life! This seasonal change is what inspired two of our youth to plan a Butterfly Conservation project for the Sunday School this March.

Please see below a Guest Blog from NoVES teens, Ananda Kalukin & Noah Crook:

Spring is fast approaching, and so are the millions of pollinators that call our region home at this time of year. These pollinators are responsible for feeding the world through pollination, and are integral parts of every ecosystem. However, many of these pollinators are dying off and it is critical that humanity prevents them from going extinct. We decided to come up with a Sunday School project in keeping with this time of growth and that would help, in some small way, these imperiled pollinators.

On March 18th, the students of the NoVES Sunday School will participate in a planting session. Each student will plant pollinator-friendly seeds in a pot, and then take the pot home. They will then raise the seeds until April 8th. 

At Spring Festival, on April 8th, the students will bring back the seedlings and we will raffle them off to lucky NoVES attendees! If you receive seedlings, plant them outdoors so pollinators will have access to them.

With the help of an Ethical Society member, we have also chosen the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy for our charitable contribution. The LWC leads field trips and programs to educate people about conservation. They also provide citizen science data to various organizations to keep track of the health of Loudoun County Wildlife. The organization also participates in habitat restoration projects.

We will be supporting The Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy through the Sharing of Responsibility at Spring Festival. Learn more about this organization's work here: https://loudounwildlife.org/habitat-restoration/bringing-back-monarch/