Monticello Park is in Alexandria, Virginia, near the border with Arlington. It is easily accessible from Northern Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Nature lovers of all ages and skill levels come to the park to see the wide variety of birds, plants, insects, and other life forms. Monticello Park has been recognized as a Community Forest by the Old-Growth Forest Network. The park is also part of the Stretch Our Parks program sponsored by the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia.
Ashley Bradford and Bill Young have created MPNature as a citizen science project to help people learn about nature at Monticello Park and to use that knowledge to enjoy and love nature wherever they go. The website is designed so that people can know what to look for when preparing to visit the park, can understand what they are seeing when in the park, and can learn more after they leave about what they have seen. Among the features are:
- Photos and detailed write-ups of bird species in the park
- A survey of known plant species in the park, with photos and links to information
- Daily bird checklists for April and May
- Information and links in 14 natural history Resources categories
- Natural history essays by Eric Dinerstein and Bill Young
- A virtual tour of Monticello Park
- An interactive map to provide driving directions to the park
- Information about reaching the park by public transportation
These features can be accessed from the menu bar at the top of each page. Clicking on blue text throughout the website will link you to pages either within or outside of MPNature. If you are viewing this site on a mobile phone, please use the links in the list above to navigate to other pages. You can find the latest sightings at Monticello Park reported on eBird.
So take some time and explore the information on MPNature. More importantly, come and visit so that you can personally experience the natural wonders offered by Monticello Park!
Questions or comments? Contact us.