Bi-weekly Email Updates

Bi-weekly Email for January 20

Hello, VMNs. We hope you’re enjoying your winter volunteering – whatever form that takes. If the weather predictions hold true and we all get snowed-in this weekend, you can use the down time between making snow-people to catch up on the Bi-weekly emails.

This email includes:

1. Re-enrollment – deadline approaching
2. Re-enrollment – a Note from the VMN Program Director
3. Giving Day – Save the Date
4. Volunteer Opportunities
5. Continuing Education Opportunities

Re-enrollment for 2026 – 11 days left!

Our annual Re-enrollment deadline is January 31. We will continue to send reminders to those who still need to complete it. Please make sure to get it done by the deadline!

Re-enrollment – a Note from the VMN Program Director, Michelle Prysby:
About 82% of our VMN volunteers have re-enrolled for 2026. Thank you so much! If you are in the other 18% and you do intend to continue as an active VMN volunteer in 2026, please, please complete your re-enrollment on MyImpactPage before the January 31 deadline. 

Volunteers who miss the deadline will be unenrolled and dropped from their chapters’ rosters. Although we can reinstate volunteers after that happens, the reinstatement process takes quite a bit of extra time for both the volunteers and the VMN State Office. The more time that Tiffany, the VMN Program Assistant, is spending dealing with reinstatements, the less time she has to organize volunteer recognition items, manage chapter mini-grants, update the Chapter Leader Guide, and provide all of the other support she gives to the program and its volunteers. 

Please help us out by taking care of this small task before the deadline. If you are unsure what to do, check out our re-enrollment document and video.

If you haven’t re-enrolled but don’t plan to be an active VMN volunteer in 2026, no action needed. Thanks, and we wish you well in your next endeavors!

Save the Date and Support VMN on VT’s Giving Day!

Virginia Tech’s Giving Day is coming soon, February 18-19, noon to noon. Thanks to all of you, the VMN program has had big successes on past Giving Days! Your gifts help us run the day-to-day operations of the statewide VMN program, provide chapter mini-grants, support the VMN State Conference, provide volunteer recognition items, and more! We’ll be sending information on how to participate and links for giving as the date approaches. Giving Day is all about the number of people giving, not the amount each person gives!

Volunteer Opportunities

Tick Collection/Surveillance: The Tick Lab at Old Dominion University, led by Dr. Holly Gaff, has been working with the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula chapters on monitoring tick populations. They are interested in expanding that citizen science effort to other locations. Volunteers can arrange locations for active surveillance as well as send in ticks they find on themselves or their pets. We have sent out the details to volunteer service chairs in each chapter, so please contact your chapter leaders if you are interested and they can work with you to get the activity approved.

Clifton Native Seed Project: The native seed collection activity with the Clifton Institute will continue in 2026, with a special focus on the coastal plain. We have updated the statewide activity template and alerted chapter volunteer service chairs. We’ll send out a reminder closer to the seed collection season; this is just a heads-up for now.

Continuing Education Opportunities

Reminder: 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. 

Coming Up: VMN February Continuing Education Webinar: Living with Coyotes

Description: VDWR Furbearer biologist Leah Card will tell us all about coyotes and what humans can do to reduce conflict with these interesting animals that are becoming more common in urban areas. 

Date: Thursday, February 5, 12:00 – 1:15 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. Please be aware, however, that for this webinar to count as the required train-the-trainer session for VMN volunteers who want to do public presentations and outreach about coyotes using the DWR materials, those volunteers must attend the live webinar, the in-person training at Maymont this month, or a future live, virtual training (tentatively planned for August.)

Reminder: 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.

Monarch Joint Venture Webinars and Trainings

Monarch Joint Venture provides high-quality, research-based information on monarch butterfly conservation and related topics. Here are some of their upcoming opportunities. For more information and registration, see https://monarchjointventure.org/events/events. 

• January 27 – Monarch Conservation Webinar Series: Community to Conservation
• February 2 – March 27 – North American Monarch Institute, Online
• February 10 – The Secret Life of Moths: An Introduction to Moth Identification and Ecology
• February 26 – Monarch Larva Monitoring Project: Southern

Please contact the organizers with any questions; we do not have information about recordings, etc.

Webinar: Rethinking Invasive Species Communication

Presented by the North American Invasive Species Management Association

Description: This webinar will explore how the words we use to talk about invasive species can either support or undermine effective management. Drawing on insights from the Sea Grant-led Invasive Species Language Workshop hosted during National Invasive Species Awareness Week 2024, speakers will look at message framing, metaphors, and naming conventions that can unintentionally reinforce xenophobia or exclusion, as well as approaches that foster inclusion and collaboration instead.

Date: January 28, 2:00-3:30 pm

Registration: Free, but pre-registration required
Please contact the organizers with any questions; we do not have information about recordings, etc.

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 13, 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.