The Virginia Master Naturalist program’s state office is now accepting nominations for six statewide awards.  

• Chapter Leader of the Year
• Volunteer of the Year
• New VMN Volunteer
• Most Impactful Project
• Chapter Advisor of the Year
• Diversity & Inclusion Award.

These awards will be judged by the VMN statewide office team and one or more VMN sponsoring agency representatives.  We will announce the winners in late December or January.  To submit a nomination, please send the information requested for that particular award to Michelle Prysby.  Nominations are due by December 1 at 5:00 pm.  You can find this year's award nomination information below.  You also can read about our 2020 winners on the web!

Chapter Leader of the Year
This award is intended to recognize a volunteer for extraordinary service as a leader in their chapter.  The person could be a board member, committee chair or committee member, or any other type of leader in the chapter, so long as their work involved chapter administration of some sort and demonstrated leadership.  

In your nominations, please include the following:

• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominator
• Name, email address, VMN chapter affiliation, and leadership role(s) for the nominee
• Description of why the volunteer should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  Please include a description of the volunteer’s contributions this year and why they stood out to you.
• Optional: One photo that illustrates the nominee and their service.  Please include photo credits and make sure we have the photographer's permission to use the photo.

Volunteer of the Year
This award is intended to recognize a volunteer who has made outstanding contributions to natural resource education, citizen science, and/or stewardship.  Criteria we consider include the impacts the volunteer has made on natural resource conservation and education, ways the volunteer has impacted or influenced other volunteers, and impacts the volunteer has had on their community, all in the context of the volunteer's VMN service.  There is no minimum requirement for amount of hours or length of service for a volunteer to receive this award.  Our focus is on the last one to two years of service.

In your nominations, please include the following:

• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of nominator
• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominee
• Description of why the nominee should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  You may choose to include a description of the individual’s service, specific examples of positive impacts made, aspects that make the individual stand out from other volunteers, and quotes from other volunteers or local partners.  Please place your primary focus on the last 1-2 years of the volunteer’s service.  
• Optional: One photo that illustrates the nominee and their service.  Please include photo credits and make sure we have the photographer's permission to use the photo.

New VMN Volunteer
This award is intended to recognize a new volunteer who completed or will complete basic training in 2021 and has been highly engaged during and after the training.  The volunteer may have completed many volunteer hours, started a new project, helped on a chapter committee, or been engaged in other ways.  In your nominations, please include the following:

• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominator
• Name, email address, VMN chapter affiliation, and basic training graduation date of the new volunteer
• Description of why the volunteer should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  Please include a description the volunteer’s activities and contributions this year and why they stood out to you.
• Optional: One photo that illustrates the nominee and their service.  Please include photo credits and make sure we have the photographer's permission to use the photo.

Chapter Advisor of the Year
This award is intended to recognize a chapter advisor who has made significant and noteworthy contributions to a VMN chapter within the last 1-2 years.  In your nominations, please include the following:

• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominator
• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the chapter advisor
• Description of why the chapter advisor should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  Please include specific examples of how the chapter advisor has helped the chapter run effectively, make positive impacts in the community, or otherwise achieve its goals.
• Optional: One photo that illustrates the chapter advisor and their service.  Please include photo credits and make sure we have the photographer's permission to use the photo.

Most Impactful Project
This award is intended to recognize a project that has made significant and noteworthy positive impacts for natural resource education, citizen science, and/or stewardship this year.  Our focus is on projects for which the VMN chapter played a significant, unique role in creation, implementation, and leadership (rather than projects that were created and run by another organization.)  These awards go to the chapter, not to an individual, so the expectation is that multiple members of the chapter be involved in the project.  The project need not have started this year, but it should have had significant impacts this year.  

In your nominations, please include the following:

• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominator
• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation for any primary VMN volunteer contacts for the project
• Description of why the project should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  Please include a description of the project goals, activities completed, and impacts and outcomes for natural resources in your community and/or for your chapter.  Include the roles and contributions of VMN volunteers to the project.  Identify any significant partners for the project. 
• Optional: One photo that illustrates the project.  Please include photo credits and make sure we have the photographer's permission to use the photo.

Diversity & Inclusion Award
This award is intended to recognize efforts to engage underrepresented audiences and efforts to increase diversity and inclusion throughout the VMN program and the educational programs volunteers provide in their communities.  It could be a particular service project that the chapter did that successfully engaged new audiences, work done by a chapter committee to create new partnerships, work done by chapter leaders to make all members feel more welcome and included in the program, or many other possible efforts.  This award will go to the chapter, not to an individual, though we can highlight particular individuals who played a significant role in our awards announcement.

In your nominations, please include the following:

• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominator
• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation for any primary VMN volunteer contacts for the diversity and inclusion efforts being nominated
• Description of what the effort or activity was and how it successfully engaged underrepresented audiences or increased inclusion within the VMN program and/or educational programming by VMN volunteers.  Identify any significant partners involved in the work. 
• Optional:  One photo that illustrates the effort.  Please include photo credits and make sure we have the photographer's permission to use the photo.

Please help us recognize the outstanding people and work of your chapters!

Urban forests are a critical part of Virginia's green infrastructure, especially as the state becomes increasingly urbanized each year.  "As populations in cities and towns continue to grow, creating and caring for green infrastructure (like trees) is increasingly important. Trees help make cities livable – providing shade, clean air, clean water, and other useful benefits for human and environmental health" (Virginia Department of Forestry Urban and Community Forestry).

Roughly two-thirds of Virginia Master Naturalist chapters are situated in urban or suburban settings, and all of our chapters have locations with high population density within their work areas.  In any given year, VMN volunteers conduct 30,000+ hours of stewardship activities, positively impacting hundreds of sites across the state.  They also conduct many educational programs in their communities.  When some of that service focuses on stewardship and conservation of urban forests and on educating people about the value of urban trees and forests, VMN volunteers can make a real difference for urban forest health.  

The Virginia Master Naturalist program benefits from annual state-level Urban and Community Forestry grants from the USDA Forest Service, administered by the Virginia Department of Forestry's Urban and Community Forestry program.  This support has helped us provide basic training curriculum on Urban and Developed Systems, have sessions related to urban trees and forests at statewide events, and provide urban forestry outreach materials.  This year, we also were able to collect and compile stories of the urban and community forestry work our volunteers are doing into a StoryMap.  This map allows you to view photos and descriptions of many different service projects, from invasive plant management in local parks to creating tree identification trails to monitoring for the spotted lanternfly.  Take a look at the map, and hopefully get inspired by these impactful projects!

Thank you to VMN Volunteer Coordinator Terri Keffert for her work in collecting these stories, and thank you to the many VMN volunteers who shared those stories and photos!  We will continue to add to this StoryMap as we learn of new projects.  If you are a VMN volunteer who has worked on a project that directly relates to urban forestry, stewardship of urban forests, or education about urban forests and the value of trees in the urban environment, and you would like to see your project added to this StoryMap, please contact the VMN state office.

Update Your Profile on Better Impact

All VMN volunteers are asked to log on to Better Impact, our new volunteer management system, without delay!  As of today, 2,166 VMN volunteers of 3,200 on the rosters (68%) had logged in to the system.  Only 55% of enrolled volunteers have logged hours in the system.  Only 40% had completed any other parts of their profile, such as the emergency contact information, demographic information, and/or agreements and acknowledgements.

Please take a few minutes to log on to update your profile, document your service, and see the most up-to-date information on approved activities for your chapter!  If you are unsure of your login information, please contact your chapter's membership chair or volunteer management system administrator so that they can help you.  

Once you have logged on, we recommend taking these actions:

• Update your contact information.  Under the "My Profile" tab, go to "Contact Information".  Fill that out as completely as possible.  Only the system administrators for your chapter and at the state level can see your information there, so you are not sharing it with the world or even the whole chapter.
• Update other information.  Also under the "My Profile" tab, go to "Additional Information".  Please fill in the boxes under Demographic Information, Emergency Contact, Agreements & Acknowledgements.  In addition, under Milestones, we ask you to indicate whether you prefer to receive or not receive milestone and recertification pins.
• Update your interests and availability.  Your choices here can be changed at any time and will not restrict you to what activities you see, only help you find activities that you are interested in.  Again under the "My Profile" tab, go to "Interests".  Here you can indicate the general kinds of volunteer activities you would like to do.  This will help leaders be able to match volunteers to specific opportunities.  Next under "My Profile", go to "Availability".  Indicate your general availability for volunteering.  By entering even your best guesstimates, it will help you find activities on those days.  
• Review the approved activities for your chapter.  Under the "Opportunities" tab, click the Opportunities List to see what volunteer activities are approved in your chapter.  The lists for many chapters have changed compared to the old system, so if there's a project you have been doing, check to make sure you can find it on the list and what category it is under.  If you can't find it, it may no longer be active or an approved activity.
• Enter your service and CE hours.  Under the "Hours" tab, enter the dates, hours, activity, and other requested information for any service and continuing education you have done in 2021.  Make sure that any CE hours are always entered into the CE Category, or we will not be able to distinguish them from service hours.  If you see a box to indicate "Impacts" when you enter your service, please fill that out so that we can know more about the positive impacts you are making.  By the way, VMN volunteers are expected to document their service regularly, not just at the end of the year!  
• View your service and CE hours.  Want to see where you are at with volunteer service this year?  Go to the "Reports" tab.  Scroll down to the Hours and Feedback Report.  Enter the date range you want to see and click "View Report".  That will show all hours (both service and CE), so you'll need to subtract the CE hours from the total to know your service hours.  Note that the hours total at the top on your dashboard does not accurately reflect VMN service hours, so use the report instead.

There is more you can do on Better Impact, but we think these tasks are the basic ones of most importance for every volunteer to do.  

You can find additional instructions for using Better Impact, including a video demonstrating exactly what to do, on the Volunteer Management page of our website.

 Diversity and Inclusion in Natural Resource Education - A Webinar Series

All are invited to attend the VMN Diversity & Inclusion in Natural Resource Education webinar series this fall.  Thanks to a grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment, we are able to bring in some excellent external presenters.  Visit our website for full details and registration links.  The first one is coming up soon!

• Monday, November 1, 7:00-9:00 pm: Connecting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to Nature in Baltimore with Diamon Clark (Black by Nature) and Atiya Wells (Backyard Basecamp, Inc.)
• Thursday, December 2, 7:00-8:00 pm: Environmental Justice in Virginia with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Office of Environmental Justice
• Thursday, December 9, 6:30-8:00 pm: Birdability: Because birding is for everybody and every body! with Freya McGregor (Birdability)

Also, mark your calendars for an additional webinar from the VMN Diversity & Inclusion Working Group.  On Tuesday, November 9, 6:30-8:30 pm, members of the VMN Diversity & Inclusion Working Group will share our developed goals and action items to increase diversity and inclusion in the VMN program and the educational programs our volunteers provide.  It will be part of our Leadership Month activities for chapter leaders, but all VMN volunteers are welcome.  The link to register was sent to all VMN volunteers via email.

A New VMN Educators Bureau

VMN volunteers who like doing education & outreach of any kind are invited to join our new Educators Bureau.

The Educators Bureau will be an up-to-date listing of VMN volunteers willing to teach other VMNs, give presentations for community groups, lead nature walks, lead environmental education activities for youth, and any other form of educating related to natural resources.  Our goal is to increase VMN engagement in Education & Outreach, help our program reach new audiences, and help us respond better to requests for presenters.  

If you are a VMN interested and willing to teach others and lead educational programs on natural resource topics, we invite you to complete our Educators Bureau form.  By completing the form, you aren't committing to any specific opportunity at this point but simply indicating your willingness to be contacted if an opportunity arises that fits your particular profile.  On the form, we provide more details on how your information will be used and how you can update your information later.  If you have questions, please contact Michelle Prysby, VMN Program Director. 

We would like to get a baseline sense for the current size and scope of our VMN educator pool, so we ask that if you are (1) a VMN volunteer and (2) willing and able to lead any kind of educational program as part of your VMN volunteer service, please complete the form by November 22.

Won't You Please Step Up?

It’s Election Season!  No, I'm not talking about politics.  I’m talking about the huge need we have for VMN volunteers to serve in all sorts of leadership roles in their chapters.  And we need you!

A little background…
The VMN program is set up to be chapter-based.  Some great positives of this structure are that our groups can better tailor themselves to fit the circumstances of their local communities, that we’ve been able to grow and sustain the program across Virginia for 16 years, and that VMN volunteers have been able to take a lot of ownership over their learning and service.  Being chapter-based has meant our local groups can create their own projects to fill needs that they see.  

Another aspect of this structure is that we need volunteers to help govern the chapter and help run some of the day-to-day aspects of the program locally.  I suppose some might consider this a negative aspect of the chapter-based design, but I consider it an opportunity!  By being on a chapter committee or serving on the board, volunteers make new connections with others in their chapter, develop leadership skills, and are instrumental in helping to make the VMN program valuable and impactful in their community.

A plea…
You don’t need to have any experience (other than being a current VMN volunteer).  You need a willingness to learn, to collaborate with others, and to communicate.  If you have found value yourself in being a VMN volunteer, this is a way you can help others get a positive VMN experience too.  Without VMN volunteers to lead (whether as an officer, chair, board member, or committee member), then the VMN chapter disappears and the program doesn’t exist in the community anymore.  

Don’t worry if you are relatively new to the program or don't have a great deal of leadership experience.  Those who have gone before you have established some great processes, and I know they are willing to mentor as much or as little as you wish.  There may be opportunities to shadow another chapter leader for a year to learn the ropes.  And, you have the full support of the VMN state office.  We are available when you have questions or need assistance.  

Won’t you please step up?  You will make all the difference!

--Michelle Prysby, VMN Program Director

Contribute to a New Project: The Cleopatra Project - Poisonous and Venemous Animals of Virginia

By Alfred Goossens, VMN-Rivanna Chapter

A number of Virginia Master Naturalists have been working for a few years on The Socrates Project - Poisonous Plants in Virginia.  The 2nd Edition was published in December 2020 and was very well received by the press and by the audience.    This publication covers 25 poisonous plants that grow in the wild in Virginia.  The link where you can see and download this publication is https://med.virginia.edu/brpc/socrates.

We are pleased to announce that we have started a new project: The Cleopatra Project - Poisonous and Venomous Animals in Virginia.  It has been decided by the team that we will follow a similar layout with The Cleopatra Project as we have followed with The Socrates Project, meaning text with a lot of pictures.

We currently have a strong Cleopatra Team from a number of VMN Chapters,  but we could use 2 or 3 more capable VMN members. We are looking for people who could help with doing research and writing the data sheets of the animals on our list. It would be of great help if we could find members with some entomology experience. If you are interested to participate in this great project please contact the project leader at Cleopatra.Socrates@gmail.com. 

In addition we are looking for VMN volunteers from any chapter to submit pictures of all the animals that we will be writing about. Please note that the Virginia Herpetological Society has kindly offered us photos of venomous snakes, so we are well covered here.

At this moment we are evaluating if the following animals should be included in The Cleopatra project:

• Algae bloom
• Ants:  Red and Fire
• Caterpillars:  Saddle-back, Puss caterpillar, Hagmoth, Hackberry leaf slug, Io moth Caterpillar and the Buck moth caterpillar.
• Eastern Newt
• Jellyfish
• Snakes: Eastern Copperhead, Northern Cottonmouth and the Timber Rattlesnake
• Spiders: Southern black Widow and the Northern Black Widow
• Scorpion: Southern Devil
• Toads: Eastern American Toad, Eastern Spadefoot Toad, Fowler's Toad, Oak toad and the Southern Toad 
• Wasps, Hornets and Yellow Jackets.

​NOTE: An updated list of photographs being sought and information on how to submit is available here.  

We are working closely together with the Medical Toxicology Department of the University of Virginia, our partner in this project, with the selection of the animals for this publication. They will eventually also conduct the peer review of the text of the publication with regard to toxicology, poisoning symptoms and other medical issues or concerns

When The Cleopatra Project is well on the road the team will start working on the 3rd Edition of The Socrates Project - Poisonous Plants in Virginia.  In addition to the 25 plants that are in the 2nd Edition, we have received reports of at least 12 additional poisonous plants that grow in the wild in Virginia.

The Socrates Project - Poisonous Plants in Virginia has become a resounding success for the Virginia Master Naturalists program and the team will make sure that The Cleopatra Project - Poisonous and Venomous Animals in Virginia will do the same.

For any questions and suggestions please contact:
     Alfred Goossens
     Project leader: The Socrates Project and The Cleopatra Project

Each quarter, we invite our sponsoring agencies to share news that is relevant to the learning and service of Virginia Master Naturalist volunteers.  

From the Virginia Department of Forestry and Virginia Cooperative Extension: Laurel Wilt Disease Alert

Summarized by Michelle Prysby, VMN Program Director, based on the DOF laurel wilt announcement by Forest Health Specialist Katlin DeWitt and the Diagnostic Sample Collection notice by Virginia Tech Plant Disease Clinic and Insect Identification Lab

Laurel wilt disease is a newly arrived threat to Virginia's forests.  Its first documented presence in Virginia was confirmed in September from a sample collected from a sassafras tree in Scott County.  This disease affects all plants in the Laurel (Lauraceae) family.  In Virginia, those plants include sassafras and spicebush (both found statewide), swamp bay or redbay (found in southeastern Virginia) and pondspice (a rare and critically imperiled species found in Virginia at only a few sites.)

The disease is caused by an interaction between a fungus and a beetle that eats the fungus.  The redbay ambrosia beetle tunnels into host trees carrying the fungus Raffaelea lauricola, the spores of which then germinate inside the tree.  The fungus clogs the tree's water-conducting vessels, causing observable symptoms of wilting and dead leaves.  

Although in Virginia, Laurel Wilt disease is currently only known in Scott County, it is expected to spread to other locations.  It is already confirmed in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.  Virginia Department of Forestry and Virginia Cooperative Extension would like you to be on the lookout for laurel wilt disease.  Please read the full VDOF announcement and a VDOF topic sheet on laurel wilt for more information. Suspect samples should be submitted through your local VCE office and collected as detailed in these instructions.

From the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality: Virginia Leading By Example to Reduce Plastic Pollution and Solid Waste

By Morgan Goodman, Pollution Prevention Specialist, DEQ

If you missed the presentation on Executive Order 77: Virginia Leading By Example to Reduce Plastic Pollution and Solid Waste at the VMN Conference, read on for more about this statewide effort. 

Governor Northam signed Executive Order 77 (EO 77) on March 23, 2021. The goal of the executive order is for Virginia to lead by example in eliminating most single-use plastics at state agencies, colleges and universities through a near-term ban on several common disposable plastics and requiring the phase-out of other single use items by 2025. The executive order aims to address the increase in solid waste generation in the Commonwealth that has come at the same time as a reduction in recycling options in recent years. State agencies will now be reducing waste generation and diverting as much as possible from landfills for composting and recycling. 

The first part of EO 77 states that agencies and institutions must cease using disposable plastic bags, single-use plastic and polystyrene food service containers, single-use disposable plastic straws and cutlery, and single-use plastic water bottles. The second part of EO 77 is a phase-out, requiring agencies to eliminate the buying, selling, or distribution of all non-medical single-use plastic and expanded polystyrene objects over a four-year period with objects that are reusable, compostable or recyclable. 

The last element of EO 77 is broader waste reduction through agency plans that identify additional needs and opportunities for reducing all solid waste from agency operations. The purpose of these actions is to reduce plastic pollution and eliminate the need for new solid waste disposal facilities in Virginia. The executive order has already spurred many entities to rethink their purchasing and find innovative ways to reduce waste.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has been helping state agencies and institutions implement EO 77 by providing a Plastic Pollution and Solid Waste Reduction Plan template and guidance on meeting the requirements. DEQ has over 30 years of pollution prevention experience from statewide programs like the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program, the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards, Virginia Green, and others. DEQ staff are bringing that knowledge to the table to make EO 77 successful across the Commonwealth.

To learn more about what EO 77 entails, visit DEQ’s EO 77 website. There you will find details about the executive order as well as resources like Frequently Asked Questions, recordings of past webinars, examples from agencies and universities, and best management practices.

Most importantly, the executive order is not happening in a vacuum; it is part of a broad array of legislation and efforts to address litter and waste in Virginia. Related efforts have passed the General Assembly recently such as the Polystyrene Food Container Ban, Balloon Release Ban, and legislation allowing localities to tax plastic bags. In addition to this legislation, the General Assembly has formed the Plastic Waste Prevention Advisory Council and Waste Diversion and Recycling Task Force to keep the momentum on these important issues moving forward. All of these efforts are helping Virginia tackle single-use plastics and think about the impact our choices make on Virginia’s environment.

Editor's note: For more information on how Virginia Tech is progressing with reducing single-use plastics and solid waste, see this news article.

From the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources: Wild Turkey Summer Brood Survey Results 

​By Katie Martin, Deer-Bear-Turkey Biologist and Mike Dye, Forest Game Bird Project Leader, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources


​Wild turkey success in hatching and raising broods plays an important role in wild turkey populations and fall harvests. To monitor reproduction, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) annually asks staff and volunteers to report all turkeys they see during July and August. Further, the ratio of young birds (poults) to the number of females (hens) is a critical index to reproduction (P/H). The Department would like to thank the many volunteers of the Virginia National Wild Turkey Federation chapters and the Virginia Master Naturalists for their survey participation in 2021!

The 2021 DWR turkey brood survey suggests that reproduction for wild turkey rebounded from the low of 2020 (1.9 poults/hen) to 2.7 poults/hen, just above our long term average (2.5 P/H). Unfortunately, the overall number of turkeys staff have observed in the summer has declined steadily since 2015 (the 2020 survey had a low sample size and was not statistically higher). In 2021 total turkeys observed fell below the long-term average (19/1k miles) to 14 birds per 1,000 miles.

In 2021, the Department received 244 reports by observers driving nearly 293,000 miles during July and August. Seventy-three percent of observers reported seeing at least one turkey. On a statewide basis, the number of turkeys seen per 1,000 miles driven in 2021 was 14.3 turkeys per 1,000 miles. This ratio peaked recently in 2014 and 2015 and has been declining since. Low reproduction is believed to be the primary cause of the decline. The Tidewater Region had the highest ratio (24/1,000 mi.) and likely has the highest turkey population of any region in the state. Following close behind was the Southwest region with 21 birds per 1,000 miles. The North Piedmont (11), South Piedmont (10) and North Mountains (9) were all fairly stable and below the long-term average of 19 birds per 1,000 miles.

For the complete report, including additional details on poult-to-hen ratios as well as graphs of the data, see this PDF report.

From the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Center for Coastal Resources Management - Nature-Based Solutions

From the VIMS CCRM monthly newsletter
​
The Center for Coastal Resources Management has a new online site where you can learn all about natural and nature-based features that provide benefits in coastal communities.

From the website: "Coastal forests, wetlands, beaches, and living shorelines provide multiple benefits for coastal communities, including storm protection, soaking up floodwaters, improving water quality, providing recreation areas and maintaining important habitats.  Protected and restored natural features can also reduce the cost of flood insurance."

Natural features include trees, forested wetlands, marshes, and dunes, for example.  Nature-based features are human-made and include marsh sills, oyster sills, and offshore breakwaters.

The new site has fact sheets on each of kind of feature and the benefits it provides.  The site also includes reports for each coastal city and county summarizing the natural and nature-based features there and their benefits.  

Check out the site and learn more about natural and nature-based features for improving coastal resilience!

From the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation: Virginia Pollinator Smart Team holds the first Virginia Native Seed Industry Meeting

By René Hypes, Environmental Review Coordinator, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Natural Heritage Program
 
DCR staff participated in an engaging first meeting on October 13 to discuss the development of a native seed industry in Virginia. With Virginia’s coming age of renewable energy, there is potential for over 200,000 acres to be identified for solar development in the Commonwealth over the next decade. The benefits of planting native species instead of turf grass for these facilities and other development are numerous including reduced soil and water runoff, the capture of atmospheric carbon, and the establishment of pollinator habitat with increased pollinator services to adjacent agricultural lands and lower maintenance cost.

In the eastern United States, two large-scale native seed companies in Kentucky and Pennsylvania provide native species to the Commonwealth. Within Virginia, there is no native seed industry with the exception of some native plant nurseries. According to the DCR Native Plant Finder, there are 278 native species commercially available with only seven Virginia ecotypes. The development of a sustainable native seed industry here in Virginia is vital to the success of the Virginia Pollinator Smart Program.  Now, DCR and partner organizations are establishing the first Virginia Native Seed Growers’ Business Advisory Committee, which will focus on developing markets, growers, and ecotypes.  More information to come as this new initiative moves forward!

Read more about the Pollinator-Smart program on the VDCR website.   

From the Virginia Museum of Natural History - #BenInNature

If you are a Facebook user and looking for some terrific natural history stories about native species in Virginia, you will enjoy the #BenInNature posts from the Administrator of Science at the Virginia Museum of Natural History, Ben Williams.  He frequently writes about invertebrates, fungi, and other lesser known species.  Recent posts have featured such species as the showy emerald moth, field crickets, puffball mushrooms, and the red-footed cannibalfly.  Visit Virginia Museum of Natural History on Facebook.

​Each quarter, we invite VMN chapters to share stories of volunteers' awards and accomplishments.  Our Laurels posts are not only a way to provide recognition to those volunteers, but also an opportunity to inspire other volunteers.  If you are inspired by one of the projects or accomplishments mentioned here and want more information, please contact the VMN state office and we'll put you in touch!

Fairfax VMN Volunteer Earns Gold Award

Mackenzie Nordai of the Fairfax Chapter recently earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by educating the public on nonpoint source pollution and labeling stormwater drains. She is a Spring 2020 VMN graduate who attended the basic training course with her mother Karen.

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador can earn. A Gold Award Take Action Project has national and/or global links, is sustainable, takes approximately 80 hours and addresses an issue the Girl Scout cares about.  For Mackenzie's project, she organized volunteers in three communities to label storm drains in the Pohick Creek watershed to raise awareness of where the drains lead.  She also educated community members about the watershed and nonpoint source pollution through communication channels such as neighborhood newsletters, bulletin boards, and social media.

Read more about Mackenzie's project in an article she wrote for the Fairfax Chapter website!  

Eastern Shore Master Naturalists Make A New Site Great for Both Birds and People
​
By Shannon Alexander, VDCR Natural Heritage Program Coastal Region Steward and Eastern Shore Master Naturalists Chapter Advisor

​In 2019, the Eastern Shore Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists began an exciting collaborative project between the Eastern Shore of Virginia Birding and Wildlife Programs (AKA Birding Eastern Shore), Virginia Master Naturalists, and Northampton County government. This teamwork has led to an approximately 100-acre site, which is now providing important habitat for migratory songbirds, waterfowl, and other wildlife with field, forest, fresh water pond, and salt-water marsh. It is now a beautiful location for residents and visitors to enjoy and for educators to bring students.

Following the sudden passing of local, well-known birder Ned Brinkley, the County renamed the Preserve in his honor. The County is in the process of constructing a new parking area and is responsible for mowing and maintenance of the property. Master Naturalists continue to provide hours to improve, monitor, and maintain the seaside boardwalk (constructed with support from the NOAA Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program), waterfowl viewing platforms, and the Preserve as a whole. There is even an official VMN Volunteer Stewardship Committee, whose members complete weekly stewardship walks of the Preserve and create a report accordingly.  

The public has enthusiastically received the site.  In large part due to the development of the viewing platforms, the site has had the sixth largest number of species sighted in the county, with 172 bird species identified so far at the location. Additionally, VMN report a diversity of lepidopteran, ordonates, and amphibians. With natural assets being greatly important to the culture and economy of the County, this Preserve is a win win for wildlife, residents, and visitors. Working with multiple partners to establish new preserves can be challenging, but the benefits worth the effort. Without the time and determination of several passionate members of the Eastern Shore Chapter, this preserve would not be transforming into a treasured area in the County. 

More information available online on the Northampton County site, the DWR Virginia Bird & Wildlife Trail site, and the Birding Eastern Shore site.

Old Rag Master Naturalist Volunteers Monitor Monarchs

Contributed by Barry Buschow, Charlene Uhl, Jeff Stehm, and Bonnie Beers, VMN-Old Rag Chapter.
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The Old Rag Master Naturalist chapter approved the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP) in 2016.  From April to September, our volunteers monitor monarch butterfly eggs and larvae in three different locations on a 130-acre farm owned by ORMN member Carolyn Smith. The farm has several meadows where milkweed grows naturally, as well as two areas where milkweed was planted.  Monitoring activities include describing the size, quality, and characteristics of site; recording the date when milkweed first appears in the spring, describing milkweed density, examining each milkweed plant in registered plots, and recording monarch eggs and larval instars observed.  All of this information is sent to the University of Wisconsin for its research into monarch conservation.

Like that of many insects, the survival rate of monarchs in the wild is very low.  After the monitoring team observed over 100 monarch eggs on milkweed plants in early May, they were dismayed that only one of that batch survived to adulthood.  Virginia sees many more monarchs migrating southward in the fall than northward in the spring, and our August-September survival numbers were higher.   At its busiest, our “monarch nursery” had nearly 50 chrysalids hanging on a line outdoors while late-stage caterpillars munched on milkweed in enclosures that kept them safe from predators and parasitoids.  Watching caterpillars pupate and, 10-14 days later, eclose as butterflies was the highlight of raising them.  Seeing them take their maiden flight into the wild was the final thrill as we wished them bon voyage to Mexico!

This year the ORMN Monarch team invited chapter members to participate in a field trip to Carolyn’s farm. Two sites were open for observation: a wild site with established common milkweed plants that is mowed only once a year; and a cultivated garden patch that has five native milkweed species as well as a wide variety of nectar plants for monarchs. Twelve ORMN members had the opportunity to examine milkweed up close (often using a magnifying lens) for eggs and caterpillars and learned how data are compiled for a national database that has been active since 1997. The monarch nursery was also open. Here field trip participants were able to view monarch caterpillars and chrysalids as well as videos of a caterpillar pupating and a butterfly eclosing.  
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This hands-on experience and the lively interaction between the Monarch monitoring team and participating ORMN members was enjoyed by all – and it developed a greater appreciation for the important role that data about Monarchs and their migratory experience offers scientists around the world. 

Carolyn Smith Receives Wildlife Habitat Award
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Contributed by Barry Buschow, Charlene Uhl, Jeff Stehm, and Bonnie Beers, VMN-Old Rag Chapter.
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Culpeper Soil and Water Conservation District (CSWCD), which includes Culpeper, Greene, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock Counties, annually recognizes landowners and volunteers for outstanding contributions to natural resources. In addition to recognizing producers in each County with the Commonwealth’s Clean Water Farm Award, the District offers several local awards. These include Conservation Educator, Forestry Landowner and Wildlife Habitat. The Wildlife Habitat Award was added in 2012 to recognize landowners that didn’t always fit into the Clean Water Farm Award category.

For 2021, CSWCD received two nominations. The CSWCD Board of Directors chose ORMN member Carolyn Smith of Madison to receive this special recognition. According to NRCS Soil Conservationist Courtney Pooton Kidwell, who nominated Smith: “Carolyn wants to improve sustainability through wildlife habitat improvement.  She works to increase viable habitat with diverse native plant communities.  She wants to maintain and improve the native forest quality through removal of invasive species, forest soil quality improvements to reduce erosion and compaction, and increase forest continuity through field borders and other tree and shrub plantings.”
 
In the near future, Culpeper SWCD plans to officially recognize Carolyn with a plaque in an on-farm presentation.