As part of my Virginia Master Naturalist training I need to create something (presentation, demonstration, etc.) I made a Zine.

As part of my Virginia Master Naturalist training I need to create something (presentation, demonstration, etc.) I made a Zine.

As part of my Virginia Master Naturalist training I need to create something (presentation, demonstration, etc.) I made a Zine.

Zine Cover Page - Small Places, Big Buzz Native plants for small spaces in RVA A pot, a strip, or a yard can be a habitat.

Zine page 2 - Pollinators need food from early spring to fall

Zine page 3 - Your space is a stepping stone between parks, medians, river corridors, and neighbors’ yards

Zine Page 4 - It’s ok to start (and stay) small - Single pot in sun - Small sunny strip - Shady stoop edge -Lawn corner transformation (sheet mulch blob)

Zine Page 5 Richmond-area native plant suggestions - Full Sun - Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), Common Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Dwarf Iris (Iris verna L.) Part Sun - Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Zine Page 6 - Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea), Blue-stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago caesia) Shade - American Alumroot (Heuchera americana), Virginia Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), Striped Wintergreen (Chimaphila) Notes: Consider this an inspiration list. Every garden is different.

Zine Page 7 - 30 minute action plan (Get started now!. Pick one spot (sunny pot, strip, corner). Remove only what you must (keep leaves where possible). Plant 3 natives (or 1 shrub + 2 perennials). Water deeply for the first year (2x a week for 15-20 min.). Leave stems/leaves over winter (nesting habitat).

Zine Back Cover - Your mission: Make one native patch this season To get started: https://vnps.org/, https://www.plantvirginianatives.org, https://ext.vt.edu/ Small Spaces, Big Buzz © 2026 by Chris O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Small Spaces Big Buzz - A Zine

As part of my Virginia Master Naturalist training I need to create something (presentation, demonstration, etc.) I made a Zine.

Small Spaces Big Buzz - A Zine

As part of my Virginia Master Naturalist training I need to create something (presentation, demonstration, etc.) I made a Zine.

Limbo

The ancient greyness shifted suddenly and thinned like mist upon the moors before a wind.

An old, old prophet lifted a shining face and said:

“He will be coming soon. The Son of God is dead; He died this afternoon.”

A murmurous excitement stirred all souls. They wondered if they dreamed

save one old man who seemed not even to have heard.

And Moses, standing, hushed them all to ask if any had a welcome song prepared.

If not, would David take the task?

And if they cared could not the three young children sing the Benedicite,

the canticle of praise they made when God kept them from perishing in the fiery blaze?

A breath of spring surprised them, stilling Moses’ words.

No one could speak, remembering the first fresh flowers, the little singing birds.

Still others thought of fields new ploughed or apple trees all blossom-boughed.

Or some, the way a dried bed fills with water laughing down green hills.

The fisherfolk dreamed of the foam on bright blue seas.

The one old man who had not stirred remembered home.

And there He was, splendid as the morning sun and fair as only God is fair.

And they, confused with joy, knelt to adore

Seeing that He wore five crimson stars He never had before.

No canticle at all was sung. None toned a psalm, or raised a greeting song,

A silent man alone of all that throng found tongue — not any other.

Close to His heart when the embrace was done, old Joseph said,

“How is Your Mother, How is Your Mother, Son?”

-- Sister Mary Ada, OSJ

Michelangelo's Pieta, via Wikimedia Commons

Limbo

The ancient greyness shifted suddenly and thinned like mist upon the moors before a wind.

An old, old prophet lifted a shining face and said:

“He will be coming soon. The Son of God is dead; He died this afternoon.”

A murmurous excitement stirred all souls. They wondered if they dreamed

save one old man who seemed not even to have heard.

And Moses, standing, hushed them all to ask if any had a welcome song prepared.

If not, would David take the task?

And if they cared could not the three young children sing the Benedicite,

the canticle of praise they made when God kept them from perishing in the fiery blaze?

A breath of spring surprised them, stilling Moses’ words.

No one could speak, remembering the first fresh flowers, the little singing birds.

Still others thought of fields new ploughed or apple trees all blossom-boughed.

Or some, the way a dried bed fills with water laughing down green hills.

The fisherfolk dreamed of the foam on bright blue seas.

The one old man who had not stirred remembered home.

And there He was, splendid as the morning sun and fair as only God is fair.

And they, confused with joy, knelt to adore

Seeing that He wore five crimson stars He never had before.

No canticle at all was sung. None toned a psalm, or raised a greeting song,

A silent man alone of all that throng found tongue — not any other.

Close to His heart when the embrace was done, old Joseph said,

“How is Your Mother, How is Your Mother, Son?”

-- Sister Mary Ada, OSJ

Michelangelo's Pieta, via Wikimedia Commons