Bi-Weekly Communication for VMN Volunteers

Bi-weekly Email for March 4

3/4/2025

Silhouette of butterfly with words Virginia Master Naturalists

Hello, VMNs. Daffodils are starting to push up and sap is running. At this time of year in Appalachia, we tend to get flowers on the ground and snow in the air as spring tries to grab a foothold. Pretty soon, VMNs will be rushing outside to do their volunteer activities, so catch up on the VMN Bi-weekly emails while you can.

This email includes:

Continuing Education Opportunities
Volunteer Opportunity

Continuing Education Opportunities

VMN Continuing Education Webinar - Gray Fox in Virginia
PhD student Victoria Monette (Virginia Tech Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation) will discuss her camera trapping study of gray fox. We’ll have a full description posted later this week, but the registration link is live now.
Date: Wednesday, March 26, 12:00-1:00 pm
Pre-registration required
As always, this webinar will be recorded and posted on the VMN CE Webinar page.

Mini-Monarch Essentials Course from Monarch Joint Venture
Dates: April 1, 8, and 15; 7:00-8:30 pm
Description: Join the Monarch Joint Venture for a virtual 3-week course to learn about monarch butterfly ecology, threats, and the effective conservation actions that you can take to help protect this iconic species. All classes are recorded and also available for later viewing.
Cost: $75
More information and registration

Volunteer Opportunity

Diamondback Dash Volunteer Opportunity (Coastal VA area)
The DWR’s Diamondback Dash is currently accepting volunteers for its third season of data collection! This is a citizen science initiative which utilizes volunteers to “adopt” and kayak a pre-mapped route three times a year and report back on their sightings of diamondback terrapins. Because terrapins are an estuarine species, we have routes available along the majority of Virginia’s coastlines that are suitable for all kayaking skill levels. Alternatively, if you are a landowner on the water, we have the option to create a private route for you that launches from your address. For more information about the project and how to enroll, please visit: https://dwr.virginia.gov/diamondback-dash/project-information-and-sign-up/.

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Bi-weekly Email for February 18

2/18/2025

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Hello, VMNs. So much snow! We hope you’re enjoying it as much as you are able. For those who lost power, we hope it is back on. As we prepare for this next batch of winter weather, you can wait out the storm while catching up on the VMN Bi-weekly emails.

This email includes:

Response to Questions on Federal Events
Giving Day - please join us!
National Invasive Species Awareness Week
News from DEQ
Continuing Education Opportunities

Response to Questions on Federal Events
We have been receiving some questions about how current events in the federal government are impacting the VMN program. As of today, there are no changes to the current state-level funding for the program. There are no changes to our civil rights responsibilities, nor our efforts to be inclusive of all Virginians in our programming. Administrators at Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension are very engaged and are providing us with updates. Obviously, the situation is changing quickly, and we will certainly let VMN volunteers know about any important changes. Meanwhile, please keep in mind:

Some VMN volunteers, including some chapter leaders, are federal employees or contractors in their “day” jobs and may be dealing with impacts to their work such that they can’t prioritize their VMN activities as highly right now.
Many of our chapters have service activities on federal lands and with federal agencies. Some of those projects and the people with whom you partner may be impacted.

We’re sure that, in both cases, your support and understanding would be much appreciated.

Virginia Tech Giving Day - Please Join Us!
Giving Day 2025 is about to start, and here’s the link you’ve been waiting for: https://givingday.vt.edu/amb/vmn! This philanthropic event runs from noon on Wednesday, February 19 through noon on Thursday, February 20. The Virginia Master Naturalist program is part of several special challenges this year, thanks to our wonderful donors.

VMN Challenge: When 400 donors make a gift to the Virginia Master Naturalist Program Annual Fund, a $25,000 gift provided by members of the Virginia Master Naturalist program will be unlocked.
Opening Sprint Challenge: The program or area that has the most donors in the first hour of Giving Day will receive a bonus gift of $1,000. If the VMN program wins the Opening Sprint Challenge, a grateful VMN family will gift an additional $500!
CNRE Beat-Your-Best Leaderboard: In honor of the College of Natural Resources and Environment’s founding dean, John Hosner and former deans, Greg Brown and Mike Kelly, Dean Paul Winistorfer will provide bonus funds to the units of programs in the College of Natural Resources and Environment with the biggest donor increases (that’s in number of donors, not amounts given.)

I hope you’ll consider helping us meet these challenges by making a gift in any amount (Giving Day is all about the number of people participating!) at https://givingday.vt.edu/amb/vmn. That link will only be live February 19 12:00 pm – February 20 12:00 pm, but it will take you to a page where the fields to direct your gift to the Virginia Master Naturalist program within the College of Natural Resources and Environment are pre-populated. Invite your friends, family, fellow Naturalists, etc. to participate, too. Let’s have fun and generate some awesome support for the work of the VMN program!

National Invasive Species Awareness Week in Virginia (February 22 - March 2)
Join a Virginia Invasive Species Awareness Week event or share an event that your chapter is holding! Blue Ridge PRISM and many partners have a calendar and are sharing information at https://blueridgeprism.org/nisaw-2025. If you would like to see an event added to the calendar, contact Rowena Zimmerman, Director of Communications and Outreach with the Blue Ridge PRISM, [email protected].

News from DEQ
The most recent Virginia Department of Environmental Quality newsletter had a couple of items of potential interest for VMN volunteers.

DEQ has released the 2025 Water Quality Monitoring Plan, and requests nominations of water bodies for inclusion in the 2026 Monitoring plan. Learn more.
Throughout February 2025, the DEQ Comprehensive Climate Action Plan team will be hosting in-person community listening sessions at each of DEQ’s regional offices in Virginia Beach, Woodbridge, Harrisonburg, Salem, and Abingdon, plus a virtual option. The public is invited to share ideas and help identify climate pollution reduction strategies to be included in the plan. See the CCAP calendar for more information.

Continuing Education Opportunities

Reminder - VMN CE Webinar Series: Ecological forecasting to anticipate the future of forests and freshwaters
Description: Similar to how weather forecasts are used to make decisions ranging from what to wear to disaster preparation, forecasts of ecological systems are increasingly being used to guide environmental decision-making. This talk will introduce ecological forecasting concepts along with applications in forest and freshwater ecosystems.
Presenter: Dr. Quinn Thomas is a Professor in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech, with a joint appointment in the Department of Biological Sciences. He is also a Faculty Fellow in Data Science. Quinn is the co-director of the Virginia Tech Center for Ecosystem Forecasting, with a mission of using forecasting to understand and manage ecosystems across the globe. Before Virginia Tech, Quinn was a postdoctoral scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO. His Ph.D. is in ecology from Cornell University.
Date: Monday, February 24, 12:00-1:00 pm
Location: Zoom, Pre-registration required
*As with all of our VMN CE Webinar Series sessions, this webinar will be recorded and posted to the VMN CE Webinar page within a few days of the live session.

The Spring Pools Institute
Date: March 17-20, 2025
Description: A 4-day immersive field-training workshop & adventure exploring the ecology & conservation of vernal pools and related wetlands in the Western Highlands region of VA, guided & instructed by vernal pools expert, Mike Hayslett.
Lodging provided at Douthat State Park. Space is limited.
To inquire or register, send email to: [email protected]
Additional info: https://www.facebook.com/events/532244065831385/.

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Biweekly Email for February 5

2/5/2025

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yellow butterfly silhouette with the words Virginia Master Naturalists

Abi Mountford

Hello, VMNs. Hope you’re staying warm and dry. It’s reporting season here in the State Office and we are diligently working on all of them - for chapters and Virginia Cooperative Extension and beyond. While we do that, you all can stay informed by catching up on the VMN Bi-weekly emails.

This email includes:

New VMN team member
Giving Day - new challenges
In case you missed it - links to recordings
Continuing Education Opportunities

Welcome to our VMN team, Abi Mountford!
We are excited to introduce our new undergraduate intern for VMN Communications and Volunteer Engagement! Abi will be working on a number of different activities this semester, including developing content for social media, collecting photos and videos for storytelling related to our 20th anniversary, and even helping Tiffany organize all the pins and certificates that she’ll mail out later this month. Abi might reach out to you to ask for information about a chapter, activity, or volunteer to highlight in our communications; please respond when she does!

From Abi:
Hello, my name is Abigail Mountford but I prefer to go by Abi. I am a current Junior at Virginia Tech majoring in Environmental Conservation and Society with a minor in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). I am a military brat and have been fortunate enough to grow up across the globe and the United States of America. Virginia is the place I have found that feels the most like home having lived here in different areas in the state for a total time of around 7 years now. I love getting to know more about the area around me and finding a sense of place where I am. In school I participate in a conservation service based organization, spending my time giving back to my community in an environmentally focused way. I look forward to working with the Virginia Master Naturalist program and learning about each chapter and all of the work this program accomplishes.

Abi Mountford in the field.

New Giving Day Challenges
Virginia Tech's Giving Day is February 19-20! This is a 24-hour philanthropic celebration and a chance for everyone to show their support for Virginia Tech programs, including the Virginia Master Naturalist program (which is an Extension program based in the VT College of Natural Resources and Environment.)

Special challenges mean that your gift can go further and do more good than at any other time of the year. This year, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Virginia Master Naturalist program, a gift of $25,000 provided by VMN members will be unlocked once 400 gifts have been made to the Virginia Master Naturalist Annual Fund! Plus, we have an additional challenge gift that unlocks based on having the highest participation in the first hour of the event (12:00-1:00 pm on February 19.)

Giving Day is about participation, not amount, so even small gifts count towards our goals. These funds support many VMN program needs, such as mini-grants to chapters, the statewide conference, and program support staff.

Stay tuned for the links to give, which we will post and share via email later in February.

In Case You Missed It
Recordings from our VMN 20th Anniversary Kickoff and 2024 VMN Awards Announcement are now available.

Continuing Education Opportunities

VMN CE Webinar Series: Ecological forecasting to anticipate the future of forests and freshwaters
Description: Similar to how weather forecasts are used to make decisions ranging from what to wear to disaster preparation, forecasts of ecological systems are increasingly being used to guide environmental decision-making. This talk will introduce ecological forecasting concepts along with applications in forest and freshwater ecosystems.
Presenter: Dr. Quinn Thomas is a Professor in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech, with a joint appointment in the Department of Biological Sciences. He is also a Faculty Fellow in Data Science. Quinn is the co-director of the Virginia Tech Center for Ecosystem Forecasting, with a mission of using forecasting to understand and manage ecosystems across the globe. Before Virginia Tech, Quinn was a post-doctoral scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO. His Ph.D. is in ecology from Cornell University.
Date: Monday, February 24, 12:00-1:00 pm
Location: Zoom, Pre-registration required
*As with all of our VMN CE Webinar Series sessions, this webinar will be recorded and posted to the VMN CE Webinar page within a few days of the live session.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Winter Symposium
Dates: February 12-13
Location: In-person at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden or virtual via recordings
Details: https://www.lewisginter.org/event/winter-symposium-cvnla/

Lahr Native Plant Symposium (organized by Friends of the National Arboretum)
Date: March 29, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location: US National Aboretum in Washington, D. C.
Details: 38th Annual Lahr Native Plant Symposium

DEQ Webinars
The Office of Environmental Justice will host 4 webinars this year (the first is March 11) to share information about DEQ programs and resources available across the Commonwealth. Topics to be featured include a general overview of landfills, Chesapeake Bay protection and restoration efforts, Water Planning, Grants. All webinars in this series will be free to attend. Every webinar in this series will be recorded. We will upload the recordings to YouTube as soon as possible after the event, and this web page will be updated to include the recording links. Please note, it may take several days for these recording links to become available.
Details: https://www.deq.virginia.gov/get-involved/education-series
You can also sign up for the DEQ EduSeries email list

Last Chance: Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program’s Woods and Wildlife Conference 2025
Date: February 22 (registration deadline is February 7)
Locations: Blacksburg and Culpeper (two locations, different schedules)
Details: https://forestupdate.frec.vt.edu/landownerprograms/ConferencesandWorkshops2/WoodsandWildlifeConferences.html
Register by February 7.

Flora 101 by Flora of Virginia
The Flora of Virginia Project initiated the Flora Ambassador Program in 2024 in partnership with the Master Naturalists. Nearly 400 of you registered for the introductory webinar, and 22 of you have completed all of the work necessary to become a Flora Ambassador.

If you missed out, please join us in 2025! We are pleased to invite all Virginia Master Naturalists to our free webinar, a Flora 101 demo, where we will show How to Use the Flora of Virginia App and introduce the Ambassador program.

Date: Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Register here: https://bit.ly/FloraAppWebinar
Additional details in the this flyer.

VMN Sponsoring Agencies:

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Bi-weekly Email for January 22

1/22/2025

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Hello, VMNs. Winter is here! Enjoy the crisp air and indoor gatherings. As you look ahead to spring and start planning your outdoor activities, don’t forget to catch up on the VMN Bi-weekly emails.

This email includes:

Re-enrollment Reminder
Being a VMN Volunteer - Debunking VMN myths
Risk Management and Civil Rights - training reminders
Continuing Education Opportunity

Re-enrollment for 2025
We have 11 days left in our Re-enrollment Period for 2025. We sent out reminders on Friday of last week and had a great response! We are up to 79% of VMNs having completed Re-enrollment. Getting closer every day! Reminders will continue to go out until January 31st.

If you can’t find your email with instructions or need a paper form, please email Tiffany at [email protected].

Being a VMN Volunteer - Debunking VMN myths
We have shared this in the past, but it seems we now have enough new VMNs that it is time to share it again. We want to debunk two VMN myths that seem to pop up every couple of years.

Myth #1 - You must complete and log 40 volunteer hours every year to stay enrolled in the VMN Program.
Status - FALSE
Explanation - To stay enrolled in the VMN Program, each volunteer must complete annual Re-enrollment and be an active member in their chapter in whatever capacity they are able. It is expected that all volunteers have an intention to do at least some service, but 40 hours of service is the requirement for earning Certified VMN status, not for staying enrolled.

Myth #2 - If a new volunteer does not complete the requirements for initial certification within one year of graduation from basic training, they can never certify.
Status - FALSE
Explanation - Any volunteer can achieve initial certification in any given calendar year by completing and logging 40 hours of volunteer service and 8 hours of CE between January 1 - December 31.

Risk Management and Civil Rights - training reminders
Beginning in February, the VMN State Office will begin sending monthly email reminders to volunteers whose Civil Rights and/or Risk Management trainings are about to expire. The State Office will also be reaching out with monthly emails to anyone who has not completed these trainings.

Continuing Education Opportunity

Monarch Larva Monitoring Project Training
Be a citizen scientist with the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP)! The MLMP team from MJV and the UW-Madison Arboretum co-lead virtual one-day training on how to collect data that contributes to our knowledge about the monarch population. Participants learn about monarch biology, monitoring procedures, and data entry protocols and are able to ask monarch biologists their questions about monarchs and monitoring.
Southern Region Date: February 26, 2025
Time: 10am-3pm Central Time, with 1-hour break at noon
Course fee: $50
More information and registration: https://mlmp.org/get-started/in-person-training?blm_aid=590500865

VMN Sponsoring Agencies:

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Bi-weekly Email for March 4

Bi-weekly Email for February 18

Biweekly Email for February 5

Bi-weekly Email for January 22

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