Hello, VMNs. While this Memorial Day weekend might have been a bit cold and rainy, hopefully you were still able to get outside and enjoy the wet side of nature. When you’re ready to be warm and dry, catch up on the Bi-weekly emails.
This email includes:
Conference Updates - Program coming soon!
Remember! Our VMN Statewide Conference is in Richmond, September 5-7 at The Westin Richmond. Look for an email later this week with program and instructor information!
Once you’ve found sessions you just can’t miss, remember that there will be multiple registration types to choose from - you can join us for the whole weekend or just for a day. For those who plan to join us for multiple days, the lodging information and booking link can be found on the Statewide Conference page of the VMN website. The group rate will be available until August 14.
We hope to see you there!
20th Anniversary Road Shows - first two coming soon!
We are coming to a picnic shelter near you this summer! As part of our 20th Anniversary celebrations, we are hosting four Roadshows across the state. The first two are June 7 in Christiansburg, VA and June 8 in Palmyra, VA.
All VMNs are welcome at any of the Roadshows. Each Roadshow is a come as you are, arrive and leave when you can, rain or shine event. Please see this invitation for more details.
Pollinator Week
Thanks to work by the Pollinator Partnership and the Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program, the governor of Virginia has issued a proclamation declaring June 16-22 as Virginia Pollinator Week. Educational communications and programming about pollinators that week are encouraged! If you or your chapter are putting on a pollinator event, you can submit it through this form, and VCE will help promote it. Be sure to include either a Facebook event listing or a web link for the event, because they may not be able to publish all the details.
[Form link: https://forms.gle/i6exX4AjtDpaLNnt7]
You can also submit photos from your pollinator events for a round up communication that VCE will do at the end of the month.
Continuing Education Opportunities
Reminder: Virginia Master Naturalist Continuing Education Webinar Series: VMN Educators Bureau Flash Talks
Date: June 12, 2025, 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Description: Virginia Master Naturalists who are part of our program's statewide Educators Bureau will give talks and demonstrations - each no more than five minutes long. Get inspired by these dynamic educators! See our website for the full list of topics and presenters.
Pre-registration required.
As always, the VMN CE Webinar will be recorded and posted on our website shortly after the event.
Beech Leaf Disease Survey Training Webinar
Description: In partnership with the Virginia Department of Forestry, we are launching a new monitoring project for VMN volunteers to look for beech leaf disease, an emerging issue for Virginia’s forests. Lori Chamberlin, Forest Health Manager for the Virginia Department of Forestry, will present on how to look for and report this disease. This webinar will be recorded, and, around that time, we also will email information on how to participate in this activity.
Date: Monday, June 16, 12:00-1:00 pm
Pre-registration required
Birdability Project Re-Launch and Kickoff Webinar
Description: Together on the Trail: Accessible Birding and the Birdability Map
We are re-launching the Birdability project in which VMN volunteers are visiting sites on the Virginia Bird and Wildlife Trail to collect and report data related to accessibility. Some changes were made to the protocols after the initial launch of the project in Fall 2024. As part of the re-launch, we invite you to join Cat Fribley, Executive Director of Birdability, for an engaging session on how we can make birding and the outdoors more inclusive for people with disabilities and other health concerns. This presentation will explore the importance of access in nature, share stories from the field, and the ways YOUR work in Virginia is changing access for folks with disabilities through the Birdability Map!
Around the same time as the webinar, we will publish new training materials and protocols for the project from DWR.
Presenter: Cat Fribley (she/her) is the Executive Director of Birdability. Her background in non-profit development merged with her love of birds and birding and her commitment to disability rights make her uniquely suited for the role. Cat began birding for mental health and healing in college, and had to find new ways to access birding as her form of joy and mindfulness in the natural world after a series of physical injuries and illnesses left her with limited mobility. Her own experiences trying to determine accessible birding opportunities while visiting all 50 states before she turned 50 years old made her acutely aware of the important work of Birdability and especially the Birdability Map, a resource she sorely needed back then, and is passionate about now!
Date: June 10, 7:00-8:00 pm
Pre-registration required
This webinar will be recorded.
This email includes:
- Conference Updates
- 20th Anniversary Road Shows - first two coming soon!
- Pollinator Week
- Continuing Education Opportunities
Conference Updates - Program coming soon!
Remember! Our VMN Statewide Conference is in Richmond, September 5-7 at The Westin Richmond. Look for an email later this week with program and instructor information!
Once you’ve found sessions you just can’t miss, remember that there will be multiple registration types to choose from - you can join us for the whole weekend or just for a day. For those who plan to join us for multiple days, the lodging information and booking link can be found on the Statewide Conference page of the VMN website. The group rate will be available until August 14.
We hope to see you there!
20th Anniversary Road Shows - first two coming soon!
We are coming to a picnic shelter near you this summer! As part of our 20th Anniversary celebrations, we are hosting four Roadshows across the state. The first two are June 7 in Christiansburg, VA and June 8 in Palmyra, VA.
All VMNs are welcome at any of the Roadshows. Each Roadshow is a come as you are, arrive and leave when you can, rain or shine event. Please see this invitation for more details.
Pollinator Week
Thanks to work by the Pollinator Partnership and the Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program, the governor of Virginia has issued a proclamation declaring June 16-22 as Virginia Pollinator Week. Educational communications and programming about pollinators that week are encouraged! If you or your chapter are putting on a pollinator event, you can submit it through this form, and VCE will help promote it. Be sure to include either a Facebook event listing or a web link for the event, because they may not be able to publish all the details.
[Form link: https://forms.gle/i6exX4AjtDpaLNnt7]
You can also submit photos from your pollinator events for a round up communication that VCE will do at the end of the month.
Continuing Education Opportunities
Reminder: Virginia Master Naturalist Continuing Education Webinar Series: VMN Educators Bureau Flash Talks
Date: June 12, 2025, 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Description: Virginia Master Naturalists who are part of our program's statewide Educators Bureau will give talks and demonstrations - each no more than five minutes long. Get inspired by these dynamic educators! See our website for the full list of topics and presenters.
Pre-registration required.
As always, the VMN CE Webinar will be recorded and posted on our website shortly after the event.
Beech Leaf Disease Survey Training Webinar
Description: In partnership with the Virginia Department of Forestry, we are launching a new monitoring project for VMN volunteers to look for beech leaf disease, an emerging issue for Virginia’s forests. Lori Chamberlin, Forest Health Manager for the Virginia Department of Forestry, will present on how to look for and report this disease. This webinar will be recorded, and, around that time, we also will email information on how to participate in this activity.
Date: Monday, June 16, 12:00-1:00 pm
Pre-registration required
Birdability Project Re-Launch and Kickoff Webinar
Description: Together on the Trail: Accessible Birding and the Birdability Map
We are re-launching the Birdability project in which VMN volunteers are visiting sites on the Virginia Bird and Wildlife Trail to collect and report data related to accessibility. Some changes were made to the protocols after the initial launch of the project in Fall 2024. As part of the re-launch, we invite you to join Cat Fribley, Executive Director of Birdability, for an engaging session on how we can make birding and the outdoors more inclusive for people with disabilities and other health concerns. This presentation will explore the importance of access in nature, share stories from the field, and the ways YOUR work in Virginia is changing access for folks with disabilities through the Birdability Map!
Around the same time as the webinar, we will publish new training materials and protocols for the project from DWR.
Presenter: Cat Fribley (she/her) is the Executive Director of Birdability. Her background in non-profit development merged with her love of birds and birding and her commitment to disability rights make her uniquely suited for the role. Cat began birding for mental health and healing in college, and had to find new ways to access birding as her form of joy and mindfulness in the natural world after a series of physical injuries and illnesses left her with limited mobility. Her own experiences trying to determine accessible birding opportunities while visiting all 50 states before she turned 50 years old made her acutely aware of the important work of Birdability and especially the Birdability Map, a resource she sorely needed back then, and is passionate about now!
Date: June 10, 7:00-8:00 pm
Pre-registration required
This webinar will be recorded.
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