August 2021

By Michelle Prysby, VMN Program Director

One of our major projects this year in the VMN state program office has been to look at diversity and inclusion in the VMN program and to identify action items that will help us increase both.  With this update, our team wants to give our VMN community a sense for what we have done so far and our plans for this fall.  

The work has been supported by a grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment and by the many individuals who donated to the Virginia Tech Foundation in support of the VMN program.

Our Diversity and Inclusion Team

In late 2020, we put out a call for VMN volunteers to fill three roles: Diversity and Inclusion Working Group members, Diversity and Inclusion Feedback Team members, and Diversity and Inclusion Chapter Champions.  We received applications from more than 100 people for these roles from 27 different VMN chapters, which reinforced for us that this effort is something that is of interest to many of our volunteers.

The Working Group is comprised of 16 individuals from 13 chapters and two sponsoring agencies.  Together, the group brings a diversity of perspectives from different lived experiences as well as demographic diversity, with a variety of races, ethnicities, genders, abilities, sexual orientations, and ages.  We have been meeting together since February to outline our goals and objectives, discuss what diversity means to the VMN program, and outline a list of suggested action items.  I am personally very grateful for the time, energy, and thought that these volunteers have contributed.  Although what we defined as the official Working Group member role is wrapping up soon, most of the group members have indicated that they would like to stay involved over the longer term to help implement some of the actions.

Members of the Working Group:

• Alexis Dickerson, Arlington Regional Chapter
• Christen Miller, Pocahontas Chapter and Department of Conservation and Recreation
• Ivan Hiett, Southwestern Piedmont Chapter
• Jennifer Ramos Hoover, Riverine Chapter
• Josefina Doumbia, Fairfax Chapter
• Kevin Divins, Pocahontas Chapter
• Krista Weatherford, Pocahontas Chapter
• Laure Wallace, Shenandoah Chapter
• Lauren Brennan, Peninsula Chapter
• Lili Tabada, Central Rappahannock Chapter
• Linda Eanes, Central Piedmont Chapter and Virginia Cooperative Extension
• Peter Mecca, Fairfax Chapter
• Randi Dandrea, Historic Southside Chapter
• Sarah Bingham, Rivanna Chapter
• Shea Megale, Merrimac Farm Chapter
• Susan Sims, Banshee Reeks Chapter

I am also grateful to the Feedback Team, a larger group of volunteers who have provided feedback on the goals and action items.  These individuals were honest and insightful in their feedback.  The Working Group read through all the written comments we received and have been working on incorporating it into the action items as much as possible.  We are also working on getting some additional feedback from key members of our sponsoring agencies.

We have not yet ‘activated’ the Chapter Champions, as our focus so far has been on developing the action items.  This fall, we will be looking at who has volunteered for that role, recruiting additional volunteers if needed, and talking with all of them about how they can help carry the actions forward in their chapter.

Although we had these three designated roles outlined this year, I think there is a role for every VMN volunteer in this effort.  VMN volunteers make more than 100,000 contacts each year through the educational programs they provide in their communities.  Sharing knowledge and enthusiasm for nature and inspiring people to care about natural resource conservation is a critical and core part of what our volunteers do, and our efforts will be most effective when they are inclusive and welcoming to diverse audiences.  In this way, all of our volunteers are part of the team.

What’s Ahead?
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We are planning a Diversity and Inclusion in Natural Resources webinar series for this fall (dates to be determined.)  Some of these will have external presenters providing perspectives on different approaches for engaging with diverse audiences in natural resource programs.  As one webinar in this series, members of the Working Group will present why diversity and inclusion are important and worthy of attention in the VMN program, describe the action items we have developed (which will be posted to the VMN website by that time), and lead a discussion on how we can implement them together over time.  These action items are not mandatory nor prescriptive, but rather a vetted list of possibilities.  Some are state-level actions and some are chapter-level, but our chapters differ in terms of their capacities and in terms of the populations of their communities, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach.  We also anticipate that over time, volunteers may share additional actions that have been effective for them, and we can continue to add these to the list.  

Watch for announcements of these events via email!

Future work will include identifying benchmarks to measure our success in achieving our objectives, seeking resources where needed to help implement actions, and continuing to communicate with and support our volunteers and chapters as they work locally to increase diversity and inclusion in their programming.  

Looking at the map of Virginia Master Naturalist chapter locations and the list of counties where they are active, one can see a gaping hole over much of Southside Virginia.  The area to the east of the Southwestern Piedmont Chapter and to the south of the Central Piedmont Chapter has not had any VMN activity.  And yet, this area is home to many state lands, natural resources, and outdoor recreation areas such as Occoneechee State Park, Staunton River State Park, Difficult Creek Natural Area Preserve, Dick Cross Wildlife Management Area, several Scenic Rivers, the John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir, and the Tobacco Heritage Trail.  It’s also home to the newly designated Southside Virginia Conservation and Recreation Complex, an area that will be the largest land holding of VDCR, at more than 10,000 acres.  

We are thrilled to be launching a new Virginia Master Naturalist Chapter, the Southern Piedmont Chapter, in this previously underserved area of the state.  Five volunteers have stepped up to become the Chapter Coordinating Committee, and they are advised by Taylor Clarke, Extension agent in Mecklenburg County.  One of the volunteers brings with her some years of experience as a VMN volunteer in the Merrimac Farm Chapter in Prince William County, and the others are brand new to our program.  We recently held a New Chapter Coordinators Training for the group in South Hill, VA, and current VMN volunteers in several other chapters have generously agreed to serve as mentors as they build this new chapter.

The team has been building community interest in natural resources and in the VMN program through the Southside Online Naturalist Group (SONG), a public group that has engaged people in learning about nature over social media and through nature walks and educational programs in the area.  Over the coming months, they will be planning their first VMN basic training course, recruiting their first cohort of trainees, learning to use our Better Impact volunteer management system, and doing other chapter organizational activities.  

If you are a prospective VMN volunteer in Southside, a seasoned volunteer from another chapter who can provide advice and assistance, or a representative of a potential partner for this new chapter, we invite you to reach out to them at southside.naturalists@gmail.com.  We look for great things to come from the Southern Piedmont Chapter, and we thank Taylor Clarke and all the volunteers of the Coordinating Committee (Scott Wright, Earl Wright, Victoria Sondecker, Becky Giovannetti, and Terri Mewborn) for their dedicated work towards creating it.

By Marilyn Parks, VMN-Fairfax Chapter

Some people give because it feels good.  Others give to make an impact.  The Fairfax Chapter benefitted from both with our recent $5,000 donation to support the Virginia Master Naturalist program.
 
The VMN program is one of several programs operated under the direction of Virginia Tech’s Virginia Cooperative Extension.  VCE provides resources and educational outreach to Virginia’s more than seven million residents!  Our chapters look to VMN for policies and procedures, organizational structure, adherence to VCE and Virginia Tech guidelines and administrative support and guidance. This year VMN chapters received the Better Impact volunteer management system, at no cost to us, but at a significant cost to VCE.  We saw our VMN state team taxed with reduced staff and increased responsibilities with the transition to Better Impact.  One full time director, one part-time project assistant and one part-time volunteer coordinator.  That’s it – to support 30 chapters and more than 3,000 VMN volunteers.  Programs similar to ours in other states charge for the services which we, in Virginia, receive without cost.  But, someone must pay for the things we need.

It turns out donations are critical to the VMN baseline budget.  Donations were used this year to pay staff.  Donations are vital for VMN to pursue new initiatives.  Many grant opportunities require matching funds, and VMN cannot use any of the normal program funds (from sponsoring agencies) for that match.
 
The Fairfax Chapter saw an opportunity to take the lead and make a donation.  Why?  Because it made sense!  We’re getting services and tools for free.  Ours is one of the largest chapters with about 250 dues paying members.  We host 40 trainees at a cost of $200/person semi-annually.  We are fortunate to have money in the bank, but as a non profit are cognizant of the need to spend it wisely.  What better way to pay it forward than making a donation to our parent organization?  We were easily inspired to do so and have been greatly rewarded in seeing a direct impact from what we’ve done.

When you take a leadership role, you have the ability to inspire others.  We hope the leadership role Fairfax Chapter has taken inspires your chapter to look into the possibility of making a donation to VMN.  We, the Fairfax Chapter, challenge your chapter to make a donation.  

Thank you VMN, VCE and Virginia Tech for all you do for us.

–Written By Katie Register (Clean Virginia Waterways) with additions from Virginia Witmer (Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program) and submitted by Ann Regn (Virginia Department of Environmental Quality)

Trash, from littering, mis-managed trash cans, or uncovered trucks, travels through watersheds via stormwater and ends up in our rivers, bays and ocean. About 60% to 80% comes from our activities on land. A study by the Virginia Aquarium and Clean Virginia Waterways (CVW), funded by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Program at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), found that 83% of trash on Virginia’s beaches was made of plastic, and most of it was single-use items (bottles, cups, straws, food wrappers). 

Volunteers who collected data during the 2020 International Coastal Cleanup reported that the Top Ten list is dominated by food and beverage-related single-use items – most made of plastic:

1.    Cigarette Butts
2.    Food Wrappers
3.    Beverage Bottles (Plastic)
4.    Beverage Cans
5.    Grocery Bags (Plastic)
6.    Food Containers (Foam + Plastic)
7.    Bottle Caps (Plastic)
8.    Beverage Bottles (Glass)
9.    Cups, Plates (Foam + Plastic)
10.    Straws, Stirrers

“We are increasingly using a permanent material – plastic – for temporary uses,” explains Katie Register, executive director of Clean Virginia Waterways at Longwood University. “Cleaning up is part of the solution, but we need to “turn off the faucet” of plastic single-use waste in our lives,” stresses Register. 

Virginia has made some progress—recent laws will phase out polystyrene food containers (often called “Styrofoam”) over the next 4 years, and it is now illegal to release any helium-filled balloons into the air. Local governments now have authority to place five-cent fees on single-use plastic bags. Funds raised from this fee will help local communities prevent and clean up litter.

The Virginia Marine Debris Reduction Plan, being updated by the CVW and the Virginia CZM Program this year, will provide a roadmap and involve many partners, to reduce single-use litter and other marine debris. CVW, along with the Eco Maniac Company and the Virginia CZM also co-founded the Virginia Plastic Pollution Prevention Network (VPPPN) in 2020 to increase collaboration across Virginia. The VPPPN links groups across the Commonwealth. Learn more and join the network.

“We need to work together to stem the tide of marine debris. Laws and policies also are only part of the solution. Our daily choices and decisions matter tremendously. Choose reusable bags, coffee mugs and water bottles,” urges Register. “And pick up litter—whether on your own or as part of a community effort. It all adds up.” 

For more a schedule of clean-ups, visit: http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/cleanupevents2021.html.