Screen shot of PDF of Payne, G., Evans, J., Derr, J., and Murdock, E. 2019. Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) Germination Pattern and its Impact on Control Strategies. Journal of Environmental Horticulture 37(3): 101-107. Virginia Master Naturalist Citizen Scientists Publish Findings on Invasive Plant Control
Members of the VMN-Historic Southside chapter completed a multi-year study of Japanese stilt grass control in a pine savannah habitat. Their experimental study was originally funded by a National Science Foundation grant to support community-driven conservation studies. They then collaborated with researchers at Virginia Cooperative Extension's Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center to combine their study with additional experiments at the AREC and write a paper on their findings. Their paper recently was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Environmental Horticulture. It is an open-source journal, so you can read all about their work in the September issue! Congratulations to VMN volunteer Geoff Payne who played a major leadership role, and to all the other volunteers involved, including Jim Evans, Carol Evans, Karen and Anna Conley, John Bunch, Dick Gilbert, and Steve Turner. Their findings have contributed to our scientific knowledge AND informed the management practices at Piney Grove Preserve, making an on-the-ground conservation difference.
Members of the VMN-Historic Southside chapter completed a multi-year study of Japanese stilt grass control in a pine savannah habitat. Their experimental study was originally funded by a National Science Foundation grant to support community-driven conservation studies. They then collaborated with researchers at Virginia Cooperative Extension's Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center to combine their study with additional experiments at the AREC and write a paper on their findings. Their paper recently was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Environmental Horticulture. It is an open-source journal, so you can read all about their work in the September issue! Congratulations to VMN volunteer Geoff Payne who played a major leadership role, and to all the other volunteers involved, including Jim Evans, Carol Evans, Karen and Anna Conley, John Bunch, Dick Gilbert, and Steve Turner. Their findings have contributed to our scientific knowledge AND informed the management practices at Piney Grove Preserve, making an on-the-ground conservation difference.
Les Lawrence (second from right) with the Nancy Norton Spirit Award selection committee (left to right), Judy Jones, Shirley Devan, and Ted Sargent. Les Lawrence Receives Historic Rivers Chapter 2019 Nancy Norton Spirit Award
Submitted by Judy Jones and Shirley Devan, VMN-Historic Rivers Chapter
With great pride the Historic Rivers Chapter awarded the second annual 2019 Nancy Norton Spirit Award to Les Lawrence, at the HRC Annual Picnic in October. Sadly, we lost Nancy in 2012, but her legacy lives on with the Spirit Award given out every year to a member who exemplifies Nancy’s “spirit.”
You’ve probably heard the expression, “Less is More.” We are very proud that Les Lawrence lives up to that motto. When we begin to list all the activities he’s involved with in our chapter, he has definitely proved that Les is truly more!
Les was a member of Cohort IV Basic Training which he completed in Spring 2010 – with Nancy Norton, for whom the award is named. Just like Nancy, Les always wants to learn and teach, always is eager to help, always welcomes new Master Naturalists to every Chapter event, and always has a smile.
Les has volunteered over 5000 hours since joining the Chapter. He served on our chapter board for six years and led Monday morning Wildlife Mapping at York River State Park for over eight years. In just the last few years, Les has participated in these Chapter Projects:
All of these activities and volunteer hours don’t capture the essence of our incredible volunteer. Les is more than an active member…he engenders a sense of family and community, a climate of trust, and exhibits the joy of membership in our Historic Rivers Chapter every time he arrives at an event.
We are fortunate indeed to count Les Lawrence as a member of our Historic Rivers Chapter. He’s a treasure who gives so much to our natural world, our community, and our Chapter. Thank you, Les!
Submitted by Judy Jones and Shirley Devan, VMN-Historic Rivers Chapter
With great pride the Historic Rivers Chapter awarded the second annual 2019 Nancy Norton Spirit Award to Les Lawrence, at the HRC Annual Picnic in October. Sadly, we lost Nancy in 2012, but her legacy lives on with the Spirit Award given out every year to a member who exemplifies Nancy’s “spirit.”
You’ve probably heard the expression, “Less is More.” We are very proud that Les Lawrence lives up to that motto. When we begin to list all the activities he’s involved with in our chapter, he has definitely proved that Les is truly more!
Les was a member of Cohort IV Basic Training which he completed in Spring 2010 – with Nancy Norton, for whom the award is named. Just like Nancy, Les always wants to learn and teach, always is eager to help, always welcomes new Master Naturalists to every Chapter event, and always has a smile.
Les has volunteered over 5000 hours since joining the Chapter. He served on our chapter board for six years and led Monday morning Wildlife Mapping at York River State Park for over eight years. In just the last few years, Les has participated in these Chapter Projects:
- Camera Trap Wildlife Survey
- York River State Park
- Spotted Skunk survey at Highlands near Charlottesville
- Virginia Birding & Wildlife Adopt-a-Trail Phase I
- Butterfly Counts (3 or more per year)
- Annual Bird Counts
- Project Feeder Watch
- Great Backyard Bird Count
- Virginia’s Second Breeding Bird Atlas
- Big Tree Project
- Osprey Watch
- Bluebird Box Monitoring at York River State Park and Freedom Park
- Mastodon Project
- Colonial Marsh Bird Monitoring Project
- Wildlife Mapping at
- Jamestown Island
- New Quarter Park
- Greensprings Trail
- York River State Park
- Oyster Restoration Project
- New Quarter Park Archeology Project
- New Kent Forestry Center field trips for school groups
- Freedom Park Nature Camps
- Outreach Events at:
- James River School Nature Club
- Family Fun Fest
- Estuaries Day
- James River Fest
- Williamsburg Farmer’s Market
- Williamsburg Botanical Garden’s Butterfly Festival
All of these activities and volunteer hours don’t capture the essence of our incredible volunteer. Les is more than an active member…he engenders a sense of family and community, a climate of trust, and exhibits the joy of membership in our Historic Rivers Chapter every time he arrives at an event.
We are fortunate indeed to count Les Lawrence as a member of our Historic Rivers Chapter. He’s a treasure who gives so much to our natural world, our community, and our Chapter. Thank you, Les!
VMN volunteer Kathy Scott describes the program for Day One of Eco Camp 2019. VMN-Blue Ridge Foothills & Lakes Chapter Offers Hands-on Education to Youngsters and Their Parents
Submitted by Paul Pautler, VMN-Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes Chapter
Once again this year, the Blue Ridge Foothill and Lakes Chapter (BRFAL) offered a multi-day nature experience for Franklin County and Smith Mountain Lake area children. On Saturday mornings in July, the BRFAL Eco Camp provides kids and their parents with two educational outdoor learning experiences. This year’s camp featured six sessions consisting of: digital photography of nature; an introduction to the sounds made by area birds; creek health; how animals use their senses (and how do they compare to those of humans); the creatures that lurk under those rocks in the stream; and the monarch butterfly life cycle and miraculous migration.
The parents (if they choose to stay) and BRFAL members also get to observe variations in nature when the kids make a foray into a creek to find critters they might never have thought existed. Some kids like to catch fish; some go after salamanders or water bugs; while others like to scour the detritus of the creek floor with tweezers to find the miniature marvels hidden in the leaf litter & mud.
Eco Camp takes place at Booker T. Washington National Monument (BTWNM) which co-sponsors the camp each year. Fortunately, the park offers numerous shady spaces to set up the hands on activities for the kids.
Betsy Haynes, Acting Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management at BTWNM said, “We love having the kids and parents here each year. Eco Camp has become an important part of Booker T. Washington’s educational programs for children. It’s great to see local children coming out for these programs year after year.”
Kathy Scott, an indefatigable and enthusiastic BRFAL member, led the project this year as she has for the past four years. Eighteen chapter members helped Kathy make things flow smoothly from conception of the program, publicity in newspapers and at local libraries, registration, teaching the sessions, and ensuring the safety and happiness of the participants. Many of the members participated on several weekends and in several different capacities.
This year’s Eco-Camp set a record by providing a creative, fun, hands-on learning experience for 58 kids and 21 adults.
Submitted by Paul Pautler, VMN-Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes Chapter
Once again this year, the Blue Ridge Foothill and Lakes Chapter (BRFAL) offered a multi-day nature experience for Franklin County and Smith Mountain Lake area children. On Saturday mornings in July, the BRFAL Eco Camp provides kids and their parents with two educational outdoor learning experiences. This year’s camp featured six sessions consisting of: digital photography of nature; an introduction to the sounds made by area birds; creek health; how animals use their senses (and how do they compare to those of humans); the creatures that lurk under those rocks in the stream; and the monarch butterfly life cycle and miraculous migration.
The parents (if they choose to stay) and BRFAL members also get to observe variations in nature when the kids make a foray into a creek to find critters they might never have thought existed. Some kids like to catch fish; some go after salamanders or water bugs; while others like to scour the detritus of the creek floor with tweezers to find the miniature marvels hidden in the leaf litter & mud.
Eco Camp takes place at Booker T. Washington National Monument (BTWNM) which co-sponsors the camp each year. Fortunately, the park offers numerous shady spaces to set up the hands on activities for the kids.
Betsy Haynes, Acting Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management at BTWNM said, “We love having the kids and parents here each year. Eco Camp has become an important part of Booker T. Washington’s educational programs for children. It’s great to see local children coming out for these programs year after year.”
Kathy Scott, an indefatigable and enthusiastic BRFAL member, led the project this year as she has for the past four years. Eighteen chapter members helped Kathy make things flow smoothly from conception of the program, publicity in newspapers and at local libraries, registration, teaching the sessions, and ensuring the safety and happiness of the participants. Many of the members participated on several weekends and in several different capacities.
This year’s Eco-Camp set a record by providing a creative, fun, hands-on learning experience for 58 kids and 21 adults.
Shirley Devan, VMN-Historic Rivers Chapter, who recently completed 6,000 hours of service as a Virginia Master Naturalist volunteer. 6,000 Hours Achieved
Submitted by Rick Brown, VMN-Historic Rivers Chapter
I am writing to report a significant first in the milestone category for the Historic Rivers Chapter. Shirley Devan, has just passed the 6,000 mark for volunteer hours contributed to our various projects. Shirley is one of our founding members from Cohort I, graduating in March 2007. She is obviously one of our most active members and has served in a number of different positions on our board over her tenure. She has served on every basic training team since graduating. She is also a very active birder and past President of the Williamsburg Club. Her online bio reflects her interests “birding, trees, birding, native plants, birding, butterflies.” She knows a great deal of information about virtually any natural subject. Shirley is a naturally curious person and a life long learner
I realize there is no certificate or pin awarded by the State for this level, but our local chapter wanted to share this information as an inspiration to all those members, throughout the Commonwealth, who contribute their sweat to make Virginia a better place to be.
Submitted by Rick Brown, VMN-Historic Rivers Chapter
I am writing to report a significant first in the milestone category for the Historic Rivers Chapter. Shirley Devan, has just passed the 6,000 mark for volunteer hours contributed to our various projects. Shirley is one of our founding members from Cohort I, graduating in March 2007. She is obviously one of our most active members and has served in a number of different positions on our board over her tenure. She has served on every basic training team since graduating. She is also a very active birder and past President of the Williamsburg Club. Her online bio reflects her interests “birding, trees, birding, native plants, birding, butterflies.” She knows a great deal of information about virtually any natural subject. Shirley is a naturally curious person and a life long learner
I realize there is no certificate or pin awarded by the State for this level, but our local chapter wanted to share this information as an inspiration to all those members, throughout the Commonwealth, who contribute their sweat to make Virginia a better place to be.
New River Valley Milestones
Submitted by Dianna Bridges, VMN-New River Valley Chapter
The New River Valley Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist program would like to recognize their following members for their milestones of service achieved in 2019.
More than 1,000 Hours of Service
Steve Bridges - 3,077 hours
Dianna Bridges - 1,525 hours
Brenda Graff - 1,010
Tamara Lowry - 1,394
Judy McCord - 1,109
Bill Sydor - 1,210
Mike Williams - 1,076
More than 500 Hours of Service
Deborah Applequist - 848
Linda Gette - 881
Beth Umberger - 771
Barb Walker - 969
Marcia Murphy - 521
Chris Sokol - 516
Barb Glaser - 500
More than 250 Hours of Service
Stephan Cole - 305
Sharon Crane - 391
Jean Elliott - 333
Shelley Gelbert - 337
Bill Opengari - 299
Joetta Peterson - 250
Congratulations, all, and thank you for your service!
Submitted by Dianna Bridges, VMN-New River Valley Chapter
The New River Valley Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist program would like to recognize their following members for their milestones of service achieved in 2019.
More than 1,000 Hours of Service
Steve Bridges - 3,077 hours
Dianna Bridges - 1,525 hours
Brenda Graff - 1,010
Tamara Lowry - 1,394
Judy McCord - 1,109
Bill Sydor - 1,210
Mike Williams - 1,076
More than 500 Hours of Service
Deborah Applequist - 848
Linda Gette - 881
Beth Umberger - 771
Barb Walker - 969
Marcia Murphy - 521
Chris Sokol - 516
Barb Glaser - 500
More than 250 Hours of Service
Stephan Cole - 305
Sharon Crane - 391
Jean Elliott - 333
Shelley Gelbert - 337
Bill Opengari - 299
Joetta Peterson - 250
Congratulations, all, and thank you for your service!
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