Hello, VMNs. Signs of spring abound! Folks are reporting bloodroot in bloom, American toads singing, and Mourning Cloak butterflies on the wing. When you come in from enjoying all that spring activity, take a moment to catch up on the VMN program’s Bi-weekly emails.
This email includes:
Conference Updates
The virtual conference is September 27-29, and we look forward to having VMNs from across the state join us for some great continuing education. The conference webpage has been updated with the overall event schedule, including times for locally-organized outdoor activities. We are encouraging chapters to make plans for the outdoor activities and many chapter leaders are already working on that!
Statewide Impacts and Infographic
VMN volunteers were more active than ever in 2023! See the attached infographic for a summary of hours and other statistics. And, if you missed it in the last issue of The Pollinator, here’s a summary of 2023 program impacts. (FYI - Michelle will be working on chapter-level infographics next; we hope to get those out to you by early April.)
Report Callery Pear Sightings in Natural Spaces
‘Tis the season for seeing and smelling Callery pears everywhere! The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Natural Heritage Program is collecting observations of escaped Callery pear trees in Virginia. The purpose is to document how widespread the problem is and provide evidence of how much this invasive species has spread across the landscape. Please do not report Callery pears in yard, street, or parking lot plantings - places where they may have been planted purposefully. They are interested in locations in parks or natural areas where there are not obvious planted trees.
Right now, this is an informal activity, not an official volunteer project (though it may expand into a more formal volunteer activity next year.) We are not setting it up as a separate VMN volunteer activity at this time. Rather, the idea is that, if you are out-and-about in natural spaces (whether recreating or doing other volunteer work) and you see Callery pear trees where they were not planted, take a moment to document them in iNaturalist. Natural Heritage has set it up on iNaturalist so that Callery pear observations made anywhere in Virginia will automatically get added to the record; you do not have to do anything special to add your Callery pear observation to that project specifically.
iNaturalist page for Callery Pear in Virginia
About Callery pears
Continuing Education Opportunities
VMN Continuing Education Webinar for March: Demographic response of osprey within the lower Chesapeake Bay to fluctuations in menhaden stock & OspreyWatch
Please note that there has been a change of time for this webinar due to the presenter’s schedule. There is no need to re-register if you had previously registered and want to attend at the new time; the link you received will still work.
Date: Monday, March 25, 2024, 7:00-8:00 pm
Description: Forage fish, essential in marine food webs, face increasing demand and overharvest concerns. A study in the Chesapeake Bay reveals that osprey breeding performance is negatively impacted by declining menhaden stock, emphasizing the need to restore stock to 1980s levels for osprey population viability, challenging current ecological reference points based on predatory fish needs.
OspreyWatch is a global community of observers focused on breeding osprey. The observers are linked by an interest in osprey, concern for the health of aquatic environments, and data submitted to a repository through the OspreyWatch website. The mission of OspreyWatch is to collect information on a large enough spatial scale to be useful in addressing three of the most pressing issues facing aquatic ecosystems including global climate change, depletion of fish stocks, and environmental contaminants.
Registration: Free, but pre-registration required. Note that VMN CE Webinars are always recorded and posted on our website within one week of the webinar. You do not need to register in order to access the recording.
Caterpillars Count! Webinars
The citizen science project Caterpillars Count! aims to better understand: insect declines (and hence bird declines), shifts in seasonal insect activity, impacts of climate change and urbanization, and importance of insect-host plant relationships.
Participants conduct surveys on the branches of trees and shrubs to monitor seasonal variation and abundance of arthropods like caterpillars, beetles, and spiders, and to establish critical baseline data for evaluating long term trends.
Register for one of their free webinars offered in April and learn how to get involved!
Thursday, April 11th, 12:00 - 1:30 pm ET
Wednesday, April 17th, 1:00 - 2:30 pm ET
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2:00 - 3:30 pm ET
This email includes:
- Conference Updates
- Statewide Impacts and Infographic
- Report Callery Pear sightings
- Continuing Education Opportunities
Conference Updates
The virtual conference is September 27-29, and we look forward to having VMNs from across the state join us for some great continuing education. The conference webpage has been updated with the overall event schedule, including times for locally-organized outdoor activities. We are encouraging chapters to make plans for the outdoor activities and many chapter leaders are already working on that!
Statewide Impacts and Infographic
VMN volunteers were more active than ever in 2023! See the attached infographic for a summary of hours and other statistics. And, if you missed it in the last issue of The Pollinator, here’s a summary of 2023 program impacts. (FYI - Michelle will be working on chapter-level infographics next; we hope to get those out to you by early April.)
Report Callery Pear Sightings in Natural Spaces
‘Tis the season for seeing and smelling Callery pears everywhere! The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Natural Heritage Program is collecting observations of escaped Callery pear trees in Virginia. The purpose is to document how widespread the problem is and provide evidence of how much this invasive species has spread across the landscape. Please do not report Callery pears in yard, street, or parking lot plantings - places where they may have been planted purposefully. They are interested in locations in parks or natural areas where there are not obvious planted trees.
Right now, this is an informal activity, not an official volunteer project (though it may expand into a more formal volunteer activity next year.) We are not setting it up as a separate VMN volunteer activity at this time. Rather, the idea is that, if you are out-and-about in natural spaces (whether recreating or doing other volunteer work) and you see Callery pear trees where they were not planted, take a moment to document them in iNaturalist. Natural Heritage has set it up on iNaturalist so that Callery pear observations made anywhere in Virginia will automatically get added to the record; you do not have to do anything special to add your Callery pear observation to that project specifically.
iNaturalist page for Callery Pear in Virginia
About Callery pears
Continuing Education Opportunities
VMN Continuing Education Webinar for March: Demographic response of osprey within the lower Chesapeake Bay to fluctuations in menhaden stock & OspreyWatch
Please note that there has been a change of time for this webinar due to the presenter’s schedule. There is no need to re-register if you had previously registered and want to attend at the new time; the link you received will still work.
Date: Monday, March 25, 2024, 7:00-8:00 pm
Description: Forage fish, essential in marine food webs, face increasing demand and overharvest concerns. A study in the Chesapeake Bay reveals that osprey breeding performance is negatively impacted by declining menhaden stock, emphasizing the need to restore stock to 1980s levels for osprey population viability, challenging current ecological reference points based on predatory fish needs.
OspreyWatch is a global community of observers focused on breeding osprey. The observers are linked by an interest in osprey, concern for the health of aquatic environments, and data submitted to a repository through the OspreyWatch website. The mission of OspreyWatch is to collect information on a large enough spatial scale to be useful in addressing three of the most pressing issues facing aquatic ecosystems including global climate change, depletion of fish stocks, and environmental contaminants.
Registration: Free, but pre-registration required. Note that VMN CE Webinars are always recorded and posted on our website within one week of the webinar. You do not need to register in order to access the recording.
Caterpillars Count! Webinars
The citizen science project Caterpillars Count! aims to better understand: insect declines (and hence bird declines), shifts in seasonal insect activity, impacts of climate change and urbanization, and importance of insect-host plant relationships.
Participants conduct surveys on the branches of trees and shrubs to monitor seasonal variation and abundance of arthropods like caterpillars, beetles, and spiders, and to establish critical baseline data for evaluating long term trends.
Register for one of their free webinars offered in April and learn how to get involved!
Thursday, April 11th, 12:00 - 1:30 pm ET
Wednesday, April 17th, 1:00 - 2:30 pm ET
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2:00 - 3:30 pm ET