Bi-weekly Email Updates
Bi-weekly Email for February 3
Hello, VMNs. It’s been two weeks since you heard from us and all we’ve had in that time is snow, ice and cold. We hope you’ve been able to enjoy it in your own way, even if that was with a warm drink, a cozy blanket, and a good book. If nothing else, everyone has had plenty of time to catch up on the Bi-weekly emails!
This email includes:
- VMN Webinar recording – 2025 Retrospective and 2026 Kickoff
- VMN State Program Awards Announcement
- Seeking VMN Couples
- New Giving Day Challenge
- Continuing Education Opportunities – so many!
In Case You Missed It: Looking Back and Forward: VMN Program 2025 Retrospective and 2026 Kickoff
This webinar video is now available. We encourage all VMN volunteers to watch this one, because we talk about our Wonderful Water service theme for 2026 (#WOW) and have some important reminders about VMN policies and service.
VMN State Program Awards Announcement
Thank you to all of the volunteers who took the time to nominate a person or a project for one of our 2025 state program awards. We had truly outstanding nominations, and we are excited to share this 17-minute video announcement of the winners. We will have an article about the winners later this week on our website and in the quarterly newsletter. Congratulations to all who were nominated!
Seeking VMN Couples!
From VMN communications intern, Abi Mountford:
I hope you all are having a good start to your February. Valentine’s Day is approaching and I would like to celebrate some of our couples in the program! If you and your partner or spouse are both VMN volunteers, I would appreciate it if you could send me a photo of you together with your names and how long you have been in VMN together. These photos would be posted on social media, so if you are uncomfortable with being highlighted on Instagram and Facebook, please do not share images with me. If you are comfortable being highlighted on social media for Valentine’s Day, please email me at abim22@vt.edu with your photo, names, and how long you have been in the program together. Thank you!
New Giving Day Challenge
Virginia Tech’s Giving Day is February 18-19! This is a 24-hour philanthropic celebration and a chance for everyone to show their support for Virginia Tech programs, including the Virginia Master Naturalist program (which is an Extension program based in the VT College of Natural Resources and Environment.)
Special challenges mean that your gift can go further and do more good than at any other time of the year. This year a gift of $20,000 provided by a VMN donor will be unlocked once 500 gifts have been made to the Virginia Master Naturalist Annual Fund!
Giving Day is about participation, not amount, so even small gifts count towards our goals. These funds support many VMN program needs, such as mini-grants to chapters, the statewide conference, and program support staff.
Stay tuned for the links to give, which we will post and share via email later in February. And, if you know you are going to be away during Giving Day but still want to participate, contact Michelle for a way to participate early.
Continuing Education Opportunities
Reminder: 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 Woods and Wildlife Conference
Attention western Virginia Master Naturalists: Last call for a top-notch day of continuing education! Registration is open through February 6 for the Southwest Virginia Woods & Wildlife Conference, scheduled for February 21 on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg. Pricing is $55 per person or $100 per couple and includes lunch and refreshments.
For over 20 years, Woods & Wildlife conferences have featured timely information, practical “how-to” sessions, and personal contacts to help private woodland owners keep their woods, and the wildlife that live in them, healthy and productive. There are both plenary and concurrent sessions, with a variety of topics to appeal to landowners of any size tract and any experience level.
Keep it Fresh: The SaltWatch Community Science Initiative webinar hosted by Wild Virginia
Date: February 10, 7:00-8:00 pm
We’re still in a winter wonderland, but ‘tis the season for wildflower/native plant symposia! Here are several coming up.
Winter Symposium & CVNLA Short Course
February 11-13
In-person (Richmond)
Presented by Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Central Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association and Virginia Cooperative Extension. https://www.lewisginter.org/event/winter-symposium-cvnla/
Prince William Native Plant Symposium
February 14
Whether you are new to native plants and what they can do for your property or you are looking for alternative landscaping ideas, this event is for you! Options for in-person (Manassas) or virtual. https://www.pwcva.gov/events/8th-annual-prince-william-native-plant-symposium-2026/
Lahr Native Plan Symposium
March 28
This all-day event features a slate of expert speakers who will touch on a variety of topics. Join for an engaging day of presentations and conversation as we delve into the world of native plants.
In-person (US National Arboretum in Washington, DC.)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/39th-annual-lahr-native-plant-symposium-tickets-1979987980349?aff=usna
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:
- Re-enrollment – deadline approaching
- Re-enrollment – a Note from the VMN Program Director
- Giving Day – Save the Date
- Volunteer Opportunities
- 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.
Connect with Us
For general inquiries about the Virginia Master Naturalist program, please contact:
masternaturalist@vt.edu540-231-0790