Bi-weekly Email Updates

Bi-weekly Email for November 12

Hello, VMNs. Here in the mountains, we got our first snow yesterday. Just a dusting but very exciting! While you’re heading inside from the cold, catch up on the Bi-weekly emails.

This email includes:

1. Annual Re-enrollment begins December 1
2. Being a VMN – Re-enrollment vs Recertification
3. Continuing Education Opportunities – Osprey presentation, VMN webinar series
4. Project Updates – Gray Fox, VABBA2, Living with Black Bears
5. New photo requests from the VMN Intern
6. VMN State Awards – Call for Nominations

Annual Re-enrollment begins December 1

Our annual Re-enrollment Period is approaching and will open in about two weeks. On December 1, the VMN State Office will send an email to every VMN giving them information and instructions on what they need to do to complete Re-enrollment.

Being a VMN – Re-enrollment vs Recertification 

As we approach the annual Re-enrollment Period, 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 around 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

Ospreys in the Chesapeake and Mid-Atlantic

Date: 5:30 pm, December 4. Doors open at 5:00 pm.

Location: In-person, Eastern Shore Community College, 29316 Lankford Highway, Melfa, VA 23410. (Great Room of the Workforce Development Building)

Description: Please join us as we welcome Dr. Bryan D. Watts, the Mitchell A. Byrd Professor of Conservation Biology and Director of The Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary, and Benjamin Wurst, Environmental Scientist and NJ Osprey Project leader for Conserve Wildlife Foundation. We will hear about the latest scientific research regarding the reproduction and sustainability of regional osprey populations, one of the most iconic species in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coast. Registration: Free and open to the public.

For More Information: This event is organized by the nonprofit Birding Eastern Shore. If you have questions, please direct them to Info@birdingeasternshore.org. 

VMN Continuing Education Webinar Series and Chapter Leader Training Series

We have wrapped up our two main webinar series for the year! The recordings are available on our website, with approximately 13 hours of webinars in the CE Series and 6 in the Chapter Leader Training Series for 2025–more than enough to achieve the 8 hours for VMN certification/re-certification. We will have one more 2025 webinar directed at Chapter Leaders (though anyone is welcome), focusing on completing your chapter’s annual report (December 8, 12:00-1:00 pm.)

Find the VMN Continuing Education Webinar Series videos

Find the Chapter Leader Training Series videos

Project Updates

Virginia Gray Fox Project Continues in 2026

Volunteers following the Virginia Gray Fox Project might be interested in reading this Virginia Tech news article. Thank you to the VMN volunteers who have participated so far, either as photo reviewers or by hosting cameras. Note that the 2026 survey will focus on the coastal plain, though others may still participate.

Virginia’s Second Breeding Bird Atlas is Published (from the VA Dept. of Wildlife Resources)

After more than a decade of work including planning, data collection, review, analysis, and content production, the Second Breeding Bird Atlas has been published! The Atlas is the product of a partnership between DWR, the Virginia Society of Ornithology and the Conservation Management Institute at Virginia Tech. A legion of over 1,400 citizen science volunteers (including many Virginia Master Naturalist volunteers) across the Commonwealth contributed an approximate 80,000 survey hours in the field, making the Atlas one of Virginia’s largest citizen science project to date.

This website is being rolled out in two phases. This first phase, available now, includes background information about the project, 203 species accounts with beautiful photos taken here in Virginia, a guide to interpreting the accounts, an acknowledgement section to highlight the 1,500+ individuals and organizations who contributed to the Atlas project, a description of the Atlas Methods, and a “first peek” into a deeper analysis of Atlas results.

The second phase will launch in early 2026 and will include more technical information on data modeling, Atlas coverage, and tables that show the timing of breeding behaviors across species, as well as more information on bird conservation. The conservation sections will highlight the various habitats within Virginia, threats that Virginia breeding bird populations face, and guidance on actions that can be undertaken to support Virginia’s birds.

Check it out and let us know what you think using the ‘Contact Us Form’.

Living with Black Bears Earns an Award

The “Living with Black Bears” project, a partnership between VMN and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, received the 2025 Outstanding Volunteer Project Award from the Alliance of Natural Resource Outreach and Service Programs (ANROSP). ANROSP is a professional organization for Master Naturalist-type programs, and the Virginia Master Naturalist program was one of the founding program members in 2006. The Living with Black Bears project addresses the serious concern of human-bear conflicts in Virginia, aiming to alleviate negative interactions through spreading awareness and education. From when the project was piloted in 2022 through July 2025, VMN volunteers have given 70 presentations to community groups, tabled at 83 different community events, and made more than 53,000 direct contacts. 

Congratulations to all the VMN volunteers who have been part of this project and to Courtney Hallacher of DWR, who coordinates the effort! If your chapter is not currently participating in the project and would like to, contact the VMN State Office.

New Photo Requests from Abi Mountford, VMN Intern

Hello VNM’s! Thank you so much for all of the great Halloween costume photos, I enjoyed getting to share them.

I want to highlight the education and outreach our chapters do through tabling events. Please send me images of you or your chapter members at tabling events with a small description including what the event is. This description can include the event, what information was shared, and who is present in the photo. 

I also want to showcase wildlife near you! Many of our members own or operate trail cameras. Please send me images of wildlife that you have gotten from your trail camera with a description of what the animal is. If you have images of turkeys specifically please send those to me, but I am interested in all wildlife. 

Please email all of your photos and descriptions to me at abim22@vt.edu, and reach out if you have further questions. I would appreciate it if all tabling photos could be sent to me by November 17th and all trail camera photos by November 25th. Thank you!

Award Nominations – Submit by December 8

The Virginia Master Naturalist program’s state office is now accepting nominations for seven statewide awards:

• Chapter Leader of the Year
• Volunteer of the Year
• New VMN Volunteer
• Chapter Advisor of the Year
• Most Impactful Project
• Nature for All Award
• Best Tabling/Outreach Display (new category this year!)

These awards will be judged by the VMN statewide office team and one or more VMN sponsoring agency representatives. We will announce the winners around the end of January. To submit a nomination, please send the information requested for that particular award to Michelle Prysby. Nominations are due by December 8 at 5:00 pm. You can find this year’s award nomination information on our website. You also can learn about our 2024 award winners!

Bi-weekly for October 28

Hello, VMNs. As we fall more deeply into autumn, enjoy the color and sip a hot beverage while you catch up on the Bi-weekly emails.

This email includes:

1. VMN Snapshot
2. Annual Re-enrollment starts in one month
3. VMNs in costume – your photos needed
4. Continuing Education Opportunities

VMN Snapshot

To help communicate and celebrate all that our VMN volunteers are accomplishing, we share occasional summaries of VMN volunteer service. Here are some statistics for July 1-September 30, 2025. 

• Volunteers who reported service for July 1-September 30: 2,182 volunteers (approximately 61% of all currently enrolled volunteers)
• Total service hours reported: hours
• Service Hours by Type:
  • Education/outreach – 12,519 hours by 927 volunteers
  • Citizen science – 15,196 by 1,145 volunteers
  • Stewardship – 15,244 hours by 1,080 volunteers
  • Chapter leadership/administration – 8,041 hours by 885 volunteers

• #Treemendous20th – In the first three quarters of the year, 192 volunteers have reported 2,057 hours of service associated with our 20th anniversary theme of trees/forests. There’s still time for you to contribute to our goal! Just do any tree/forest related service and remember to include “#Treemendous20th” in the description field in Better Impact when you report your hours.
• Direct educational contacts reported: 129,147 contacts
• Continuing education hours reported: 5,409 hours by 1,378 volunteers

A Few Description and Impact Highlights:

• “Educated Refuge visitor regarding changing shoreline and visible birds and other wildlife as well as operation of the Refuge and accessibility”
• “Cleared trail to promote hiker safety and limit erosion.”
• “This put me one step closer to being a qualified water monitor… and on the path to becoming a trainer with water quality monitoring.”
• “There were a lot of acorns and black walnuts to sort through. People talked to me about what we were doing and said they were interested in bringing acorns from their yard. I hope the load I brought will result in many new saplings for Virginia.” (Editor’s note – This entry didn’t have #Treemendous20th, but it certainly could have! Don’t forget to add that for any tree-related service hours in 2025!)

Annual Re-enrollment starts December 1

Yes, VMNs, our annual Re-enrollment Period is approaching and will open in about a month. On December 1, the VMN State Office will send an email to every VMN giving them information and instructions on what they need to do to complete Re-enrollment.

Request for Halloween Costume Photos

Hello VMNs from Abi, the social media intern. As Halloween is quickly approaching, and we have very creative VMN members, I would love to showcase any natural resource costumes members have done! This can be from any year or event you have dressed up for, including tabling for VMN. If you would like to share an image of your costume, and are okay with it ending up on the VMN social media please email an image of your Halloween costume to me at abim22@vt.edu by the morning on this Friday the 31st. I look forward to seeing all of your fun costumes!

Continuing Education Opportunities

VIMS After Hours Lecture Series: A Night at the (Fish) Museum

Date: October 30, 6 – 8 pm

Location: In-person at Batten School & VIMS – Watermen’s Hall, McHugh Auditorium,1375 Greate Road, Gloucester Point, VA 23062 AND available as a live webinar

Description: Join us for a special Halloween-themed After Hours lecture where Dr. Eric Hilton and Dr. Sarah Huber, curator and collections manager of the Batten School & VIMS’ Nunnally Ichthyology (Fish) Collection will highlight particularly interesting specimens housed in our collection: from the unrecognizably odd larval forms of familiar fishes to the creepy, fascinating, glowing creatures of the deep sea! A special reception for lecture guests will begin at 6 PM in the Visitors Center, featuring festive treats and beverages along with preserved specimens from the collection on display. The lecture will begin at 7 PM in the McHugh Auditorium. Costumes are welcome and encouraged! This lecture’s content is designed for adults and families with children aged 12 and up.

Registration: Free. Registration is required for both in-person and webinar attendees. Webinar links will be sent in all registration confirmation emails. At this time, we are expecting a hybrid event, but registrants will be notified in advance if the event moves to a virtual only format.

For Full Details and Registration: https://events.wm.edu/event/view/vims/366920

Potomac River Webinar Series

The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin is celebrating 85 years of protecting and preserving the Potomac River watershed. Much has happened since ICPRB was authorized by Congress in 1940, so please join us for this webinar series highlighting the past, present, and future of our nation’s river. A recording of the webinar will be posted to ICPRB’s YouTube page after the event.

Dates and topics:

October 30, 11:00 am: Who owns the Potomac?

November 6, 11:00 am: Water Impacts from Data Centers

November 18, 11:00 am: Unsung Heroes of the Potomac River: American Eels

December 2, 11:00 am: Reconsidering Connectivity: A North Branch Potomac Case Study

December 9, 11:00 am: The Future of Water in the DC Metro Area

Please see the ICPRB website for registration and more information.

us if it will be recorded!