Join us Sunday for a casual evening benefit as we toast those instrumental to WYG's 50 years of success and look towards the garden's future. Each $150 ticket supports FONA's Washington Youth Garden and its anniversary projects.

Become an event sponsor and champion the Washington Youth Garden! Help us reach our fundraising goal and lay the foundation for the next 50 years.

Paul Meyer, who has served on FONA's board since 2009, recently received the Veitch Memorial Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society. This award is given to "persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the science and practice of horticulture."

Paul Meyer retired in 2019 from a 42-year long career at the Morris Arboretum in Pennsylvania. He served as executive director of the Arboretum for 28 of those years. Paul has also led a dozen plant exploration trips around the world. Many of those trips were held in partnership with the National Arboretum and U.S. Department of Agriculture, and according to Paul would not have been possible without their leadership.

One more week to register for our fifth annual Summer Institute for Garden-Based Teaching. During this training from July 12th to 15th, educators will develop garden-based teaching skills, learn best practices to sustain a school garden program, jumpstart planning for the next school year, and more!

The Summer Institute is open to all DC PK-5th teachers, staff, and volunteers who work in schools with existing school garden programs. Participants will receive a stipend, contingent upon finalized funding. Register by May 25th to join us for our Summer Institute.

DC9 is growing up! According to American Eagle Foundation volunteers who monitor the Arboretum's bald eagle nest cameras, DC9 has started feeding itself rather than just relying on Mr. President or LOTUS to feed it.

This comes two weeks after "eagle whisperer" Jim Campbell-Spickler scaled the tulip poplar that houses this nest to retrieve DC9 for scientific studies. Jim is not only the director of the Sequoia Park Zoo, but also a wildlife biologist and tree-climbing expert.

Want to learn more about the Arboretum's eagles and the role they play in the Anacostia watershed? Join us for the next Digging In, our virtual lecture series, this Tuesday, May 24th from 12 to 1:15 PM.

FONA members can participate in this event live as part of their member benefits. If you're already a member, see your inbox for an invitation. Become a FONA member today to join this event and dig in with the experts.

We'd love to hear from you. Please fill out a quick anonymous survey (2-4 minutes long) to provide feedback on FONA Field Notes and let us know how we're doing

Birthday Party June 11, 11 AM - 1:30 PM

Evening Benefit June 12, 5:30 PM - 8 PM

June 25, 9 AM

Scenic race through collections in bloom

Movie in the Meadow: Calamity