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Article by Kathy Fell, VMN-Southwestern Piedmont Chapter

If you look behind the Martinsville Branch of the Blue Ridge Regional Library, you will find a new habitat demonstration garden where there used to be a lawn.  Martinsville Branch Manager, Jim Woods, is looking forward to using the garden as a teaching tool to “make our patrons and guests aware of the wonder just outside the big bay window in the Family Fun Zone …and encourage inquiry about the plants and animals seen living in our backyard.”  This new “Secret Garden” is a collaboration between the local Library, the Southwestern Piedmont Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program and the Habitat Partners© Program of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF). 

The garden includes about two dozen species of colorful native plants such as milkweeds, bee balm, and asters.  Species were selected to provide continuous bloom from spring to fall and include all colors of the rainbow.  These types of plants attract and provide food for important pollinators such as butterflies, moths and bees.  The insects, in turn, will attract many birds that rely on this source of protein to feed their young.

The idea for the garden dates back to September 2012 at the Virginia Master Naturalist state conference.  The Library grounds were used as a possible habitat improvement site for a class taught by Carol Heiser, Education Manager and Habitat Education Coordinator at VDGIF.  A Chapter member, Jim Tobin, attended that class.  This year, he approached the library with a few others from the Chapter to see if we might implement some of the ideas. 

VDGIF provided training and technical assistance to the Master Naturalists in the early stages of the project.  The garden, designed by Chapter member Kathy Fell, replaces all the grass with a pollinator garden and discovery trail.  Storm water run-off and erosion were issues on the site.  The central and lower areas of the garden are graded to mimic the function of a rain garden.  A true rain garden is sized according to the volume of rain calculated to run off a site during a storm event and is constructed using a special soil mix that helps to quickly absorb the rainwater within a few days.  The space at the library was not large enough to accommodate a fully engineered rain garden.  Instead, the design includes smaller water retention areas at both the top and the lower part of the garden, to be planted with wet-loving native plant species.

By Ann Regn, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

At the State Fair of Virginia, September 25 – October 4, VMN sponsors and other state agencies are cooperating on a professionally-designed, multi-building exhibit called Living on the Water: Experience the Chesapeake Bay. Master Naturalists may sign up to guide State Fair visitors through displays about the ecology and resource management of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

Employees from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Forestry, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the Department of Historic Resources, the Marine Resources Commission, the Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and the Virginia Museum of Natural History will also be volunteering at many of the stations in the exhibit, but need VMN volunteers’ help to share even more expertise and enthusiasm with visitors. There will be numerous stations that may be of interest to Master Naturalists, including topics such as native plants, watershed management, oyster ecology, conservation education, historic resources, and the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.

If there is a specific topic on which you would like to educate others, or if there is a topic that you want to avoid, please leave a comment. Effort will be made to accommodate your interests. Prior to the Fair you will have an opportunity to view a webinar and will receive talking points and background information for your station; therefore, previous experience with each topic is not required. Each volunteer will receive a parking pass, an entry ticket and earn 7 hours of volunteer hours (4.5 hours for work at the fair and 2.5 hours for prep and reporting). Please consider signing up for a shift at the State Fair—the Bay will thank you!

To sign up for a volunteer slot, go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0449aea62ea3f85-state and sign up before September 8.

Central Region: Saturday, August 29 at Holiday Lake 4H Center, Appomattox, VA
The central region includes Alleghany Highlands, Rockbridge, Central Virginia, Central Blue Ridge, Central Piedmont, James River, Rivanna, and Headwaters chapters

Phase 1 – Early Registration (June 29 – July 5)
Open to Chapter Liaisons and Conference Volunteers 

Phase 2 – Restricted Registration (July 6 – July 26)
Registration open to chapter volunteers, with limited space per chapter

Phase 3 – Regional Registration (July 27 – August 9)
If space allows, registration will open to any VMN in the Central Region

Phase 4 – Statewide Registration (August 10 – August 16)
If space allows, registration will open to any VMN in the state 

Registration Closes for All on August 16

Southeast Region: Sunday, August 30 at Airfield 4H Center, Wakefield, VA
The southeast region includes Riverine, Pocahontas, Historic Rivers, Historic Southside, Peninsula, Tidewater, Eastern Shore, and Northern Neck chapters

Phase 1 – Early Registration (June 29 – July 5)
Open to Chapter Liaisons and Conference Volunteers 

Phase 2 – Restricted Registration (July 6 – July 26)
Registration open to chapter volunteers, with limited space per chapter

Phase 3 – Regional Registration (July 27 – August 9)
If space allows, registration will open to any VMN in the Southeast Region

Phase 4 – Statewide Registration (August 10 – August 16)
If space allows, registration will open to any VMN in the state 

Registration Closes for All on August 16

Southwest Region: Saturday, September 26 at Hungry Mother State Park, Marion, VA
The southwest region includes Holston Rivers, Beagle Ridge, New River Valley, Roanoke Valley, Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes, and Southwest Piedmont chapters

Phase 1 – Early Registration (July 27 – August 2)
Open to Chapter Liaisons and Conference Volunteers 

Phase 2 – Restricted Registration (August 3 – August 23)
Registration open to chapter volunteers, with limited space per chapter

Phase 3 – Regional Registration (August 24 – September 6)
If space allows, registration will open to any VMN in the Southwest Region

Phase 4 – Statewide Registration (September 7 – September 13)
If space allows, registration will open to any VMN in the state 

Registration Closes for All on September 13

Northern Region: Sunday, September 27 at Skyland Resort, Shenandoah National Park, Luray, VA
The northern region includes Old Rag, Shenandoah, Banshee Reeks, Fairfax, Arlington Regional, Merrimac Farm, and Central Rappahannock chapters

Phase 1 – Early Registration (July 27 – August 2)
Open to Chapter Liaisons and Conference Volunteers 

Phase 2 – Restricted Registration (August 3 – August 23)
Registration open to chapter volunteers, with limited space per chapter

Phase 3 – Regional Registration (August 24 – September 6)
If space allows, registration will open to any VMN in the Northern Region

Phase 4 – Statewide Registration (September 7 – September 13)
If space allows, registration will open to any VMN in the state 

Registration Closes for All on September 13

We are now recruiting Virginia Master Naturalist volunteers for roles within a new collaborative project among the VMN program, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Natural Heritage Program, and the Virginia Native Plant Society.  

Project Overview
Project RareQuest is a pilot project to involve trained Virginia Master Naturalist volunteers in monitoring occurrences of rare species of plants and animals, many of which have not been seen in many years.  It is a partnership with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Natural Heritage Program, and it is funded in part by the Virginia Native Plant Society. 

Project Purpose
VDCR has a database of more than 9,000 occurrences of rare species across the Commonwealth.  They are called EOs (element occurrences) and include plants as well as animals.  These EOs need to be monitored on a regular basis to check on their status.  With so many sites and occurrences, VDCR can really use the help of talented Virginia Master Naturalists to get the job done.  

How It Works
Participating volunteers will receive training, either in-person or online, on the project.  Next, they will be assigned particular EOs in their region to monitor.  Most sites are on private land, so part of the project involves contacting the landowners ahead of time to request permission to visit the sites.  Volunteers will only need to visit each site once, find the species (if it is present), and document a few basic characteristics of the site and population.  Data will be collected by VDCR using an online application.

Sign-Ups

• If, after reading through this entire project description, you are interested and qualified to serve in one or more of the volunteer roles, we ask that you complete the signup survey available at http://bit.ly/1JAw8Bx no later than Wednesday, June 24.  

• We will use this survey to get volunteers matched with one of the training options (see below), to group volunteers into teams so that all the volunteer roles are covered, and to assign volunteers to sites and occurrences to monitor.  
• If we have more volunteers than we are able to accommodate this year, we will make assignments based on interest in the various volunteer roles, geographic location, and skill levels.

Why Participate

• Participating volunteers will have the opportunity to visit sites not normally accessible and see rare species.
• They will be recognized in newsletter articles and scientific reports relating to the project.  

Training
We will have two training options for this project.  


Training Option 1: VMN Regional Conferences (cost = approximately $50, which includes the entire day of workshops and sessions as well as lunch)

• We will offer a 2.5 hour training for this project at each of the VMN regional conferences.  
• Chris Ludwig (VDCR) and Tom Smith (VDCR) will go over the volunteer roles, provide training in the data collection app, and lead a practice session with the volunteer protocols.  
• We have space for 25 volunteers in each session, and we highly encourage volunteers who are qualified for and interested in one or more of the volunteer roles below to attend.  
• If you complete the sign-up survey (see Sign-Ups, above) and are chosen to participate in this project, then we will contact you with additional information on how to register for the VMN Regional Conference in general and this session specifically.
• Information on the dates and locations for the regional conferences and on which chapters are contained in each region is at http://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/home/dates-and-venues-of-regional-conferences-announced.    

Training Option 2: Webinar (cost = free)

• We will offer a series of 2 or 3 webinars that cover similar material as the in-person training, minus the hands-on practice.  These will take place during Fall 2015, and they will be recorded so that volunteers may participate live or watch them later.

Volunteer Roles
Please note that a single person could serve in multiple volunteer roles.  This list covers all the five functions that must be completed for the project to be successful.

Plant Identifier
Duties

• Using the maps and information provided by VDCR and following provided protocols, visit known species occurrence locations, look for the target species and populations, and document presence/absence and health of the population.  

Skills Needed

• Basic pl
  ant identification skills.  As a test of basic botanical skills, the Plant Identifiers should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What are the two most common types of Lady’s Slippers found in Virginia, and what are two ways you can tell the two species apart?
2. Name five Virginia maple species including the one with divided leaves.
3. Name a plant of the Virginia mountains and one from the Coastal Plain.

• Ability to read a map and use it to navigate to a specific location.

Bird Identifier
Duties

• Using the maps and information provided by VDCR and following provided protocols, visit known species occurrence locations, look for the target species and populations, and document presence/absence and health of the population. 

Skills Needed

• Bird Identifiers do not need to be expert birders, but they should have basic skills.  As a test of basic birding skills, the Bird Identifiers should be able to answer the following questions:  

1. What are the differences between the Northern Loggerhead Shrike and the Northern Mockingbird?
2. Where would you look for a breeding Morning Warbler in Virginia?
3. Name 6 woodpeckers of Virginia.

• Ability to read a map and use it to navigate to a specific location

Butterfly Identifier
Duties

• Using the maps and information provided by VDCR and following provided protocols, visit known species occurrence locations, look for the target species and populations, and document presence/absence and health of the population. 

Skills Needed

• Butterfly Identifiers do not need to be experts, but they should have basic skills.  As a test of basic butterfly identification skills, the Butterfly Identifiers should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How do you distinguish the Black, Pipevine, and the black form of the Eastern Tiger swallowtail from each other?
2. Name one of Virginia’s adult-overwintering butterflies.
3. How can you tell a butterfly from a moth?

Data Wrangler
Duties

• Using the software provided by VDCR and following provided protocols, upload data on occurrences.  Ideally, this is done in the field using a smart phone or tablet with cellular service, but it can be done after the field visit using a computer.  

Skills Needed

• Data Wrangler volunteers should be comfortable with computers and mobile applications, and they should feel confident about learning new software and apps.

Landowner Liaison
Duties

• Using the landowner information provided by VDCR and following provided protocols, contact the landowner to request permission for the volunteer team to visit the site.  Follow up with the landowner to let him/her know the status of the occurrences.  

Skills Needed

• Landowner Liaisons should be good communicators, confident about making phone calls to people they haven’t met, and good at making people around them feel comfortable.