Overview

Welcome to the Central Blue Ridge Master Naturalist Chapter.  We are one of eleven Virginia Master Naturalist chapters starting up in 2007.  Our chapter is hosted by the Nelson County Extension Office who has partnered with several local and private organizations interested in stewardship of Virginia natural resources to form the Central Blue Ridge Chapter.  These partnering organizations are:  the Wildlife Center of Virginia, the Wintergreen Nature Foundation, Friends of the Rockfish Watershed, the Rockfish Valley Foundation and Nature Camp of Virginia.   These partnering organizations provide a wide variety of training and volunteer opportunities for chapter members.  The Chapter also is working with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the National Park Service, and the National Forest Service to provide other challenging and rewarding volunteer opportunities. 

We will be offering our first training class in September.  There will be seven training sessions.  The first is September 18 and the last is November 10.   All sessions will either be held on evenings or weekends.  The training will include a variety of naturalist-related topics and field trips.  Cost of the course will be approximately $125.  View the tentative schedule for the training course.

To be certified as a Virginia Master Naturalist, each volunteer must complete the forty hours of initial training plus forty hours of community service, and eight hours of advanced training in the year following graduation.  The program is focused on training volunteers who are dedicated to being natural resource stewards and citizen scientists in their communities and are committed to the forty hours of volunteer community service each year.

We are currently accepting applications.  Applications must be received or postmarked by August 20, 2007 to be considered for this class.  Only twenty-five spaces are available in the initial class so early application is encouraged. 

The application form can be obtained from the Nelson County Extension Office or downloaded from this site.   All applications must be completed, signed, and mailed to (or dropped off at) the Extension Office. The address is:

Michael Lachance
Virginia Cooperative Extension–Nelson County
PO Box 298
Lovingston, Virginia 22949

We hope you will consider joining our chapter by applying for this course or one of our future courses.  If you have questions or need additional information, contact the Extension Office by phone at (434)263-4035 or e-mail at:

Virginia Master Naturalist programs and employment are open to all, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. We are an  equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

If you are a person with a disability and desire any  assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact Michael Lachance at  (434) 263-4035 between 8am and 5pm to discuss accommodations at least five days prior to the event. *TDD number is (800) 828-1120.

Fall 2007 Training Course

Publicity

Poster/Flier

Application Forms

Central Blue Ridge Chapter volunteer application and enrollment form (MS Word)

Central Blue Ridge Chapter volunteer application and enrollment form (PDF)

Schedule

SESSION

DATE

TOPICS

LOCATION

1

9/18/07
  • Course Introduction
  • Virginia Master Naturalist Program
  • American Naturalists
  • Ecological Concepts

Wintergreen Nature Foundation

2

9/28/07
  • Introduction to Nature Camp
  • Biogeography
  • Herpetology
  • Night Hike
  • Astronomy Presentation

Nature Camp of Virginia, Vesuvius

3

9/29/07
  • Taxonomy
  • Entomology
  • Botany
  • Ornithology (Slide Presentation)
  • Tour of Nature Camp

Nature Camp

4

9/30/07
  • Ornithology
  • Mammalogy
  • Wildlife Management
  • Risk Management
  • Bird Hike

Nature Camp

5

10/13/07
  • Forestry
  • Geology
  • State Fish Hatchery, Montebello
  • Whetstone Ridge, Blue Ridge Parkway

6

10/27/07
  • Wildlife/Habitat Restoration
  • Water/Pond Ecology
  • Wildlife Center of Virginia
  • Big Levels
  • Sherando Lake

7

11/10/07
  • Geology
  • Soil
  • Interpretive/Teaching Skills
  • Citizen Science
  • Rockfish River Field Trip
  • Graduation
  • Elk Hill (near Nellysford, VA)
  • South Fork of Rockfish River

Last revised on Monday, August 13, 2007