VMN volunteer Nancy Barnhart (right) receives the National Park Service’s “George and Helen Hartzog Outstanding Volunteer Service Award” in June 2016. Photo courtesy of VMN-Historic Rivers Chapter.
On June 14, 2016, Nancy Barnhart, a member of the VMN-Historic Rivers Chapter, received “The George and Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service, Individual” from the National Park Service for 2015. “Nancy is an accomplished and outstanding ambassador for the Colonial National Historical Park and an amazing and gifted steward of its resources. Nancy has leveraged the Find Your Park spirit that invites people to see that a park can be more then a place. It can be a feeling of inspiration. It can be sense of community. A park can be so many things to many different communities and many different people and Nancy lives that every day!”
In addition to weekly volunteering at the Visitor Information Desk, some of Nancy’s many accomplishments at the Park include: developing a handbook entitled “Birds to Watch for at Jamestown Island” (133 pages of color photographs identifying nearly every bird that either migrates through or is a year-round resident of Jamestown Island); weekly monitoring and monthly reporting Wildlife Mapping data to assist the park in documenting the absence or presence of species; participating in the Marsh Bird Monitoring project and the Yorktown Battlefield Upland Bird project to document birds breeding and using the Park; and developing and providing a public lecture on the life history of the Eastern Bluebird and how to increase their population in Virginia.
VMN volunteer Alan Ford (VMN-Fairfax Chapter) is the 2016 Cox Conserves Hero for Virginia. From the Cox Conservation Heroes site: “Alan Ford is passionate about the environment and local habitats. He educates the public about native and invasive plants and the importance of watershed management. Ford has volunteered thousands of hours across multiple environmental organizations to protect and restore the environment. His nonprofit of choice is Potowmack Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society.
Cox Conserves Heroes is an awards program created by Cox Enterprises and The Trust for Public Land (TPL) that honors volunteers who create, preserve or enhance the shared outdoor places in our communities. The program takes place in multiple Cox locations across the nation. Nearly $500,000 has been donated to local nonprofits and more than 140 volunteers have been honored through the Cox Conserves Heroes program.”
Catherine Fleischman (VMN-Central Piedmont Chapter) was awarded both Teacher of the Year by the Cumberland County School District and Environmental Educator of the Year by the Peter Pransisco Soil and Water Conservation District. In both cases, Catherine’s VMN volunteer projects were an important part of the “community involvement” part of the nomination.
Don Kelso (right) receives an award from the Smith Mountain Lake Association. Photo courtesy of Rich Brager.
Dr. Don Kelso has been an active and respected member of the Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists since the chapter’s founding in 2008. Amongst many contributions, Don has been a leader in the Save Our Streams (SOS) project. Don was awarded the Melvin S. Johnston award at the annual SMLA Town Hall meeting by SMLA President, Mr. Pete Lewis. The following are Pete’s words about Don: “At SMLA’s Annual Town Hall Meeting, this year on March 29th, I had the distinct pleasure of presenting Don Kelso with our prestigious Melvin S. Johnston Award. He has been a tireless advocate of SML water quality for many years. He became involved with Save Our Streams in 2008 and since 2009 has been the main SOS trainer. His never-ending enthusiasm, high energy, and patience in addressing and teaching about water quality issues are echoed by those he works with. Don also developed the protocol that is now used to summarize yearly SOS data from the VA SOS database. This enables us to look at water quality trends in the streams we monitor. He is an active member of the SMLA Lake Council, providing thoughtful and valuable input on key watershed issues addressed by SMLA.”Don has been very active in the Blue Ridge, Foothills and Lakes Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists. He not only provides training to new budding Master Naturalists, he leads field trips as well as leading projects such as the Gills Creek mapping project in the Booker T. Washington National Monument. He inspires other Master Naturalists to excel. Dr. Don is a truly remarkable individual who gives of himself continually – he is very deserving of the Melvin Johnston award.
Claudia Lee, Beverly Ruegsegger, Andy Wilson, Scott Wilson and Lynn Wehner of the VMN-Historic Southside Chapter have built, mounted and monitored 7 fishing line recycling bins in Suffolk and Smithfield, resulting in over 15 ounces of fishing line being kept out of local waterways and sent in for recycling. Additionally, the project was shared at the Adopt-a-spot breakfast in Franklin, and that city is looking in to placing fishing line recycling bins at its fishing hot spots. This project was registered and received recognition in the Stewardship Virginia program this spring.
Judi Booker is recognized for her naturalist contributions to her community. Photo courtesy of Judi Booker.
Judi Booker (VMN-Fairfax) received the Community Service Award from her civic association, Holmes Run Acres. The award states “For bringing your insight and expertise, in your capacity as a naturalist, to our entire HRA community, including Luria Park and Woodburn Elementary School. You share your enthusiasm for native plants, for invasive plant abatement, for rain barrels, for watershed awareness, for spring peepers, for bullfrogs, and for the many migratory birds that pass through our neighborhood. This has made us open our eyes even more to the delightful nature we call home, and to the actions we can take to preserve and enhance it.”
Bobcat caught on film at York River State Park. Image by VMN-Historic Rivers Chapter. 
