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Contributed by Marilyn Parks, VMN Fairfax Chapter, and Mary Jane Poulter, VMN Central Piedmont Chapter

​At the annual VMN conference this year a favorite activity was the chat room. The chat room was a sub-area of the conference where attendees could start discussions on topics of interest. Since the conference was virtual discussions could occur in real time or asynchronously. 

Mary Jane Poulter had already been thinking about writing an article for the Central Piedmont Chapter’s Newsletter about a naturalist’s toolkit – “What do you carry when you go out into the field?”  Marilyn Parks reached out to Mary Jane via the chat room and said she had been collecting information and was also thinking of writing a “What’s in Your Backpack” article for the Fairfax Chapter!  The two shared emails and decided going forward with an article should be less of a story and more of a list. 

Here is the list that was developed. The items that you decide to pack in your knapsack will vary with the focus of the activity, with the environment where the activity is occurring, with the time of the year, and with the planned length of the activity. Sometimes you may only need a light knapsack and other times you may want a backpack. Whatever the plan is for the activity, you should always plan for the unexpected!

So, what is in your knapsack? Did we forget anything? Feel free to send additions and comments to Mary Jane Poulter. 

Possibilities for Your Toolkit

Gear

• Appropriate clothing – long/short pants, long sleeved shirts, shoes that can get wet, hat, gloves, good walking shoes/water shoes
• Bug, tick spray
• Sunscreen and lip balm
• Tissues
• Zip lock bags to keep knapsack items dry and organized
• Plastic bags for picking up litter
• Large plastic or “dry bag” if needed for protecting backpack from wet ground or rain
• Water
• Food bars
• Identification
• Driver’s license
• Health insurance cards
• Emergency contact phone numbers
• Your VMN emergency contact card (consider tucking it into your cell phone cover)

Safety Equipment

• Smartphone, optionally with portable charger or extra battery.
• Map and compass and/or GPS if out of cell range
• Basic first aid kit (band-aids, antiseptic wipes, butterfly bandages, gauze and tape, antihistamine for allergic reactions, and an emergency blanket)
• Emergency reflective blanket
• Flashlight
• Few pieces of hard candy if needed for diabetic need
• VMN emergency card and incident report form

Observational Equipment

• Journal and pencils/pen
• Field Guide
• Hand lens
• Binoculars
• Dip net
• Small tape measure or ruler (to document size of tracks, leaves, and other; to provide perspective; and for later display and identification)
• Flashlight or headlamp
• Poker/ chop stick for poking into a crevice

Apps for identification

• Seek
• Leaf
• iNaturalist
• eBird
• Merlin
• Flora of Virginia

Apps for geography/navigation

• Apple Maps
• Google Maps
• Google Earth
• Hiking or map app for offline use

Contributed by Paul Super, Science Coordinator at the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

On June 20, 2014, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum instructing federal agencies to work to protect the health of pollinators on federal lands. It is difficult to protect what one does not know one has, so in 2015, the Blue Ridge Parkway, assisted by the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center (AHSLC), launched the first of a series of pollinator inventories to better understand the distribution and habitat use of pollinators along the length of the Parkway, recruiting community scientists to collect most of the samples.

Flies of the family Syrphidae (a.k.a. hover flies or flower flies) may be second only to native bees as important pollinators of native plants. There are over 6,300 described species in this family world-wide and about 288 species that possibly occur along the Blue Ridge Parkway. This family includes small to large flies, many of whom are excellent mimics of bumblebees, yellow jackets, honeybees, and wasps, though some look more like small house flies. In addition to adult flower flies pollinating flowers, some flower fly larvae help decompose logs or improve water quality in ponds and wetlands. Some larvae even feed on ant larvae, aphids, or fresh tree sap. The adult flies do not bite nor can they sting, but some of the mimic species not only look like a bee or wasp but mimic the flight patterns, behavior, and buzz of the bee or wasp they are modeling.

A project conducted by the lab of Dr. Jenni Geib of Appalachian State University in 2019 to inventory native bees produced many flower fly specimens as by-catch. At the same time, the Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America (Skevington et al., 2019) was published, making it possible for naturalists with some entomological training to identify this group to species for the first time. Thus in 2020, the Parkway and AHSLC launched a pilot study to inventory flower flies with the goal of developing a species list for the Parkway and to begin to understand the distribution and hot-spots for these flies. The pandemic put this effort on hold before field work really got started, but it was relaunched in 2021 (BLRI-2021-SCI-0011) and successfully completed in November, with the assistance of the lab of Dr. Geib.  Community science volunteers were recruited from the Virginia Master Naturalist Program and from a group of known volunteers who had worked on previous biodiversity inventory projects.

During 2021, five Virginia Master Naturalists made over 30 visits to sites along the Blue Ridge Parkway to assist with this flower fly inventory.  Together they identified 35 species, four of which were not identified by others working on this project.  All told, 1,000 specimens have been examined to date, and 66 taxa have been documented along the Parkway, with more expected as students at Appalachian State University finish sorting through specimens picked up by the 2019 native bee inventory project that Virginia Master Naturalists also assisted on.  A few of the taxa can clearly be designated as representing a “new species” for the Parkway.

The flower fly project may continue in 2022 and there may be sections of the Parkway where we will need help.  Contact Paul Super if you are a VMN located near the Blue Ridge Parkway and would like to volunteer for this effort.

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2021 awards for:

• VMN New Volunteer of the Year
• VMN Chapter Advisor of the Year
• VMN Chapter Leader of the Year
• VMN Most Impactful Project of the Year
• VMN Volunteer of the Year
• and a special Better Impact Hero award!  

We invite you to watch the video (about 15 minutes) to learn all about these outstanding volunteers, chapters, and projects!

You also can watch the video at  video.vt.edu.  

VMN New Volunteer of the Year
Even though she only graduated from VMN basic training in June 2021, Charlene Uhl has already completed 800 hours of service on projects ranging from butterfly counts to the DWR Adopt-a-Trail to developing a monthly newspaper column with natural history information.

VMN Chapter Advisor of the Year
Justin Barnes is the Deputy Regional Forester with the Virginia Department of Forestry’s Central Region and an engaged and active new advisor for the VMN Central Blue Ridge Chapter.  His chapter calls him “all-around helpful”!

VMN Chapter Leader of the Year
As President and Basic Training Chair of the Northern Neck Chapter, Camille Grabb helped her chapter greatly increase communications and cohesion, despite the pandemic.  ​Her chapter says, “Camille is dedicated, engaged, flexible, fearless, creative and fun. And loves nature!  Her welcoming smile lights up both the room and zoom!”  

VMN Most Impactful Project of the Year
The Rain Garden at Bellemeade Park, a project by volunteers in the Riverine Chapter of VMN in partnership with several other organizations, is an excellent example of what can be accomplished with the help of dedicated volunteers, local and state agencies, and ardent members of the community. 

VMN Volunteer of the Year Nominees
We recognize all the Volunteer of the Year nominees, because we think being nominated by one of your fellow volunteers is really special!

• Mac and Judy McCord of the New River Valley Chapter
• Susan Crockett of the Middle Peninsula Chapter
• Bruce Grimes of the New River Valley Chapter
• Carolyn Smith of the Old Rag Chapter
• Tom Ligon of the Merrimac Farm Chapter
• Ed Coleman of the Southwestern Piedmont Chapter
• Karen Cifranick of the Tidewater Chapter

Congratulations to all!

VMN Volunteer of the Year – a Twofer!
Judy and Mac McCord have been members of the New River Valley Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists since 2015, and their volunteer work is usually undertaken together.  Their work in natural resource education is focused primarily on Claytor Lake State Park, where they run the Discovery Center, organize other volunteers, present campfire talks, lead hikes, volunteer at festivals, and more.

Better Impact Hero Award
We recognized all the volunteers who helped get their chapters going on our new volunteer management system, Better Impact.  The Peninsula Chapter received a special award for having the highest percentage of their volunteers log on to the system by the end of 2021.  

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

• Chapter Leader of the Year
• Volunteer of the Year
• New VMN Volunteer
• Most Impactful Project
• Chapter Advisor of the Year
• Diversity & Inclusion Award.

These awards will be judged by the VMN statewide office team and one or more VMN sponsoring agency representatives.  We will announce the winners in late December or January.  To submit a nomination, please send the information requested for that particular award to Michelle Prysby.  Nominations are due by December 1 at 5:00 pm.  You can find this year’s award nomination information below.  You also can read about our 2020 winners on the web!

Chapter Leader of the Year
This award is intended to recognize a volunteer for extraordinary service as a leader in their chapter.  The person could be a board member, committee chair or committee member, or any other type of leader in the chapter, so long as their work involved chapter administration of some sort and demonstrated leadership.  

In your nominations, please include the following:

• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominator
• Name, email address, VMN chapter affiliation, and leadership role(s) for the nominee
• Description of why the volunteer should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  Please include a description of the volunteer’s contributions this year and why they stood out to you.
• Optional: One photo that illustrates the nominee and their service.  Please include photo credits and make sure we have the photographer’s permission to use the photo.

Volunteer of the Year
This award is intended to recognize a volunteer who has made outstanding contributions to natural resource education, citizen science, and/or stewardship.  Criteria we consider include the impacts the volunteer has made on natural resource conservation and education, ways the volunteer has impacted or influenced other volunteers, and impacts the volunteer has had on their community, all in the context of the volunteer’s VMN service.  There is no minimum requirement for amount of hours or length of service for a volunteer to receive this award.  Our focus is on the last one to two years of service.

In your nominations, please include the following:

• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of nominator
• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominee
• Description of why the nominee should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  You may choose to include a description of the individual’s service, specific examples of positive impacts made, aspects that make the individual stand out from other volunteers, and quotes from other volunteers or local partners.  Please place your primary focus on the last 1-2 years of the volunteer’s service.  
• Optional: One photo that illustrates the nominee and their service.  Please include photo credits and make sure we have the photographer’s permission to use the photo.

New VMN Volunteer
This award is intended to recognize a new volunteer who completed or will complete basic training in 2021 and has been highly engaged during and after the training.  The volunteer may have completed many volunteer hours, started a new project, helped on a chapter committee, or been engaged in other ways.  In your nominations, please include the following:

• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominator
• Name, email address, VMN chapter affiliation, and basic training graduation date of the new volunteer
• Description of why the volunteer should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  Please include a description the volunteer’s activities and contributions this year and why they stood out to you.
• Optional: One photo that illustrates the nominee and their service.  Please include photo credits and make sure we have the photographer’s permission to use the photo.

Chapter Advisor of the Year
This award is intended to recognize a chapter advisor who has made significant and noteworthy contributions to a VMN chapter within the last 1-2 years.  In your nominations, please include the following:

• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominator
• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the chapter advisor
• Description of why the chapter advisor should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  Please include specific examples of how the chapter advisor has helped the chapter run effectively, make positive impacts in the community, or otherwise achieve its goals.
• Optional: One photo that illustrates the chapter advisor and their service.  Please include photo credits and make sure we have the photographer’s permission to use the photo.

Most Impactful Project
This award is intended to recognize a project that has made significant and noteworthy positive impacts for natural resource education, citizen science, and/or stewardship this year.  Our focus is on projects for which the VMN chapter played a significant, unique role in creation, implementation, and leadership (rather than projects that were created and run by another organization.)  These awards go to the chapter, not to an individual, so the expectation is that multiple members of the chapter be involved in the project.  The project need not have started this year, but it should have had significant impacts this year.  

In your nominations, please include the following:

• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominator
• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation for any primary VMN volunteer contacts for the project
• Description of why the project should receive the award, limited to 400 words.  Please include a description of the project goals, activities completed, and impacts and outcomes for natural resources in your community and/or for your chapter.  Include the roles and contributions of VMN volunteers to the project.  Identify any significant partners for the project. 
• Optional: One photo that illustrates the project.  Please include photo credits and make sure we have the photographer’s permission to use the photo.

Diversity & Inclusion Award
This award is intended to recognize efforts to engage underrepresented audiences and efforts to increase diversity and inclusion throughout the VMN program and the educational programs volunteers provide in their communities.  It could be a particular service project that the chapter did that successfully engaged new audiences, work done by a chapter committee to create new partnerships, work done by chapter leaders to make all members feel more welcome and included in the program, or many other possible efforts.  This award will go to the chapter, not to an individual, though we can highlight particular individuals who played a significant role in our awards announcement.

In your nominations, please include the following:

• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation of the nominator
• Name, email address, and VMN chapter affiliation for any primary VMN volunteer contacts for the diversity and inclusion efforts being nominated
• Description of what the effort or activity was and how it successfully engaged underrepresented audiences or increased inclusion within the VMN program and/or educational programming by VMN volunteers.  Identify any significant partners involved in the work. 
• Optional:  One photo that illustrates the effort.  Please include photo credits and make sure we have the photographer’s permission to use the photo.

Please help us recognize the outstanding people and work of your chapters!