Highlights from Virginia Department of Enviromental Quality - Salt Management & Volunteer Water Monitoring

Virginia’s Salt Management Strategy
By Anissa Rafeh and Ann Regn, DEQ
The Virginia Salt Management Strategy (SaMS) was established by a diverse group of stakeholders coordinated by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). SaMS provides recommendations for improving winter practices through efficient and effective salt use while maintaining the same levels of safety. The strategy also offers ways to raise awareness of these impacts, how individuals and organizations can participate, guidance for water quality monitoring and research to support action. The focus of SaMS is to balance the unintended impacts of salt use with the important safety benefits in Northern Virginia. For more information, visit DEQ’s webpage.

Citizen Monitors Make an Impact on Virginia’s Waters
By James Beckley, DEQ
A record number of locations are being sampled by Virginia’s citizen water quality monitors. DEQ estimates last year that more than 1,290 volunteers spent over 81,000 hours and drove 450,000 miles last year to collect and analyze water quality samples—a contribution of more than $3.25 million. To learn more about citizen monitoring, grant opportunities, how to nominate new sampling locations, guidance for Virginia’s new bacterial standards, or to sign up for the newsletter, visit the DEQ Citizen Monitoring homepage. 

Virginia Department of Forestry Reports on the State of the Forest
By Ellen Powell, DOF
​
In its 2019 State of the Forest report, VDOF reports activities related to its mission to protect, manage, conserve, and educate about Virginia's forests.  Just a few highlights of the report include:

• 100th anniversary of Virginia’s State Forest system
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and American Tree Farm System (ATFS) certification of all State Forests
• Introduction of the Hardwood Initiative  
• Urban Wood program

This year’s report contains clickable links to additional information, stories, and videos. For example, you can read about the use of goats to control invasive species on Lesesne State Forest, or watch a Harrisonburg urban tree be transformed into a conference table for a local office.  

Read the full report!

Winter Activities at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science VIMS
 by Karen Duhring, Middle Peninsula Chapter Advisor and VIMS-CCRM

Winter activities at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) include several opportunities for Virginia Master Naturalists. 

After Hours lecture series 
This monthly series of free, public lectures by scientists from VIMS and elsewhere explores hot issues facing the Chesapeake Bay and the ocean.   If you cannot attend in person, you can watch these lectures online or view recordings in the Archives at your convenience.  Check with your Chapter’s Continuing Education chair to find out if you can earn CE hours for attending or watching these VIMS lectures.  Reservations are required due to limited space.  Visit the After Hours Lecture Series web site to learn more and to register.

At the Gloucester Point campus:

• January 30      Expedition Nepal 
• February 27     Plastics in the Ocean

​At the Eastern Shore Laboratory in Wachapreague: 

• February 5      Ghost Forests of the Chesapeake Bay 

Public & Chapter Tours
Guided tours of VIMS are offered to the public from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM on select week days each month.  Upcoming tour dates:  February 7, March 12, April 7, May 5  

Each tour includes an overview of VIMS, a guided tour of the Visitors Center and aquariums, and two of our research laboratories with scientist interactions. Tours are designed for adults. Children must be at least 9 years old to attend. Space is limited and registration must be completed at least two days in advance. Visit the events calendar for more information and tour registration.

Visit our Group Tours page to learn more about private VIMS tours for groups of 12 or more.  Virginia Master Naturalist Chapter field trips can also be arranged with the entire focus on coastal ecosystems.  To arrange for a guided tour of the VIMS Teaching Marsh and other coastal habitats at the Gloucester Point campus, contact Karen Duhring at karend@vims.edu or 804-684-7159. 

Volunteering 
Volunteer positions are available with the VIMS outreach and educational programs and occasionally with specific research programs.  Visit the William & Mary Volunteer Portal to view the available volunteer positions.   If you are interested in one or more positions, click the Apply button next to the position.   Once you apply, the coordinator for that position will contact you. 

Requirements for each volunteer position vary, but general requirements for all VIMS volunteers are below: 

• Be at least 16 years of age
• Complete safety training with the VIMS Safety Office before conducting any work as a volunteer
• Complete required volunteer paperwork (check-in form, liability waiver, emergency contact information)
• A volunteer position may require you to commit to a certain number of hours, such as two hours per week, 15 hours per year, or more regular hours during a certain timeframe (summer, specific sampling period, etc.)

For general questions about volunteering at VIMS, please contact Sally Brooks at sabrooks@vims.edu or 804-684-7010. 

General Education
Sign up to receive monthly VIMS e-Tidings for updates and news about what’s happening in the world of coastal and marine science.  If the winter weather has you stuck indoors, browse the VIMS Bay Info web site for topics and information that will improve your knowledge of Virginia’s coastal and marine resources.  Or take a virtual tour of the Teaching Marsh, a 1-acre tidal wetland demonstration habitat.

Volunteer of the Year: Mary Ames, VMN-Central Piedmont Chapter

Every single one of our Volunteer of the Year nominees, as well as many who weren’t nominated, is truly a Volunteer of the Year.  I am inspired every day by the service of these volunteers and the impacts they make through natural resource education, stewardship, and citizen science in their communities. 

The award for Volunteer of the Year goes Mary Ames, a volunteer who is described as “warm, caring, fully engaged, and a motivating team leader.”  As president of the Central Piedmont Chapter, she has developed the chapter’s website, created a newsletter, and served on the Outreach, Membership, Program, Training, and Host committees.  With all of these administrative duties one would think that Mary has no time to volunteer, but she participates actively in a multitude of projects in areas of citizen science (eBird, Virginia’s Breeding Bird Atlas), stewardship (invasive species removal in state parks, Adopt-A-Trail monitoring, bluebird box building workshop), and education (Wildlife Detective Camp, kestrel presentations with Strike Force team, Junior Naturalist (4-H) Outdoor Classroom, nature presentations in schools, outreach display development and festival participation.)  Thanks in part to Mary’s leadership, the chapter doubled in volunteers and tripled in volunteer service hours.  “She has been instrumental in bringing our little chapter from a fledgling state to a growing group of eager volunteers,” wrote another member of the Central Piedmont Chapter.

Congratulations, Mary, and thank you for your dedication and service!

Additional Nominees for the 2019 VMN Volunteer of the Year Award

Thank you to all of the nominators, and congratulations to all of the nominees!

Chapter Advisor of the Year: Dot Field, DCR-Natural Heritage and VMN-Eastern Shore Chapter

Chapter advisors play a pretty critical role in our program, but for most of them, that role is either an add-on or just a small fraction of their work assignment.  We are thankful to have more than 30 people from our stage agencies willing to serve in these roles.  

Three individuals were nominated for our 2019 Chapter Advisor of the Year award: George Devlin (DEQ, Roanoke Valley Chapter), Karen Duhring (VIMS-CCRM, Middle Peninsula Chapter), and Dot Field (DCR, Eastern Shore Chapter).  I think it really means a lot that volunteers took the time to put these nominations in!  

Dot Field is this year’s winner.  Her nominator wrote, “She is well known on the Eastern Shore by colleagues, neighbors, politicians and business people. She insists on doing business locally and partnering with any organization where we can use our trained volunteers to enhance understanding of Virginia’s natural resources.”

Dot teaches basic training classes for the chapter, leads continuing education programs, leads field trips, and champions more than a dozen local volunteer service projects, many of which provide stewardship of DCR Natural Area Preserves on the Eastern Shore.  Local volunteers find her both reliable and inspiring.  

Chapter of the Year: VMN-Merrimac Farm Chapter

From their start in 2008 through 2016, the Merrimac Farm Master Naturalist Chapter had fewer than 20 volunteers reporting volunteer service each year.  They were doing some great work, but they were having trouble keeping members engaged and active in the program.  Since 2016, they have re-energized and grown tremendously, so that in 2019, they have already had 60 volunteers report service.  This chapter is in our top ten in terms of volunteer hours per active member and in terms of educational contacts they make

They have formed several new partnerships with local outlets of the National Park Service, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and the Soil and Water Conservation District.  They have taken on new and significant projects and successfully involved a large percentage of their chapter members in them (e.g., City Nature Challenge, MANA LEAF).  At the same time, they have still maintained the relationship and work that got them started at Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area.

The chapter has promoted their programs so well locally that they had two basic training courses this year to meet demand.  They were creative and flexible in their training this spring in order to make sure a new trainee who uses a wheelchair and another new trainee recovering from a brain injury could both successfully participate and graduate from the course.

Some solid chapter leadership really helped transform this chapter.  Judy Gallagher and Kathy Madsen started things moving in the right direction.  Rosemarie Nielsen and Lisa Matthews picked up the reins and have really gotten the chapter to its new level.  We especially want to recognize Lisa’s efforts, as she has contributed well over 1,000 volunteer hours just in 2019.

Education Project of the Year: Education and Outreach in Windsor Castle Park, VMN-Historic Southside Chapter

The Historic Southside Chapter embarked on an effort to help Windsor Castle Park, a town park in Smithfield, develop the natural aspects of the park to enrich park visitors’ experiences.  Their plan had four initiatives: creating interpretive signs, adding ecological information to the park’s website, developing a booklet for use by group nature tours, and an outreach program to bring local schools to the park for field trips.  To date, they have created and installed 14 interpretive signs at the park and added information on the ecosystems at the park to the website.  They have begun offering family-oriented nature walks, and the trips for school groups are being planned.  This project is a great example of how VMN volunteers can bring added value to local parks so that they are used and appreciated beyond sports fields and playgrounds.   

Citizen Science Project of the Year: City Nature Challenge with the Arlington Regional Chapter

The City Nature Challenge is a worldwide series of BioBlitzes aimed at raising awareness of and documenting biodiversity in urban areas.  Several of our VMN chapters participate in this effort.  The Arlington Regional Chapter serves on the Steering Committee for the Washington, D.C. Metro Area City Nature Challenge, and they organize events in Arlington County, Alexandria, and Falls Church.  The chapter sponsored 25 different events attended by nearly 200 people who made 4,635 observations of 803 species in the area.  Can you guess what the most observed species was?  Number 5 was garlic mustard (boo!), but number 1 was mayapple!  The data are being used in Arlington County for updating the Natural Resources Master Plan.

Stewardship Project of the Year: Sensory Explorers' Trail by the Shenandoah Chapter

The Sensory Explorers’ Trail is a .3-mile loop located inside the chapter’s 76-acre Outdoor Laboratory area at Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane, VA.  The project goal is to provide a way for people of all ages and abilities to engage their senses in the exploration of the natural world.  The scale of this project is astounding.  More than 50 Shenandoah Chapter volunteers worked to conceive, research and design the trail, raised $37,000 in funding, develop its exhibits and audio tour, and complete the construction.  The result is a trail designed for all, signage, print booklets, and an audio tour.  We especially want to recognize Laure Wallace as the main project leader.  She worked on this project for more than 2 years and demonstrated the ideals of the VMN program for inclusivity, both in terms of finding a way for every volunteer who wanted to be involved to be able to contribute, and in terms of working with partners to really make the trail accessible to a diversity of potential users.  You can find the audio tour online and read a lot of the interpretive material on the chapter’s website, but we urge you to take the time to visit Sky Meadows and have the full experience. 

Project of the Year - Chapter Administration: Basic Training Video Project by the Arlington Regional Chapter

Not many volunteers become Virginia Master Naturalists because they want to spend time on organizing their local chapter, but Chapter Administration is a critical category of volunteering on which our program depends! 

​In the fall of 2018, ARMN embarked on a project to help make up missed class presentations.  Their goal was to increase the number of trainees who complete Basic Training on time and together with their classmates, while reducing administrative time to arrange makeups reschedule quizzes or change the timing of field trips.  Volunteers videotaped all of the classes and coordinated posting them on Vimeo online, developed instructions for accessing them, and, notably, made the videos available to their neighboring chapter Fairfax.  The Fairfax Chapter wrote that the videos were “extremely effective and have helped FMN students graduate at a higher rate than in memory.”  And, in the Arlington Regional Chapter, they achieved a 100% completion rate for the in-class basic training, an improvement over prior years.

About the Contest

This year, we held our seventh Virginia Master Naturalist photo contest, with categories for "Virginia Native Flora & Fungi", "Virginia Native Wildlife", "Virginia Native Landscapes", "Virginia Native Macro and Night Photography", and "Virginia Master Naturalists in Action".  We received approximately 100 entries from 21 different VMN chapters across the state.  Each chapter could submit only one photo per category, and chapters were allowed to design their own processes for choosing which photos to send.  Many chapters hold their own internal photo contest, often having members vote to choose the submissions.

The 2019 contest was coordinated by Debbie Pugh, a member of the VMN-Headwaters Chapter, a talented photographer herself, and an organizational genius!

The contest winners were announced on September 20, 2019 at our statewide conference.  Winners earned lovely certificates as well as bragging rights and the opportunity for many more folks to see their fantastic photos.  We congratulation them and all the participants.  A slide show of all the entries was enjoyed by all the conference attendees.  

Contest Judges

Steven David Johnson
Steven David Johnson is a conservation photographer and Professor of Visual and Communication Arts at EMU in the Shenandoah Valley. His photography of the natural world has appeared in Orion, BBC Focus Magazine, Ranger Rick, National Science Teachers Association Press books and numerous conservation publications and journals.
Steve is vice-president of the Virginia Wilderness Committee and an Affiliate of the International League of Conservation Photographers. When not in the office, you’ll probably find him crouched next to a vernal pool photographing Appalachian salamanders.
View a selection of Steven's photography.

Bob Schamerhorn
Bob Schamerhorn is an Award -Winning Nature Photographer and lifelong wildlife enthusiast. He studied Art and Design at Virginia Tech and has worked in art related fields for over thirty years since. His photography has
been published in numerous conservation-based publications, including two Virginia Wildlife Magazine covers and a few months in the Virginia Wildlife Calendar. In 2018, the National Audubon Society Photography Awards “Top
100” voted one of his images in at number eleven. The very next year he won “Best in Show” in the Mammals category of the 2019 North American Nature Photography Association Awards (NANPA). His fine art nature photography has been shown at over sixty different art festival venues since Fall 2013, with twelve top art awards in just the last couple of years. He considers himself, “Experienced, but not an expert!”
See Bob’s work, his workshops, and exhibit schedule

Diane Lepkowski    
Diane Lepkowski is a nature photographer with a passion for birding and the natural world. She is outdoors whenever possible, seldom without a camera (or two!) in hand. Since becoming a seriously obsessed birder in 2008, Diane has used her photography to share her passion for enjoying, studying and protecting our feathered friends. She has offered presentations for organizations including the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum, Massanutten Regional Library, and Rockingham Bird Club and is a part-time instructor with James Madison University’s Lifelong Learning Institute. Her photography has been published in Blue Ridge Country, American Butterflies, and Nature Friend magazines; and is featured on her website. Diane serves on the Rockingham Bird Club Executive Committee as a Vice-president and has volunteered with the Rockingham County Fair’s photography contest. Because her nature photography doesn’t yet pay the bills(!), Diane continues her 34-year career with Rockingham County, serving as Deputy Zoning Administrator and Deputy Subdivision Agent.

Joshua Gooden
Joshua Gooden is a Shenandoah Valley photographer with a passion for historic architecture and the valley’s landscape. He can often be found exploring the small towns of the valley or photographing sporting events and small businesses. In high school, he often contributed photos to The Valley Banner, a weekly newspaper and snapping photos for his high school yearbooks. His photography has been published in Shenandoah Living Magazine, The Valley Banner, Page News and Courier, and the Daily News-Record. Joshua serves as the Economic Development and Tourism Coordinator for Rockingham County as well as the youngest ever elected Mayor for the Town of Elkton. He enjoys showcasing all that Rockingham County and the Shenandoah Valley has to offer.

And, the Winners!
All the winning photos are viewable below.  Click on the gallery thumbnails for each photo to see the titles, photographers, and placement.

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.  

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:
​

• 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-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.
​   

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.

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!

​The 2020 VAEE Conference has a lot to offer Virginia Master Naturalists!

On Wednesday, Feb. 26 there will be many outdoor workshops and classes such as “Wandering the Winter Woods” or “A Wetland Wander at Sweet Briar.” There are full day workshops such as “Communicating Climate Change” and “Lynchburg’s Urban Water Cycle Tour.’’ Plain old fun can be had in the “Make-n-Take” session in which you can make a Mason bee house, a Bluebird box, a Rain Barrel, or Nature Crafts such as corn husk dolls, vine baskets, cordage or memory keepers.  The Interactive Activity Showcase will give you many new tools for your education toolbox.

On Thursday, Feb. 27 nineteen different concurrent sessions will be offered, the Awards Luncheon, and most importantly the keynote speaker, Dr. J. Drew Lanham, an author, poet, wildlife biologist and Clemson University’s Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology. In 2019 he was awarded the National Audubon Society's Dan W. Lufkin Prize for Environmental Leadership, recognizing "individuals who have dedicated their entire lives to the environment".  
His research focuses on songbird ecology, as well as the African-American role in natural-resources conservation. A South Carolina native, Lanham is active on a number of conservation boards, including the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, Audubon South Carolina, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, BirdNote, and the American Birding Association, and he is a member of the advisory board for the North American Association of Environmental Education.

On Friday, Feb. 28 there will be 14 more concurrent sessions and a closing session with the keynote speaker, our own Nancy Striniste, author of the new book Nature Play at Home: Creating Outdoor Spaces that Connect Children to the Natural World (Timber Press, 2019). Nancy is founder and principal designer at EarlySpace, is a landscape designer, an educator, and an author.

Registration will open on November 15! You will have many options from full conference registration to only attending one day. Full conference includes all meals for the 2.5 days. https://vaee.wildapricot.org/VAEE2020

If you have further questions contact Page or Bruce.