Hello, VMNs. Ah, spring. Buds on the trees, birds just singing their hearts out and pollen all over everything! As we enjoy nature coming awake from its winter nap, take a moment to catch up on the Bi-weekly emails.
This email includes:
Being a VMN
Based on questions sent to the VMN State Office year after year, we have decided to address them in the Bi-weekly email to make sure that all VMNs have correct information.
Question - If a new volunteer does not complete the requirements for initial certification within one year of graduation from basic training, can they still certify?
Answer - Initial certification can be achieved at any point in your VMN career.
Explanation - Any volunteer can achieve initial certification in any given calendar year by completing and logging 40 hours of approved volunteer service and 8 hours of approved CE between January 1 - December 31. So, if you are a VMN Volunteer who has not yet been able to achieve initial certification, make this your year!
Volunteer Service Opportunities
Do a Treemendous 20th Service Activity in 2025!
To celebrate the VMN Treemendous 20th anniversary, we are encouraging every VMN volunteer to do at least one service activity in 2025 that relates to and benefits trees and/or forests. We hope to have measurable collective impacts such as improving forest health, increasing public knowledge and appreciation of forest resources, and improving knowledge and data related to forests for use by natural resource managers and scientists.
We have posted a list of potential service activities that can count for the Treemendous 20th goal. Take a look, and see if there’s something you can do in 2025! It’s not a comprehensive list, so you may have additional activities you can do. As always, please make sure your activities are approved by your chapter before you do them.
To help us measure collective impact, please put #Treemendous20th (spelled and written just like that!) in the “description” field when you enter hours into Better Impact for any activity that relates to trees and forests. You can also enter #Treemendous20th for continuing education hours you do that relate to trees or forests. We also encourage volunteers to put any measurable impacts into the "impact" field in Better Impact when reporting their hours.
Among the potential service activities are three new forest health monitoring activities from VDOF that we described during the January webinar. We’ll be posting templates for these three activities in Better Impact and alerting volunteer service chairs in all chapters today.
More details at http://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/home/do-a-treemendous-20th-service-activity-in-2025
Continuing Education Opportunities
VMN Continuing Education Webinar: Balancing Nature in a Growing City
Date/Time: April 10, 12:00-1:00 pm
Description: Why does balance matter? We lose more than scenic beauty when development occurs without considering natural systems. We lose flood protection, air purification, wildlife habitat, and the mental health benefits that nature provides. Virginia's unique ecological heritage—from the Chesapeake watershed to our mountain forests—is at risk. Yet, this balance is essential for creating livable, resilient cities that benefit human inhabitants and local ecosystems.
Presenter: Dr. Trakela Wright-Hicks serves as an adjunct assistant professor and urban forestry specialist for Cooperative Extension at Virginia State University, where she specializes in soil classification and urban forestry. Her research is focused on enhancing the establishment of urban riparian buffers by small farmers and analyzing the effects of cash crops within these systems. Notably, she conducted Louisiana's inaugural ecological assessment of a streambank along the Mississippi River, in addition to comparing the transport of nitrates and phosphates in different bodies of water. With a multifaceted expertise, Dr. Wright-Hicks has held various positions in both education and scientific research, prioritizing positive youth development, STEAM disciplines, GIS/LiDAR technology, and fostering collaborations with research organizations and federal agencies.
Pre-registration required
As with all webinars in our VMN Continuing Education series, this one will be recorded and posted to our website.
Blue Ridge PRISM Webinar: Restoration After Invasive Plant Removal
Date: April 16, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Description: Join guest speaker Maddie Bright, executive director of Earth Sangha, as she shares her extensive experience with native plant restoration in Virginia. Explore questions such as, “Should I plant now, or wait and see what comes up,” “What kind of native plants should I choose,” and “How do I start the process?”
Registration: Free; pre-registration required. It will be recorded.
VMN Snapshot
To help communicate and celebrate all that our VMN volunteers are accomplishing, we share occasional summaries of VMN volunteer service. Here are some statistics for January 1-June 30, 2024.
A Few Impact Highlights:
“Documented the increased level in salt in the stream the day of/after a snowstorm. A neighbor went with me to collect the sample, and I shared with him information about the impact of salt in our waterways.”
“Removed invasive wisteria from trees, allowing trees to be healthy that would have otherwise been damaged by invasive plants.”
“Educated HOA members at their annual meeting about how to have positive interactions with wildlife rather than negative ones, how to peacefully coexist, identification of common snakes and wildlife, and what to do in common wildlife injury situations.”
“Increased participants’ excitement and knowledge about the wonderful waterfowl that visit our area in the winter.”
“Monthly, I collect from 2-10 grocery bags of trash in this stream. The volume is dependent upon the amount of rainfall and drainage received that month. This trash would otherwise end up in Bull Run.”
Way to go, VMN volunteers! Keep up the super volunteering, and remember to report it (preferably as you do it, or at least monthly)!
This email includes:
- Being a VMN
- Volunteer Service Opportunity
- Continuing Education Opportunities
- VMN Snapshot
Being a VMN
Based on questions sent to the VMN State Office year after year, we have decided to address them in the Bi-weekly email to make sure that all VMNs have correct information.
Question - If a new volunteer does not complete the requirements for initial certification within one year of graduation from basic training, can they still certify?
Answer - Initial certification can be achieved at any point in your VMN career.
Explanation - Any volunteer can achieve initial certification in any given calendar year by completing and logging 40 hours of approved volunteer service and 8 hours of approved CE between January 1 - December 31. So, if you are a VMN Volunteer who has not yet been able to achieve initial certification, make this your year!
Volunteer Service Opportunities
Do a Treemendous 20th Service Activity in 2025!
To celebrate the VMN Treemendous 20th anniversary, we are encouraging every VMN volunteer to do at least one service activity in 2025 that relates to and benefits trees and/or forests. We hope to have measurable collective impacts such as improving forest health, increasing public knowledge and appreciation of forest resources, and improving knowledge and data related to forests for use by natural resource managers and scientists.
We have posted a list of potential service activities that can count for the Treemendous 20th goal. Take a look, and see if there’s something you can do in 2025! It’s not a comprehensive list, so you may have additional activities you can do. As always, please make sure your activities are approved by your chapter before you do them.
To help us measure collective impact, please put #Treemendous20th (spelled and written just like that!) in the “description” field when you enter hours into Better Impact for any activity that relates to trees and forests. You can also enter #Treemendous20th for continuing education hours you do that relate to trees or forests. We also encourage volunteers to put any measurable impacts into the "impact" field in Better Impact when reporting their hours.
Among the potential service activities are three new forest health monitoring activities from VDOF that we described during the January webinar. We’ll be posting templates for these three activities in Better Impact and alerting volunteer service chairs in all chapters today.
More details at http://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/home/do-a-treemendous-20th-service-activity-in-2025
Continuing Education Opportunities
VMN Continuing Education Webinar: Balancing Nature in a Growing City
Date/Time: April 10, 12:00-1:00 pm
Description: Why does balance matter? We lose more than scenic beauty when development occurs without considering natural systems. We lose flood protection, air purification, wildlife habitat, and the mental health benefits that nature provides. Virginia's unique ecological heritage—from the Chesapeake watershed to our mountain forests—is at risk. Yet, this balance is essential for creating livable, resilient cities that benefit human inhabitants and local ecosystems.
Presenter: Dr. Trakela Wright-Hicks serves as an adjunct assistant professor and urban forestry specialist for Cooperative Extension at Virginia State University, where she specializes in soil classification and urban forestry. Her research is focused on enhancing the establishment of urban riparian buffers by small farmers and analyzing the effects of cash crops within these systems. Notably, she conducted Louisiana's inaugural ecological assessment of a streambank along the Mississippi River, in addition to comparing the transport of nitrates and phosphates in different bodies of water. With a multifaceted expertise, Dr. Wright-Hicks has held various positions in both education and scientific research, prioritizing positive youth development, STEAM disciplines, GIS/LiDAR technology, and fostering collaborations with research organizations and federal agencies.
Pre-registration required
As with all webinars in our VMN Continuing Education series, this one will be recorded and posted to our website.
Blue Ridge PRISM Webinar: Restoration After Invasive Plant Removal
Date: April 16, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Description: Join guest speaker Maddie Bright, executive director of Earth Sangha, as she shares her extensive experience with native plant restoration in Virginia. Explore questions such as, “Should I plant now, or wait and see what comes up,” “What kind of native plants should I choose,” and “How do I start the process?”
Registration: Free; pre-registration required. It will be recorded.
VMN Snapshot
To help communicate and celebrate all that our VMN volunteers are accomplishing, we share occasional summaries of VMN volunteer service. Here are some statistics for January 1-June 30, 2024.
- Volunteers who have reported service for January-March 2025: 2,091 volunteers (approximately 63% of all currently enrolled volunteers)
- Total service hours reported: 113,217 hours
- Service Hours by Type:
- Education/outreach - 7,985 hours by 674 volunteers
- Citizen science - 16,496 hours by 1,087 volunteers
- Stewardship - 11,476 hours by 929 volunteers
- Chapter leadership/administration - 11,260 hours by 957 volunteers
- Direct educational contacts reported: 68,489 contacts
- Continuing education hours reported: 8,708 hours by 1,666 volunteers
A Few Impact Highlights:
“Documented the increased level in salt in the stream the day of/after a snowstorm. A neighbor went with me to collect the sample, and I shared with him information about the impact of salt in our waterways.”
“Removed invasive wisteria from trees, allowing trees to be healthy that would have otherwise been damaged by invasive plants.”
“Educated HOA members at their annual meeting about how to have positive interactions with wildlife rather than negative ones, how to peacefully coexist, identification of common snakes and wildlife, and what to do in common wildlife injury situations.”
“Increased participants’ excitement and knowledge about the wonderful waterfowl that visit our area in the winter.”
“Monthly, I collect from 2-10 grocery bags of trash in this stream. The volume is dependent upon the amount of rainfall and drainage received that month. This trash would otherwise end up in Bull Run.”
Way to go, VMN volunteers! Keep up the super volunteering, and remember to report it (preferably as you do it, or at least monthly)!
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