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
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:
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.
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.
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/.
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.
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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