Hello, VMNs. Spring is coming! We hope you’re getting out there as you are able and enjoying the warmer weather. We have a new section for you this week, so check that out. You can catch up on other news in the Bi-weekly email.
This email includes:
Being a VMN
This is a new, occasional space in the Bi-weekly Email where we will include tips and recommendations for serving in your VMN volunteer role. This week, we want to say Thank You to all of you who took the time to Re-enroll for 2023. We are happy to have you continuing as volunteers! Also, a big welcome to the hundreds of new volunteers currently in basic training courses. Altogether, we currently have about 3,000 enrolled volunteers in the program.
Our tip for you today is to encourage you to be intentional with your VMN volunteer service. Rather than looking back at the end of the month/year and recording hours for anything you think fits VMN, instead be intentional and plan ahead to determine when you will be acting in your VMN volunteer role versus not. You may have other terrific volunteer activities planned that you are not doing as a VMN, and that’s just fine! When you are serving as a VMN, be mindful of that role, who you are representing, and take pride in it!
Volunteer Opportunities
City Nature Challenge
The City Nature Challenge starts April 28, 2023. This is an annual bioblitz focused mainly on urban metro areas (though not exclusively) and it is a friendly competition amongst participating areas. April 28-May 1 is the observing period, and May 2-7 is the additional time added to identify what was found and posted to iNaturalist. This year, Virginia has 7 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!
Eastern Shore: Accomack and Northampton Counties
Clinch River Valley: Bristol, Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Norton, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise Counties
Richmond: Richmond City, Petersburg, Charles City, Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent Counties
Charlottesville: Albemarle, Nelson, Louisa, Orange, Greene, Fluvanna Counties
Blacksburg: Town of Blacksburg
Martinsville: Danville, Franklin, Henry, Martinsville, Patrick, and Pittsylvania Counties
Washington D.C. Metro Area: VA: Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Culpeper, Rappahannock, Warren, Clarke, Faquier, Stafford, Fairfax and independent cities near DC, Washington, DC; (and WV: Jefferson County, MD: Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert Counties.)
Save the Date: #BlackBirdersWeek
#BlackBirdersWeek is coming May 23-June 3, 2023. #BlackBirdersWeek “celebrates and highlights birding as a lifelong learning journey that is enjoyed by Black cultures across the diaspora.” Consider partnering with another local organization to hold an inclusive activity (as the Middle Peninsula Chapter did last year.)
Spotted Lanternfly Monitoring Update from Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech Insect Identification Lab will not be leading a citizen scientist detection project for spotted lanternfly in 2023. Instead, they will be focusing more on the impacts spotted lanternfly has on commodities across our state. However, they encourage Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, and similar groups to continue monitoring for spotted lanternfly in some way that’s feasible for their group if they would like to do so. This change allows a local chapter or group to decide if they’d prefer to set Circle traps, conduct visual surveys for spotted lanternfly, provide outreach to the general public about spotted lanternfly, or maybe devise a new approach altogether. VMN chapters interested in continuing spotted lanternfly monitoring or outreach programming should contact their local Extension agents to find out what is needed locally and how they can best be involved.
Continuing Education Opportunities
VMN Continuing Education Webinar Series: Pollinators in the woods? How wild bees nest and forage in trees and woody habitats, and what you can do to support them
Date: Friday, April 7, 12:00-1:00 pm
Presenter: Kass Urban-Mead, Ph.D. is the Mid-Atlantic Pollinator Conservation Specialist with The Xerces Society and an NRCS Partner Biologist.
Registration: Pre-registration required.
Please see the VMN Continuing Education Webinar Series for a full description and presenter bio. VMN CE Webinars are always recorded and posted on that page within two weeks of the webinar, so no need to ask!
Webinar: The Secret Perfume of Birds
Date: April 20, 7:00-8:00 pm
Registration: Free, pre-registration required.
Join the Chesapeake Region of the National Association for Interpretation to learn the newest research on avian scent from evolutionary biologist and author of "The Secret Perfume of Birds," Danielle Whittaker. Discover the history of the many myths that inform our bird-based interpretive programs. The presentation will be interpreted in American Sign Language. Closed captioning will also be available. This webinar is put on by the National Association for Interpretation, so please direct all questions to them. http://www.nairegion2.org/
This email includes:
- Being a VMN - new section
- Volunteer Opportunities
- Continuing Education Opportunities
- Volunteer Opportunity
Being a VMN
This is a new, occasional space in the Bi-weekly Email where we will include tips and recommendations for serving in your VMN volunteer role. This week, we want to say Thank You to all of you who took the time to Re-enroll for 2023. We are happy to have you continuing as volunteers! Also, a big welcome to the hundreds of new volunteers currently in basic training courses. Altogether, we currently have about 3,000 enrolled volunteers in the program.
Our tip for you today is to encourage you to be intentional with your VMN volunteer service. Rather than looking back at the end of the month/year and recording hours for anything you think fits VMN, instead be intentional and plan ahead to determine when you will be acting in your VMN volunteer role versus not. You may have other terrific volunteer activities planned that you are not doing as a VMN, and that’s just fine! When you are serving as a VMN, be mindful of that role, who you are representing, and take pride in it!
Volunteer Opportunities
City Nature Challenge
The City Nature Challenge starts April 28, 2023. This is an annual bioblitz focused mainly on urban metro areas (though not exclusively) and it is a friendly competition amongst participating areas. April 28-May 1 is the observing period, and May 2-7 is the additional time added to identify what was found and posted to iNaturalist. This year, Virginia has 7 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!
Eastern Shore: Accomack and Northampton Counties
Clinch River Valley: Bristol, Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Norton, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise Counties
Richmond: Richmond City, Petersburg, Charles City, Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent Counties
Charlottesville: Albemarle, Nelson, Louisa, Orange, Greene, Fluvanna Counties
Blacksburg: Town of Blacksburg
Martinsville: Danville, Franklin, Henry, Martinsville, Patrick, and Pittsylvania Counties
Washington D.C. Metro Area: VA: Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Culpeper, Rappahannock, Warren, Clarke, Faquier, Stafford, Fairfax and independent cities near DC, Washington, DC; (and WV: Jefferson County, MD: Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert Counties.)
Save the Date: #BlackBirdersWeek
#BlackBirdersWeek is coming May 23-June 3, 2023. #BlackBirdersWeek “celebrates and highlights birding as a lifelong learning journey that is enjoyed by Black cultures across the diaspora.” Consider partnering with another local organization to hold an inclusive activity (as the Middle Peninsula Chapter did last year.)
Spotted Lanternfly Monitoring Update from Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech Insect Identification Lab will not be leading a citizen scientist detection project for spotted lanternfly in 2023. Instead, they will be focusing more on the impacts spotted lanternfly has on commodities across our state. However, they encourage Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, and similar groups to continue monitoring for spotted lanternfly in some way that’s feasible for their group if they would like to do so. This change allows a local chapter or group to decide if they’d prefer to set Circle traps, conduct visual surveys for spotted lanternfly, provide outreach to the general public about spotted lanternfly, or maybe devise a new approach altogether. VMN chapters interested in continuing spotted lanternfly monitoring or outreach programming should contact their local Extension agents to find out what is needed locally and how they can best be involved.
Continuing Education Opportunities
VMN Continuing Education Webinar Series: Pollinators in the woods? How wild bees nest and forage in trees and woody habitats, and what you can do to support them
Date: Friday, April 7, 12:00-1:00 pm
Presenter: Kass Urban-Mead, Ph.D. is the Mid-Atlantic Pollinator Conservation Specialist with The Xerces Society and an NRCS Partner Biologist.
Registration: Pre-registration required.
Please see the VMN Continuing Education Webinar Series for a full description and presenter bio. VMN CE Webinars are always recorded and posted on that page within two weeks of the webinar, so no need to ask!
Webinar: The Secret Perfume of Birds
Date: April 20, 7:00-8:00 pm
Registration: Free, pre-registration required.
Join the Chesapeake Region of the National Association for Interpretation to learn the newest research on avian scent from evolutionary biologist and author of "The Secret Perfume of Birds," Danielle Whittaker. Discover the history of the many myths that inform our bird-based interpretive programs. The presentation will be interpreted in American Sign Language. Closed captioning will also be available. This webinar is put on by the National Association for Interpretation, so please direct all questions to them. http://www.nairegion2.org/
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