Hello, VMNs. Just when things are warming up, we are reminded that spring is a transitional season. Don’t put those winter coats away just yet and stay warm these next few days. If you find yourself inside, take a moment to catch up on the VMN program’s Bi-weekly emails.
This email includes:
VMN Snapshot - Q1
To help communicate and celebrate all that our VMN volunteers are accomplishing, we share summaries of VMN volunteer service on a quarterly basis.
Volunteers who have reported service for January 1 through March 31, 2024: 2,024 volunteers (approximately 63% of all currently enrolled volunteers)
Of course, the numbers are just a handy way to look at program outputs. The impacts that volunteers have are what makes a difference! Here is a selection of just a few specific impacts volunteers described:
Thanks to the thousands of volunteers who have done some service already in 2024 and taken the time to report it!
Continuing Education Opportunities
Hub Highlights Webinar Series: Reducing Wildlife-Vehicle Conflict in Loudoun County, VA
Date/Time: April 16th, 6:30pm-7:30pm
Registration: Pre-registration required
Description: Please join Wild Virginia for the first Hub Highlights webinar series where we look in-depth at specific projects from Virginia’s Habitat Connectivity Hub. In April, we are highlighting the Loudoun County Wildlife Crossing Research Project. Loudoun County is known for being one of the top areas in Virginia for deer-vehicle conflict. We will hear from Alexa Busby, the lead researcher from William & Mary, on how she partnered with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources to prioritize areas for wildlife crossings in Loudoun County. We will also hear from Crissy Bellandi who coordinates Virginia Master Naturalist and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy volunteers for the Loudoun citizen science wildlife road monitoring project. (Note - This is a project the VMN Banshee Reeks Chapter is participating in.)
Questions? Please contact Wild Virginia directly: Jessica Roberts, Habitat Connectivity Director, jessica@wildvirginia.org
VMN CE Webinar Series: Tree Inventories and Urban Forestry
Date/Time: April 18, 2024, 12:00-1:00 pm
Registration: Pre-registration required
Description: Ali Sloop, Stormwater Coordinator at James Madison University, will discuss the whats/whys/hows of urban tree inventories. She will also talk about the variety of urban forestry projects underway at the JMU campus and about how VMN volunteers have been involved. We’ll have more details and a full bio for Ali available on the VMN CE Webinar Series page later this week. Our urban forestry training is supported by a USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry grant administered by the Virginia Department of Forestry, one of our VMN sponsoring agencies.
Volunteer Info/Opportunities
Spotted Lanternfly Monitoring (SFL) Update from Virginia Tech
Chapters with volunteers interested in SLF monitoring with Circle traps or in doing education/outreach about SLF should contact their local Extension agents to find out what is needed locally, how they can best be involved, and how to obtain materials. The Insect Identification Lab at Virginia Tech has outreach materials such as stickers, factsheets, ID cards, etc., and ordering of these materials is coordinated through the local Extension agents.
City Nature Challenge
The City Nature Challenge starts April 26, 2024. This is an annual bioblitz focused mainly on urban metro areas (though not exclusively) and it is a friendly competition amongst participating areas. April 26-29 is the observing period, and April 30-May 5 is the additional time added to identify what was found and posted to iNaturalist. This year, Virginia has 8 different City Nature Challenge areas. Some of our chapters are holding special educational events and activities. If you are in one of the locations below, City Nature Challenge is a great opportunity to hold an educational event for the public in your community; please consider organizing something or helping one of your local partners do so! Follow the links to the iNaturalist page for each of the areas to see a more detailed description of the locations covered.
Alleghany and Shenandoah Mountains
Blacksburg
Charlottesville and surrounding region
Mill Mountain in Roanoke
Southwest Piedmont
Southwest Virginia
Virginia Pinelands
Washington, D. C. Metro area (includes most of our NoVA area chapters)
Save the Date: #BlackBirdersWeek
#BlackBirdersWeek is coming May 26-June 1, 2024. #BlackBirdersWeek “celebrates Black birders, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts, highlighting their contributions to the natural world and advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the birding community.” In past years, several of our chapters have successfully partnered with the NAACP, local bird clubs, and other groups to organize events for #BlackBirdersWeek. We hope to see more of these events this year!
This email includes:
- VMN Snapshot - Q1
- Continuing Education Opportunities
- Volunteer Opportunities
VMN Snapshot - Q1
To help communicate and celebrate all that our VMN volunteers are accomplishing, we share summaries of VMN volunteer service on a quarterly basis.
Volunteers who have reported service for January 1 through March 31, 2024: 2,024 volunteers (approximately 63% of all currently enrolled volunteers)
- Total service hours reported: 41,958 hours
- Service Hours by Type:
- Education/outreach - 6,432 hours reported by 658 volunteers
- Citizen science - 14,803 hours reported by 1,056 volunteers
- Stewardship - 10,633 hours reported by 898 volunteers
- Chapter administration/leadership - 10,090 hours reported by 940 volunteers
- Direct educational contacts reported: 57,232 contacts
- Indirect educational contacts reported: 59,436 contacts
- Continuing education hours reported: 8,240 hours reported by 1,575 volunteers
Of course, the numbers are just a handy way to look at program outputs. The impacts that volunteers have are what makes a difference! Here is a selection of just a few specific impacts volunteers described:
- From an invasive plant removal at a public park: “A man came up and asked what we were doing and I explained the plants we were targeting and why and he inquired about VMN and requested the website so he could look into joining himself.”
- From oyster shell recycling: “Although this is kind of just a pick up and drop off role, it is great to think of it as the beginning of a long chain of events that will help clean the bay through oyster re-population.”
- From leading 22 other volunteers in a trash cleanup effort: “Cleared the forest of a significant quantity of trash, filling up a 20-cubic yard dumpster. Glass, plastic, metal, car parts, carpet, a turntable, a typewriter, and more — gone.”
- From an ‘Audubon at Home’ visit to a homeowner: “Homeowners were ready to make more changes and have already [taken] plenty of actions to remove invasives and plant natives. They were willing to do more and needed direction.”
Thanks to the thousands of volunteers who have done some service already in 2024 and taken the time to report it!
Continuing Education Opportunities
Hub Highlights Webinar Series: Reducing Wildlife-Vehicle Conflict in Loudoun County, VA
Date/Time: April 16th, 6:30pm-7:30pm
Registration: Pre-registration required
Description: Please join Wild Virginia for the first Hub Highlights webinar series where we look in-depth at specific projects from Virginia’s Habitat Connectivity Hub. In April, we are highlighting the Loudoun County Wildlife Crossing Research Project. Loudoun County is known for being one of the top areas in Virginia for deer-vehicle conflict. We will hear from Alexa Busby, the lead researcher from William & Mary, on how she partnered with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources to prioritize areas for wildlife crossings in Loudoun County. We will also hear from Crissy Bellandi who coordinates Virginia Master Naturalist and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy volunteers for the Loudoun citizen science wildlife road monitoring project. (Note - This is a project the VMN Banshee Reeks Chapter is participating in.)
Questions? Please contact Wild Virginia directly: Jessica Roberts, Habitat Connectivity Director, jessica@wildvirginia.org
VMN CE Webinar Series: Tree Inventories and Urban Forestry
Date/Time: April 18, 2024, 12:00-1:00 pm
Registration: Pre-registration required
Description: Ali Sloop, Stormwater Coordinator at James Madison University, will discuss the whats/whys/hows of urban tree inventories. She will also talk about the variety of urban forestry projects underway at the JMU campus and about how VMN volunteers have been involved. We’ll have more details and a full bio for Ali available on the VMN CE Webinar Series page later this week. Our urban forestry training is supported by a USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry grant administered by the Virginia Department of Forestry, one of our VMN sponsoring agencies.
Volunteer Info/Opportunities
Spotted Lanternfly Monitoring (SFL) Update from Virginia Tech
Chapters with volunteers interested in SLF monitoring with Circle traps or in doing education/outreach about SLF should contact their local Extension agents to find out what is needed locally, how they can best be involved, and how to obtain materials. The Insect Identification Lab at Virginia Tech has outreach materials such as stickers, factsheets, ID cards, etc., and ordering of these materials is coordinated through the local Extension agents.
City Nature Challenge
The City Nature Challenge starts April 26, 2024. This is an annual bioblitz focused mainly on urban metro areas (though not exclusively) and it is a friendly competition amongst participating areas. April 26-29 is the observing period, and April 30-May 5 is the additional time added to identify what was found and posted to iNaturalist. This year, Virginia has 8 different City Nature Challenge areas. Some of our chapters are holding special educational events and activities. If you are in one of the locations below, City Nature Challenge is a great opportunity to hold an educational event for the public in your community; please consider organizing something or helping one of your local partners do so! Follow the links to the iNaturalist page for each of the areas to see a more detailed description of the locations covered.
Alleghany and Shenandoah Mountains
Blacksburg
Charlottesville and surrounding region
Mill Mountain in Roanoke
Southwest Piedmont
Southwest Virginia
Virginia Pinelands
Washington, D. C. Metro area (includes most of our NoVA area chapters)
Save the Date: #BlackBirdersWeek
#BlackBirdersWeek is coming May 26-June 1, 2024. #BlackBirdersWeek “celebrates Black birders, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts, highlighting their contributions to the natural world and advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the birding community.” In past years, several of our chapters have successfully partnered with the NAACP, local bird clubs, and other groups to organize events for #BlackBirdersWeek. We hope to see more of these events this year!