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Central Blue Ridge Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program   


Take a peak inside...
...to see what Central Blue Ridge can offer! 
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VMN Basic Training

Due to the small size of our chapter, CBR is normally only able to hold a Basic Training course every other year.  We started our 2022 course on January 30, but if you would like to add your name to our waiting list for our next course, please send your contact information to the Virginia Extension Office in Lovingston, phone 434-263-7180 or email  lmacrae@vt.edu.  We will notify you as soon as we schedule another course. 

Although the majority of our members live in Nelson County, we have members who live in Albemarle, Amherst, and Augusta counties and the city of Charlottesville.

Bi-monthly Chapter Meetings

Our regular meetings are held on the first Thursday of every other month in the conference room at the Nelson Center - 8445 Thomas Nelson Highway, Lovingston.  The Center is located on the west side of U.S. 29, just south of the traffic light in Lovingston.  Turn west at the sign to the County Library and Tourism Office.  The Nelson Center is on the south side of the parking lot. Use the entrance door with the covered canopy.  Until further notice, masks are required when entering the building. 
 
Our 2022 meetings are scheduled for February 3, April 7, June 2, August 4, October 6, and December 1.    Our meetings are open to non-members, and each meeting begins at 7 p.m. and ends by 9 p.m.  The first half of each meeting features a guest speaker, with a variety of nature topics that are of interest in Virginia. We hope to hold all meeting in-person, but if you are interested in attending a meeting, please contact our chapter advisor or administrative assistant (listed below) to ascertain that our meetings are still being held in-person.

In addition to our regular meetings, we hold a bonfire potluck every autumn at a lovely privately-owned park with a lake in Nelson County.

Chapter Projects

CBR members volunteer with state agencies that sponsor the VMN program, local partner organizations, and a number of other environmental organizations in a wide variety of projects.  Our projects include Bluebird trails, docent staffing at the Rockfish Valley Foundation museum, an annual butterfly count, monitoring and maintenance on public trail systems, work in a new county park, assistance at two area wildlife rehabilitation sanctuaries, stream monitoring, and leading walks in a variety of nature trails at locations throughout the area.  If you have information about volunteer projects or continuing education opportunities that may be of interest to CBR members, please contact our chapter advisor.

Chapter Advisor and VA Extension Contact Info

Chapter Advisor:  Justin Barnes  justin.barnes@dof.virginia.gov      
Phone 434-220-9181                                                          
Virginia Department of Forestry Headquarters
Fontaine Research Park
900 Natural Resources Drive
Suite 800
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903

Administrative Assistant:  Cindy MacRae  lmacrae@vt.edu
Phone: (434) 263-7180
Nelson Extension Office
Located in the Nelson Center on U.S. 29, Lovingston
PO Box 298
Lovingston, VA  22949
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CBR Fire Ecology Outing

2022 Officers
President - Rob Jennings
Vice President – Debbie Harkrader
Secretary (acting) – Susan McSwain
Treasurer – Cynthia Elkey
Membership Chair - Stephen Cassola
IT Chair - Bruce Slater
Chapter Host - Bette Dzamba
Chapter Historian - Susan McSwain

Better Impact Administrator - Stephen Cassola, Bruce Slater, and Susan McSwain

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Trail Clearing at Sturt Park
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Butterfly Count 2018
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DGIF bat expedition, Crozet Tunnel
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Sturt Park Workday
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Central Blue Ridge Chapter's
Project RareQuest Team.


Project RareQuest involves trained Virginia Master Naturalist volunteers in monitoring occurrences of rare species of plants and animals. 



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A nature ramble of the 2016 Basic Training class

Virginia Master Naturalist Program | 460 Stagecoach Road, Suite E201 | Charlottesville, VA  22902 | Phone: 434-872-4587 | Fax: 434-872-4578

Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments. Its programs and employment are open to all, regardless of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, military status, or any other basis protected by law.