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VDGIF has launched a new fishing challenge this spring called the Virginia Trout Slam Challenge. It is a challenge for anglers to catch all three species of trout (Brook, Brown, and Rainbow) in the same day. The goal is to get anglers out to some of the lesser known trout waters and add a little adventure to their fishing experience.  Check out the web page for more information.
–From Jason Hallacher, Region 4 Assistant Fisheries Biologist, VDGIF and VMN Chapter Advisor for the Headwaters Chapter.

Welcome, Meagan, on behalf of the 2,000+ wildlife watchers in the VMN program!

–From Ann Regn, DEQ Communications Manager, and Virginia Witmer, Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program Outreach Coordinator

Page Hutchinson, chapter advisor for the VMN-Rivanna Chapter, was awarded the Outstanding Educator award by the Virginia Association for Environmental Education. She was recognized for her long history of EE work and her many accomplishments over the years as she coordinated Project Wet and Project Learning Tree, several watershed education institutes and professional development academies, three VAEE state conferences, and more.  Page is currently the State Coordinator for Project Learning Tree with the Virginia Department of Forestry.

​The VCU Rice Rivers Center, Virginia Commonwealth University’s environmental research field station on the James River, needed help. The goal? To transform the weedy, overgrown, neglected garden and landscape areas surrounding the education center into native plant havens for pollinators and other wildlife.  The Rice Center’s former Director, newly recruited to teach the Riverine training course on birds, reached out for help.  They would fund all of the costs for the plantings if the Riverines could commit to devising and implementing the plan. Since The Rice Center has been a great ally to the Master Naturalists, hosting work on oyster shell recycling as well as field trips for trainees, it was a great match.

Nearly 6 months after the idea was first floated, the project received approval.  A 2018 Riverine training class graduate, who owns Garden Gate Nursery native plants, worked closely with the project leader to develop the plans. All plant materials selected were native to Charles City County, where the Rice Center sits, with the exception of a few long-blooming non-invasive annual flowering plants of particular benefit to pollinators (e.g. Zinnia, Cosmos) Plants were selected based on wildlife value, season of bloom and ability to thrive with little coddling. 

And then, the coronavirus. Group work sessions were pared down to a handful, or fewer, volunteers, all committed both to the project and to the need for social distancing. The dedicated band of Riverines cleared brush, trimmed overgrown shrubs, dug endless holes in unfriendly soil, planted, seeded and watered. Mason Bee boxes, built by some of the chapter members, were added as well.

The next phase, just launched, will be documenting bloom times, noting any use by pollinators, and keeping the plantings alive (which has been made more difficult by a voracious local groundhog). Adjustments will be made along the way, but the foundation is set for this to be a showcase, both for The Rice Center and for the Riverine Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists. 

Check out the slide show below to see the volunteers in action!
–Text and photos submitted by Sandee Bailey, VMN-Riverine Chapter

VMN volunteer Glen Mitchell in the Roanoke Valley Chapter does occasional photo blogging for Virginia State Parks.  His latest submission has some delightful photos of river otters he and his wife encountered during a recent paddling trip at Fairy Stone State Park.
–Submitted by George Devlin, Chapter Advisor, VMN-Roanoke Valley Chapter and VDEQ

. . . 
During the 13 years that Nora has served actively on the Urban Forestry Commission, which included several years as its Chair, she has also been a long-standing member, leader and former Chair of the Tree Stewards of Arlington/Alexandria which has inspired and taught many Arlington residents about the need and proper care of trees. Along with fellow [Arlington Regional] Master Naturalist (ARMN) Caroline Haynes, Nora participated in developing the “Choking Hazard” campaign that reached out to Arlingtonians about the destructive effects of English ivy on trees.
In 200, Nora was in the first graduating class of ARMN. She served as the Urban Forestry Commission representative on the 4 Mile Run Valley planning process.
She has served as a member and past Chair of the Northern Virginia Urban Forest Roundtable.
Nora . . . [worked] across disciplines, and with a wide range of residents to improve the urban tree canopy of Arlington County.
. . . 
Her strong commitment to education, outreach and volunteerism is contagious, as she leads by example and motivates others to learn more, to get involved, and to “spread the word” on the benefits that trees provide. . . .

​
–Submitted by Kasha Helget, VMN-Arlington Regional Chapter

In order to make sure the information that is being shared is current, VCE requires that publications be updated every five years or else they will be removed from the publications website.  In 2019, the twelve publications from the Sustaining America’s Aquatic Biodiversity series were on that sunset list.  Unfortunately, the original authors of most of the publications were no longer with Virginia Tech.  Feeling that these publications had value for both new Virginia Master Naturalist trainees learning about aquatic ecology and for members of the public interested in aquatic creatures, I reached out to see if any Virginia Master Naturalist volunteers might like to help.

It turned out that there were many volunteers looking for at-home projects (and this was before COVID-19!) and many who had skills and knowledge related to aquatic species or writing and editing.  We assembled 47 volunteers into twelve teams, sent each team a publication, and let them go to work.  Every team did a fabulous job, returning the edited versions back on time.  The edits were definitely needed; many of the publications had links that no longer worked and statistics about species diversity that were no longer accurate.  

I was incredibly impressed by the work of the volunteers.  They essentially rescued these publications so that more people can learn from them in the future.  They also demonstrated that this method is a viable one for completing a task of this type.  I have recommended to my other natural resource colleagues at VCE to consider engaging VMNs if they need help with future publication revisions.  In addition, working with the volunteers on this publication project gave me the confidence to engage a larger group of VMN volunteers in a new project to edit all the captions from our collection of 75+ continuing education webinar videos.  Thank you to all of the volunteers who contributed!

You can find the Sustaining America’s Aquatic Biodiversity publications on the VCE publications site.  You can also find links to the publications on our VMN aquatic ecology curriculum page and at the end of this article.

What is aquatic biodiversity; Why is it important?
Why is aquatic biodiversity declining?
Homes for Aquatic Animals
Freshwater Mussel Biodiversity and Conservation
Crayfish Biodiversity and Conservation
Freshwater Fish Biodiversity and Conservation
Selected Freshwater Fish Families
Frog Biodiversity and Conservation
Salamander Biodiversity and Conservation
Turtle Biodiversity and Conservation
​Freshwater Snail Biodiversity and Conservation
Aquatic Insect Biodiversity and Conservation

Even in the current COVID-19 crisis, VMN volunteers are seeking ways to remain connected to nature and to keep learning more.  Plus, many of them may have children or grandchildren for whom they are facilitating learning opportunities while schools are closed.  At the same time, our sponsoring agencies want to continue connecting to constituents and to provide research-based information about Virginia’s natural resources.

With those needs in mind, we have collected below at-home nature learning resources from each of our sponsoring agencies.  These include videos, webinars, curriculum for youth, and more.

VMN volunteers, please note that some of the content may be appropriate for Continuing Education hours and some may not be.  Please consult your chapter leaders for guidance if you are wondering about a particular webinar.

Sponsoring agency representatives, if you have additional resources from your agency that you would like us to share here, please contact the VMN program office.

• Providing educational resources related to COVID-19 to the public.  Although it is not nature-focused, it is a good compilation for consumers, food-growers, parents, etc., and it does include at-home STEM learning activities for youth from 4-H.
• Sharing content on Facebook and Twitter
• Virginia Master Naturalist program’s Continuing Education Webinar Series

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation

• Providing interpretive and educational programming from Virginia State Parks through their social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

• Sharing environmental education curricula and standards-based activities on their Education Page
• Sharing environmental information on social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn

Virginia Department of Forestry

• Conservation Education resources, including nature activities for youth at home
• Sharing content on Facebook and Twitter

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

• Resources for Teachers with lessons and activities for youth to do at home
• Sharing content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube
• View nature in action on the DGIF Falcon Cam or Shad Cam.  

Virginia Institute of Marine Science – Center for Coastal Resources Management

• Multimedia Resource Center with marine education materials, OspreyCam, recorded lectures and short talks, and livestream events
• Sharing content on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as VIMS, and also on Facebook as CCRM

​Virginia Museum of Natural History

• Educational Resource Page with links and science activities for families
• Daily nature posts and occasional videos on Facebook