Bi-weekly Email Updates

Bi-weekly Email for January 6

Hello, VMNs. Happy New Year! For those who were able to do First Day Hikes, we hope you enjoyed them. Here at the VMN State Office, we had a lovely holiday break and are now ready to get back to it! There is so much going on as the new year begins. We hope you will be able to find something you enjoy. In between those adventures, you can catch up on the Bi-weekly emails.

This email includes:

1. Being a VMN – Reminders
2. Continuing Education Opportunities – so many!
3. Volunteer Opportunity

Being a VMN – Reminders

Your “Certified” badge in Better Impact disappeared as of January 1

This doesn’t mean that you’re not certified for 2026! It just means that the qualification is set to expire at the end of the year and that it takes us about a month to verify Recertifications and get the badges back up. “Certified” badges should be showing up in Better Impact for everyone who qualifies by the end of January.

Re-enrollment vs Recertification 

At this time of year when so many things are happening, we want to make sure and clarify the difference between Re-enrollment and Recertification. Re-enrollment and Recertification are, in fact, two entirely different things. We know it can be a bit confusing, especially since they happen at the same time of year, so here is a quick explanation.

Re-enrollment = The process of enrolling annually in the VMN Program. This is open to, and a requirement for, all returning VMN volunteers.

Recertification = The process of completing and logging 40 hours of approved volunteer service and 8 hours of approved continuing education within a calendar year to maintain the title of Certified Virginia Master Naturalist. This is not required in order to remain a VMN volunteer.

Re-enrollment and chapter dues

Re-enrollment is done at the state level and is not related to paying chapter dues. The VMN State Office requires VMN volunteers to Re-enroll to remain in the program. Paying chapter dues is not part of that process. That said, local chapters might require that members pay annual dues to remain a member of the chapter. 

Continuing Education Opportunities

There are oh-so-many CE opportunities to announce at this time of year. This list is just a sampling. Please see announcements from your chapter and local partners for additional opportunities not included here. Please note that if it is not an opportunity organized by the VMN State Office, you should direct any questions about the event to the organizer listed. 

VMN January Continuing Education Webinar: Looking Back and Moving Forward! VMN Program 2025 Retrospective and 2026 Kickoff

Description: Join VMN Program Director Michelle Prysby and VMN Program Assistant Tiffany Brown for a review of what VMN volunteers accomplished in 2025 and a preview of what’s ahead in 2026. We will share results from the #Treemendous20th service focus and kickoff our 2026 focus, Wonderful Water (#WOW2026)!

Date: Thursday, January 29, 12:00-1:00 pm

Registration: Pre-registration required

Recordings: As with all of our VMN CE Webinar Series, this session will be recorded and posted on the CE Webinar Series page of our website. 

Winter Salt Awareness Week Webinars

Late January marks “Winter Salt Awareness Week” and a variety of government and non-profit organizations are teaming up to offer educational webinars on this topic.

January 21, 1:00-1:30 Safe Sidewalks, Clean Water: Smart Salting for Residents
January 23, 1:00-1:30 Community Winter Salt Management in Action
For descriptions and registration links, see the Northern Virginia Regional Commission website.

There are also national webinars January 26-January 30 on this topic. See the Winter Salt Week website for full information on those events.

Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program – Woods and Wildlife Conferences

While forest landowners are the primary audience for these popular, in-person educational events, they are great continuing education for VMN volunteers as well. There are two events in February in different locations with different topics presented.  

Dates and Location: February 21 in Blacksburg and February 28 in Culpeper

For pricing, agendas, and registration information, please see the VFLEP website.

Invasive Species Spring Webinar Series

The Invasive Species Collaborative at Virginia Tech is excited to host a spring webinar series that highlights their partners and affiliates. The webinars will be held monthly from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM. Free and open to the public! These sessions will not be recorded, so you must attend live.

Dates and topics:

January 27 – Invasive Species Management & State Agencies

February 24 – Mobilizing Volunteers & Communities

March 24 – Restoring Invaded Landscapes

April 28 – Invasion Pathways & Agricultural Biosecurity

Speakers include representatives from: Virginia Department of Forestry, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, Virginia Master Naturalists, Town of Blacksburg, Loudoun Invasive Removal Alliance, Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc., Plant SWVA Natives, the Schmale Lab at Virginia Tech, and the Lieurance Lab at Penn State.  

Registration for all dates: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/G1Xuv0EqTfWl6v0f4SNWig#/registration

Extension Master Gardener Webinar: Bird Brains and Bird Behavior

Date/Time: February 3rd, 2:00 PM- 3:15 PM

Title/Presenter: Bird Brains and Bird Behavior with Dr Robyn Puffenbarger

Description: Let’s talk about the amazing world of bird brains, bird senses, and how our gardens are part of the ecosystems birds depend on! Join to learn all about the wonderful world of birds.

Presenter: Robyn Puffenbarger received her Bachelor of Science in biology from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in molecular immunology from the Medical College of Virginia. She is a professor in the Department of Biology and Environmental Science at Bridgewater College. With her husband Bill, they bird watch in the yard and all over the world, having seen birds on four continents.

Pre-registration required

The recording of this session and other Extension Master Gardener webinars will be available on the EMG website.

Virginia Association of Environmental Education Annual Conference

Join other environmental educators from across Virginia. This year’s theme, Strength in CommunitEE, celebrates the power of coming together to share research, methods, and experiences that strengthen both our communities and the impact of environmental education. Several VMN volunteers are presenting!

Dates/Location: February 26-28 in Richmond, VA

See the VAEE website for pricing, details, and registration. 

GreenScapes Symposium with Montgomery Parks, Maryland: Integrating Ecology, Beauty and Adaptability in Design

This is a day-long, online symposium on landscape design that is focusing on native species, supporting pollinators, and enhancing ecosystem function. 

Date/Times: Friday, February 14, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm

For additional details, pricing, and registration, see the Brookside Gardens website.

Leave No Trace Instructor Training

Want to improve your knowledge and skills related to Leave No Trace principles so that you can share them with others? Upon completion of this multi-day course, you will gain Official Leave No Trace Level 2 Instructor status.

Date/Location: April 20-24, 2026 at Camp Powhatan, Hiwassee, VA

For pricing, details, and contact person, see https://scoutingevent.com/599-LeaveNoTrace2026. 

Volunteer Opportunity
Many of our coastal plain VMN chapters participate in DWR’s Diamondback Dash, a participatory science study of diamondback terrapin populations. DWR has put out a terrific report on the 2025 findings. In 2025, volunteers conducted 144 sampling trips and made 1,527 terrapin observations! DWR is recruiting now for the 2026 season. Volunteers wanting to participate should see the project page for more information. Returning dashers get first dibs on survey routes.

Bi-weekly Email for December 9

Hello, VMNs. Happy Holidays! We’ve got a lot for you today because this is our final Bi-weekly email of the year. We hope you enjoy your holidays in whatever wonderful or whacky forms they take. In the midst of the hub-bub, give yourself a quiet moment and catch up on the Bi-weekly emails.

This email includes:

1. VMN State Office will be closed for VT Winter Break
2. Annual Re-enrollment is open
3. Supporting VMN in your Year-end Giving
4. Continuing Education Opportunities
5. Volunteer Service Opportunities
6. Being a VMN – year-end info

State Office closed for VT Winter Break, December 20, 2025 – January 4, 2026

The Virginia Master Naturalist State Office will be closed in conjunction with the Virginia Tech Winter Break, December 20, 2025 – January 4, 2026. We look forward to returning emails and answering questions when we are back in the office in the new year. 

Annual Re-enrollment is Open

The VMN annual Re-enrollment Period is open. All VMNs should have received an email on December 1 explaining what they needed to do, if anything. Reminder emails will continue to be sent during this period. If you complete the Re-enrollment questions while the VMN Staff is away for Winter Break, your badge will not be updated until January 5 as that must be done manually.

Supporting VMN in Your Year-end Giving

Our program benefits from financial gifts, both large and small, from volunteers and others who want to support what we do. We thank the hundreds of individuals and chapters who have contributed to the Virginia Tech Foundation this year in support of the VMN program! Gifts of all amounts have helped us provide mini-grants for chapters, volunteer recognition items, needed program staffing, and more. If you want to incorporate the VMN program into your year-end giving plans, please see the directions at https://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/give/ and this information from the Virginia Tech Foundation about year-end giving logistics.

Also, mark your calendar now for Giving Day 2026, which will take place from noon on February 18 until noon on February 19. Giving Day is a celebration of philanthropy at Virginia Tech (including the Virginia Master Naturalist program), and it has been a great way to promote Virginia Master Naturalists in past years. More details to come in January! 

Continuing Education Opportunities

Living with Eastern Coyotes Training Opportunity
Date: Saturday, January 24^th, 10:15-11:45 am
Location: Maymont, 1000 Westover Road, Richmond, VA 23220. Free parking in the farm lot — 1001 Spottswood Road.
Description: Hello fellow VMN! Maymont is working with DWR Furbearer Biologist, Leah Card, to develop a new presentation about coyotes. In a similar format as “Living with Black Bears”, “Living with Eastern Coyotes” will educate audiences about coyote natural history, their presence in Virginia, their behaviors and habits, and how to prevent negative interactions and dispel unfounded fears. All VMN across the state are invited to attend the in-person training, which will include a Question & Answer session. Following the training, you will receive access to the presentation for you to provide presentations on coyotes in your community. If you are not able to attend this initial training, other trainings are being scheduled. Due to limited space, this training is only for VMN volunteers.
Please use this link to register: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4FABAC2DA7F5C43-60903802-vmntraining.
Questions: Please contact Krista Weatherford if you have any questions about this training session, kweatherford@maymont.org. 

Volunteer Opportunities

Open Enrollment Period for the VMN Educators Bureau

Each year in June and December, we open the opportunity for additional volunteers to sign up for our VMN Educators Bureau. If you are willing and able to teach others, please read on and sign up!

The VMN Educators Bureau is an up-to-date listing of VMN volunteers willing to teach other VMNs, give presentations for community groups, lead nature walks, lead environmental education activities for youth, or do any other form of education related to natural resources. Our goal is to increase VMN engagement in Education & Outreach, help our program reach new audiences, and help us respond better to requests for presenters. 

Want to join the Educators Bureau for the first time? If you are a VMN interested and willing to teach others and lead educational programs of any kind on natural resource topics and if you are not already signed up, we invite you to complete our Educators Bureau form between now and January 5. By completing the form, you aren’t committing to any specific opportunity at this point but simply indicating your willingness to be contacted if an opportunity arises that fits your particular profile. On the form, we provide more details on how your information will be used and how you can update your information later. 

URL for form for NEW signups: https://forms.gle/TaoMGL8FC9CwMDx76  

Already signed up for the Educators Bureau? VMN volunteers who signed up for the Educators Bureau in the past should not use the link for new people, as that will result in duplicate listings. If you are already in the database, you instead should have received an email earlier today with a personalized link to view and edit your own existing listing. If you did not receive the email, first check your Spam/Junk folder. If it isn’t there, you can contact masternaturalist@vt.edu to get the information and individualized link that you need.

Kudos to all our Educators Bureau members, new and seasoned! We have been able to fill a wide diversity of presenter requests, thanks to you! Our next ‘open enrollment period’ for the Educators Bureau will be in June.

DWR Bird and Wildlife Trail Birdability Project Update

Winter is a great time to make progress on documenting the accessibility of all the trails at the Virginia Bird and Wildlife Trail sites! As of late November, 83 sites are complete, 52 sites are claimed (with 26 of those more than 90 days overdue), and 360 sites are available. If you have claimed a site, please be sure to complete your review. Let’s see if VMNs can claim and complete all the remaining sites! 

Not sure what this is all about? See the Birdability section of the Virginia Bird and Wildlife Trail projects on our website. This is a project than any VMN can do, once you have watched/read the training info! Check with your chapter’s service chair to make sure it is approved and to report your time correctly.

2026 Volunteer Service Theme: Water

Several chapters mentioned that they liked having a volunteer service theme (trees and forests) this year, so we’re trying this concept again in 2026! The 2026 theme will focus on water. We will have a list of sample service activities, a catchy hashtag label to use when reporting your water-related service, and additional information ready in January. While participation is voluntary, we hope that many of you will do some service related to our theme next year. For now, you still have a few weeks to get in your #Treemendous20th service related to trees/forests!

Being a VMN – Year-end Info

Your “Certified” badge in Better Impact will disappear as of January 1

This doesn’t mean that you’re not certified for 2026! It just means that the qualification is set to expire at the end of the year and that it takes us about a month to verify Recertifications and get the badges back up. “Certified” badges should be showing up in Better Impact for everyone who qualifies by the end of January.

Volunteer transfers suspended for the month of January

January starts the report season in the VMN State Office. Three reports for each of 30 chapters means there is a lot to do! End-of-year reports tell us who earned Recert pins, initial certifications, and new milestones. We have found it works best if volunteers are not changing chapters during this time so transfers are suspended for the month of January. Chapters and volunteers can inform us of transfer plans during this time and we will be happy to add them to our to-do list for February!

Calculating your total volunteer service hours in BI

We get questions about this every year so we wanted to share information about what you see in your Better Impact dashboard and how to calculate your lifetime volunteer service hours total in case you’re trying to reach a specific milestone by the end of the year.

The most important thing to know when looking at the hours total displayed on your dashboard is that this total includes Continuing Education (CE) hours as well as your volunteer service hours. This is a quirk of Better Impact that we do not have any control over. 

Two additional notes here: 1) If you’re in more than one VCE master volunteer program, then the total hours displayed on your dashboard in Better Impact includes ALL of the hours you’ve logged for all of those organizations; and 2) For those of you who have “VMN historic hours” that were imported from our previous online system, those do not include any CE hours. We only imported volunteer service hours

This means that you will have to do a little math to calculate your total lifetime volunteer hours – the hours that VMN milestones are based on. We have provided those instructions here:

Quick report to calculate lifetime volunteer service hours in BI

1. Login to MyImpact
2. Click on the Reports tab
3. Scroll down to Hours and Feedback Report
4. In the Date Range field, change the start date to 1/1/2020 (all importing of hours from the old system happened after this date) and leave the end date as today’s date
5. Click View Report
6. Scroll down to view the report
7. For anyone in more than one VCE master volunteer program, look for the report that says “Organization: Your VMN Chapter” and use that report only. Everyone else, you will only see one report.
8. Find where it says “Total Hours” in your report and note that number down. 
9. In the same report, find your chapter’s category where you track Continuing Education
10. Find where it says “Category Total Hours” under your chapter’s Continuing Education category and note that number down.
11. Complete this equation: Total Hours – Category Total Hours for CE = Total Lifetime Volunteer Service Hours