In 2007, the Virginia Master Naturalist Steering Committee began planning for our first statewide conference for Virginia Master Naturalist volunteers. Our goals for such a conference were (1) to provide a venue for VMN volunteers to share ideas and learn from each other, (2) to provide high-quality advanced training, (3) to provide an opportunity for volunteers to learn about a region of Virginia that may be different from their home community, and (4) to provide a place and time to recognize and reward volunteers for their efforts.
Our first conference was held October 17-19 in southwest
We began the conference on Friday with a pre-conference field trip to
We took time both evenings to recognize the accomplishments of the Master Naturalists through a slide show and awards. We gave awards to the Beagle Ridge and
OutcomesFeedback from the conference participants was extremely positive. Many people expressed appreciation for the opportunity to network with other chapters. Overall, the participants overwhelmingly indicated that the program content addressed their learning needs, the instructors were engaging, and that they would recommend the program to others.
On a written evaluation, we asked participants to list one or two things they learned during the conference. The most common response focused on ideas they learned from each other about how to run their chapters more effectively. Many participants also described knowledge gains relating to natural history, such as a better understanding of vernal pool ecology or the role of insects in the environment. A significant number of participants reported increases in skills that can be applied to volunteer service projects, such as tree identification, measuring protocols for the Big Tree program, vernal pool monitoring protocols, public speaking skills, and program planning and evaluation skills.
Pictures from the conference can be viewed at http://virginiamasternaturalist.smugmug.com.
The Beagle Ridge Master Naturalist chapter contributed greatly to the conference through their planning and organizational work. Eleven chapter volunteers helped to develop the program, make local arrangements, lead sessions, and keep things running smoothly during the weekend. They also helped design and fund backpacks with the Virginia Master Naturalist logo that we gave to all conference participants.
The bulk of the conference funding came from registration fees ($120 per person, plus $35 for the pre-conference trip). In addition, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Resource Use Education Council gave a $2000 grant to support the conference. As a result, we had several conference sessions designed to teach the Master Naturalists about Meaningful Watershed Education Experiences, riparian restoration, outdoor classrooms, and other topics relating to watershed education. For example, one of our main Saturday field trips focused on environmental education and led participants through an example MWEE field trip to a local environmental education center. Another session visited a demonstration rain garden at an elementary school and discussed how the students use the garden as an outdoor classroom. The conference was also supported by the Beagle Ridge Chapter and the Virginia Master Naturalist program sponsoring agencies: Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virginia Department of Forestry, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and the Virginia Museum of Natural History.
The Virginia Master Naturalist program Steering Committee is soliciting proposals from chapters to host a 2009 conference similar in nature to the 2008 conference. A host chapter should have 5-10 volunteers who can assist with conference planning. Responsibilities of the host chapter include:
Venues are typically booked up to a year in advance. For our conference venue, we need a location that can fit 150 people in one room (for meals and general sessions) and that has about 6 breakout rooms (for concurrent sessions). Affordability is important. Some venues offer discounts to state agencies. As a reference, we used the
If your chapter is interested in hosting our 2009 meeting, please send Michelle Prysby a short proposal that includes a venue location, at least 2 potential sets of dates, a few possible field trip locations, and a rough cost estimate for the venue, assuming that we will use the venue on a weekend for a Friday afternoon and evening, all day Saturday, and until 5:00 pm on Sunday.
We will work with the Virginia Tech Continuing and Professional Education department to actually make venue reservations, book caterers, conduct registrations, etc. Please do not book anything or initiate any contracts. However, any up front information you can provide about good venues and their availability will help us greatly. You all know your communities much better than we do!
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