Environmental Issues

♠️😲♠️ W.O.W. Spades Night ♠️😲♠️ Washington on Wednesday (W.O.W.) - 3rd Wednesday Spades in DC 🌟Spades in DC! 😀 Hang out with a friendly and welcoming group. Meet new people and have a great time! ✅️ No partner needed! Find one onsite. All skill levels are welcome. 📌 Nando's Peri-Peri Chicken - Navy Yard 300 Tingey St SE #150, Washington, DC 20003 ❤️ **Posted in multiple groups. So, expect a nice crowd.** 🚌 One block from Navy Yard Metro Station 🚗 Street and Garage Parking available. 🍷 Alcoholic beverages are available! 🍗 Please support the business by purchasing food/drinks. 🌟 The fun starts at 5:30pm! RSVP today.

Come out every Wednesday from 6 to 9 to play Flesh and Blood TCG!

Doubles Volleyball - Competitive BB-A level @Bluemont Park Let's get together to play some fun A level Doubles games at Bluemont. Format: Doubles COST: FREE Court Type: Outdoor grass Minimum Skill Requirements: BB-A level (click [here](https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/1PojSi4qdlRsv1msCHhvpQ43iDc4FfzQwpWCc3kafVMY/mobilebasic) for details) Attention: 1. This event is not always on a first come, first served basis. Those who can bring a net and ball, may get priority over others on the waitlist. 1. Since skill levels are self-reported, some attendees may not meet the expected level in reality, so we encourage you to choose a partner you can enjoy the game with, and since this is a competitive event, it is okay if you make a strong team and win all the games. 1. Since people arrive at different times, each group of 1. Players will set up and claim a net as they arrive, and may continue playing without rotating until all nets are set. ——— Smiley Social documents: [Group Rules](https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/1HrG35p_0M08leRvCp8XWG3CMkr_GL928XFabl5T6Dvg/mobilebasic) [Liability Waiver](https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/1W2mq-7m99lmvd7gdWYaSUFtvVg4UGnzV6koafAbHmco/mobilebasic) [Volleyball Levels](https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/1PojSi4qdlRsv1msCHhvpQ43iDc4FfzQwpWCc3kafVMY/mobilebasic)

**Tired of surface-level conversations?** Join us for *Ditch the Small Talk*—an evening of deep, real connection with strangers who are down to go there. We’ll meet in the grass in front of the cathedral, break into small groups, and draw questions from a deck of cards designed to spark vulnerable, honest conversations. How it works: Draw a card and ask a question. Listen. Don't coach or give advice without permission. Try to ask follow-up questions when people share. You can spend 1 minute on a question or 1 hour, just go with the flow. **If you show up late, please don't interrupt the speaker. Just sit down in a group of your choice and they'll bring you up to speed when whoever is talking finishes. Bring a blanket or chair if you don't want to sit in the grass. *** Rules*** 1. Don't debate politics 2. Keep what is shared in the group within the group 3. If you need to use your phone, step away from your group first

**Just discounted: $500 off!** **Register at** [https://www.lizardbrain.com/thinkwithink](https://www.lizardbrain.com/thinkwithink) Think With Ink™ is Lizard Brain’s 3-day premiere graphic facilitation workshop. This is an intensive workshop that covers the essentials of using visuals to facilitate a group process. The workshop covers three areas: * Technique: Markers, paper handling, color use, lettering, drawing, forms, levels of information, listening for synthesis. * Models, Methods, and Tools: visual energizers and icebreakers, meeting principles and ground rules, and visual tools for brainstorming ideas, comparing ideas, and collaboratively deciding the way forward. * Experiential Practice: hands-on practice designing and leading facilitated modalities. This workshop is meant for: * The facilitator who wants to build a repertoire of visual tools, * The graphic recorder or sketchnoter who wants to expand into graphic facilitation, * The team member who wants to bring visual, participatory methods to the team, * The consultant and coach who wants to help clients think through problems in a visual manner, or * The visual thinker, the whiteboard salesman, the data visualizer, or anyone that sits in the intersection of visuals and helping others solve problems. Each participant will receive: * Textbook * Sketchbook and sketchnoting materials * Handouts summarizing key practices * Set of markers * Roll of twenty-five-yard paper * This hands-on, practice-driven workshop will give you everything you need to graphically facilitate groups through the toughest challenges. **The next in-person running is in Reston, Virginia, June 17-19, 2026.** Click the link below to find out more! [https://www.lizardbrain.com/thinkwithink](https://www.lizardbrain.com/thinkwithink) **FAQs** * *Will this teach me to graphic record?* * Graphic recording is large-scale visual notetaking for groups. Graphic facilitation is using visuals to help move a group through a process. Although you can apply many of the graphic facilitation methods in Think With Ink to graphic recording, we will focus on visual group processes rather than on the aesthetic side of graphic recording. * * *Will this teach me to graphic facilitate?* * Yes! * * *What can I bring into the event?* * Please bring questions, comments, stories, favorite tools, examples, experiences, and a willingness to learn and share with others! * * *How can I contact the organizer with any questions?* * For any questions, please contact brian@lizardbrain.com.

Join us for FREE classes in the beautiful outdoors throughout Prince George’s County! Learn basic moves to strengthen your body, increase flexibility, and free your mind. Ages 13 & up. **[Register here ](google.com/url?q=https://mdpgparksweb.myvscloud.com/webtrac/web/search.html?Action%3DStart%26SubAction%3D%26_csrf_token%3DHp0M0E6T0I712L473B2Q2N4F5J5R6M5E035L4X6O6I04705R6O5S045J4M526G6A5S5Q5J6K1I5P4S6E550O5G4I6F511L4L63505I095R4M6N671F545U6H6A735O3L6M%26age%3D0.25%26age%3D0.5%26age%3D0.75%26age%3D1%26age%3D2%26age%3D3%26age%3D4%26age%3D5%26age%3D6%26age%3D7%26age%3D8%26age%3D9%26age%3D10%26age%3D11%26age%3D12%26age%3D13%26age%3D14%26age%3D15%26age%3D16%26age%3D17%26age%3DAdult%26age%3DSenior%26primarycode%3D17680-479E%26keyword%3D%26keywordoption%3DMatch%2BOne%26showwithavailable%3DNo%26spotsavailable%3D%26beginyear%3D%26instructor%3D%26dayoption%3DAll%26display%3DDetail%26module%3DAR%26multiselectlist_value%3D%26arwebsearch_buttonsearch%3Dyes&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1777646416003691&usg=AOvVaw3LcXJ5QbQbIc2sA6OjX1Hj)**(summer registration opens 5/13 for residents & 5/20 for non-residents). Activity Code: 17680-479E Classes may be canceled due to inclement weather or wet grounds. Call 301-927-0822 for weather-related cancellations. For fastest response to any questions, or for more information, please contact Health and Wellness directly via email wellness@pgparks.com

We are NPS Weed Warriors and Arlington Regional Master Naturalists and you should volunteer with us on Sunday, May 17 to learn about nature and remove invasive plants from everyone's favorite urban island. Meet us at the entrance to the bridge (on the parking lot side, look for the sign) at 10:00 and bring your garden gloves and loppers/pruners if you have them. If not, we can provide gloves and tools. Wear long sleeves and pants and don't forget a water bottle. We will have tasks ranging from easy (cutting English ivy and honeysuckle vines from trees) to hard (sawing down bush honeysuckle). Parking at TRI can be tight if it's a pretty day. When the parking lot is full, you can park in Rosslyn and take the trail down. If you can bike or walk or take public transit, that's wonderful. We'll see you there! Erica, Stephanie, and Heidi P.S. If you can't wait until then to RIP (Remove Invasive Plants!), go here to find more volunteer opportunities in Arlington parks: [Volunteer to Restore Native Habitat – Arlington Regional Master Naturalists (armn.org)](https://armn.org/volunteer-opportunities/)

**External registration required:** https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fireflies-and-bats-walk-tickets-1988200824186 Let's get some CCANers together for an event hosted by the Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail! An evening firefly and bat walk near the Alexandria sailing marina. All event details will be posted on the Eventbrite page (see link above). Please register and buy your ticket on Eventbrite to be able to attend the event, and make sure to RSVP here on meetup so we know who from CCAN to look out for!

The [Veg Society of DC (VSDC)](vsdc.org) encourages our members and friends to show support for the LGBTQIA+ community and stand up for animals while doing it! We are invited to join [FARM (Farm Animal Rights Movement)](https://farmusa.org/) for its third year in a row of marching in the Capital Pride Parade in DC. This is an opportunity to reach thousands of people with a "Go Vegan" message and this year, a new "Respect All Bodies" campaign. Volunteers to pass out literature and goodies to the parade watchers. Last year we couldn’t hand literature out fast enough! Water and snacks will be provided. Please come stand up for animals in this fun, community forward environment! ***Please look for full and latest details on FARM's facebook page:*** ***[March with FARM in the DC Pride Parade! | Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/events/1325-15th-st-nw-washington-dc-20005/march-with-farm-in-the-dc-pride-parade/1520537916344790/)*** ***Best to check there for any questions and to interact with the FARM organizers.*** Note: the parade itself is scheduled from 3 to 7:30 pm but volunteers may be gathering around noon to meet, plan, and interact. See the facebook page above for all details. **VSDC: More Than A Meetup** We are delighted to have you as part of The Veg Society of DC Vegan Meetup group, and we look forward to seeing you at our events. Did you know that [VSDC](https://vsdc.org/%20) is a nonprofit organization with membership benefits? With VSDC membership, you will save money at area restaurants and businesses, attend VSDC member-only events, and, most importantly, support us as a clear and consistent voice for improving the lives of all beings through community building and education centered on the benefits of a vegan diet and lifestyle. The membership fee is minimal, but the impact is significant! [Join today](https://vsdc.org/membership/)! **Ways to Stay In Touch with Us** Thank you for being part of our Meetup presence and bringing like-minded people together. We invite you to: * Become a [VSDC member](https://vsdc.org/membership/) to save money at area restaurants and support us in being a clear and consistent voice for improving the lives of all beings through community building and education centered on the benefits of a vegan diet and lifestyle. * Sign up for our[ monthly e-newsletter](https://vsdc.org/about/newsletter/) to hear more about our activities. * Follow us on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/vegsocietydc/) or [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/vegsocietydc/) to engage with us. **Interested in Volunteering with VSDC?** VSDC offers many events each month, thanks to the dedication of our event planning team. Would you consider volunteering? To learn more and get started, [please visit our website](https://vsdc.org/volunteer/). **Only Vegan Food, Please** While VSDC welcomes people wherever they are on the path to an all-plant, vegan diet and lifestyle, it is our policy that only vegan food be served and consumed at our events. If you would like to [explore a vegan diet or get support in making lifestyle changes, consider these resources](https://vsdc.org/exploringvegan/). **Liability Waiver and Code of Conduct** When you sign up to attend, you automatically acknowledge [VSDC's Liability Waiver](https://vsdc.org/activity-waiver/) and commit to follow the code of conduct found at [Policies - VSDC - Veg Society of DC](https://vsdc.org/policies/). **VSDC. Creating communities. For your health, the animals, and the planet.**

Please be sure to RSVP here! https://stampede.proanimal.org/events Join your fellow animal lovers and DC Animal Protection to discuss what’s happening in the animal advocacy scene in DC! This series is a weekly meetup, with guest speakers from all of the major animals rights orgs. We’ll host non-profits such as Pro-Animal Future, International Council for Animal Welfare, DC Voters for Animals, The Humane League, Mercy for Animals and Direct Action Everywhere as well as local grassroots groups like the DC Coalition Against Foie Gras and sanctuaries. We’ll also have special sessions related to health, nutrition and mindfulness! We encourage anyone who is interested in helping animals to attend- no need to be vegan! Come learn about our rich variety of local activism. With protests, outreach, wheat-pasting, signature collecting, leafletting, lobbying, tabling etc. there’s something to match everyone’s comfort level and skill set. Coffee, bagels and community will be provided! Feel free to bring any extra treats to share (no animal products please.) Hope to see you soon! :) Note: Unfortunately, animals are not allowed at our venue. Please leave your furry friends at home.

We'll check out 29th Parallel Coffee in Fairfax Station. We plan to grab a coffee and head to Burke Lake Park and walk around the lake (weather permitting). There are a couple of parking areas at the park. I marked the parking we're planning to meet at the park. We hope to start the walk around 11:30AM. If you're a Fairfax County resident (with an ID), parking is free, otherwise they charge for parking. Please have a picture profile so we can recognize you in the meetup.

The Group gathers in the parking lot between 6:00 AM and 6:30 AM to catch the sunrise over the Potomac River. Google Maps: [https://maps.app.goo.gl/hCUuoxUPKhRbLLZn9](https://maps.app.goo.gl/hCUuoxUPKhRbLLZn9) Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve is known as a top regional birding spot; over **300 species** have been recorded here, including nesting bald eagles and ospreys. Bring your longest telephoto lens and binoculars. I can help you with camera settings so you can capture sharper images of both perched birds and birds in flight. It is thrilling to capture the amazing orange and red colors that are only available at that time in the morning. Share only your very best, most interesting shots after the field trip, and keep it down to between 5 and 10 photos. Bring water, comfortable shoes, a tripod, fully charged batteries, and empty memory cards... Park Facts: Entrance Fee: Free Allow Dogs on a leash: Yes Bathroom: On the north side of the Marina is a building for restrooms National Park Service Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve: www.nps.gov/gwmp Friends of Dyke Marsh (www.fodm.org) By sending in an RSVP and joining this meetup event hosted by the Virginia Beltway Photography Meetup, I agree to abide by the rules and regulations (where applicable) of the event location, and I am also agreeing to the terms of the following release and waiver of liability, which shall be binding on my heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and assigns. In consideration of my (and my child’s) participation in the Virginia Beltway Photography Meetup, I do hereby release, discharge, and hold harmless the Organizer, its members, officers, directors, employees, and the leader(s) of this event from any and all liability by reason of any damage, loss, expenses, or injury arising from my (and my child’s) participation in this event, including that caused solely or in part by the fault of any and all of the above-named parties.

Welcome to Drunken Philosophy, a casual, curious, social discussion club. Come grab a drink and a seat at The Oracle. **Optional topic for this meetup: Where is everybody?** In 1950 the physicist Enrico Fermi was talking about aliens over lunch and asked a question that still has not gone away: if the universe is so vast and so old, and even a fraction of those billions of stars have planets, where is everyone? By the numbers the galaxy should be crowded with civilizations. Instead we look up and hear silence. That gap between "they should be everywhere" and "we see no one" is the Fermi Paradox. One of the most unsettling answers is the idea of a **Great Filter**: somewhere on the road from dead chemistry to a galaxy-spanning civilization, there is at least one step that is almost impossible to get past. Maybe the filter is behind us. Maybe life starting at all, or simple cells becoming complex, or intelligence ever evolving, is the freak accident, and we already cleared the hard part. Or maybe the filter is ahead of us, and advanced civilizations reliably wipe themselves out before they spread. Here is the part that messes with people. If we ever found life somewhere else, even pond scum on Mars, most people would call it the greatest discovery in history. But it might be the worst possible news. It would mean life is common, the early steps are easy, and the hard step is still in front of us. So the eerie silence overhead might actually be the best sign we could ask for. **Questions to wrestle with:** * Is it better to be alone? Would you rather we find alien life and learn we are not special, or find nothing and quietly improve our odds of surviving? * Where do you bet the filter sits, behind us or ahead of us, and why? * If it is ahead of us, what is it? Nuclear war, climate collapse, AI, something we cannot even picture yet? And can we do anything about a filter we cannot see coming? * Does any of this change how you live, or how humanity should be spending its time and money right now? As always the prompt is optional. Come for the conversation, stay for the drinks, and bring your own questions.

Based on the novel Roadside Picnic, it is NO picnic, but rather one of the masterpieces of world cinema. Andrei Tarkovsky's 1979 Soviet sci-fi classic, recounts the expedition of a writer and professor led by a mysterious guide called "The Stalker." to a futuristic wasteland called "The Zone." Dripping with existential dread, it continually presents strange occurrences that will have us debating the meaning of what we've just viewed right through the ending. *Stalker* (1979) can be streamed for free on HBOMax, the Criterion Channel or Kanopy. It's also available for rent on Amazon Prime and AppleTV. The Columbus Library has two copies on disc.

June 17, 2026: Worthington Library. Wild Ohio: The Best of Our Natural Heritage. Jim McCormac. Worthington, Ohio. 7 pm.

Let's light this candle. First drink's on me.

Join us for a great 2 mile hike through Blendon Woods Metro Park, hiking the Sugarbush Trail. This is a largely wooded hike on a flat dirt trail with some tree roots and rocks. Please meet us at the start of the trail in the Nature Center parking lot.

Mental Health, how do you understand it? How can you improve it? How do you get rid of stress, anxiety and uncertainty? These emotions are buried deep in your reactive mind. Find out what the reactive mind is, and in the process find yourself. Have you ever suffered from a traumatic experience, a deep loss or been through a painful breakup? Has your ability to communicate suffered as a result? And after that, even though you "moved on" did you find that things were never quite the same? Have you ever looked at childhood photos, or reminisced your early life and wondered where that happiness and spark went? Are your emotions out of your own control? Have you ever felt, even if you aren’t aware of it, that possibly you are getting in your own way of your happiness and success? How does this affect your self-confidence? Find out what is at the root of all stress, anxiety, depression and self-doubt. Find out how and why you hold yourself back from achieving your goals and having the life you have dreamed of. As soon as you learn what is at the root of these unwanted conditions, you’ll see it is something you can DO something about. You will not be labeled or categorized at this MeetUp. This group is hosted by the Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Center of Central Ohio.

Sleep in on Sundays. When you've had your fill of pajama-time, roll out and have some tasty brunch with your fellow Humanists!