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Bill Horner, a resident at The Hermitage, a continuing-care retirement community in Richmond, wanted to identify the trees that he so enjoyed on the grounds of the facility where he lived. He enjoyed daily outings on the beautiful grounds, and he particularly admired the trees. Bill wanted to encourage the other residents to come outside and enjoy the trees on the wonderful Hermitage property.

His family contacted the Pocahontas Chapter and expressed Bill’s wish that the naturalists identify the trees. They also asked that the naturalists place plaques with the trees’ names beside each tree and create a book that could be used as a resource for the residents, caretakers, and visitors, so they could understand and appreciate the trees. Four members felt drawn to volunteer for the project. In mid-October, 2014, they installed the tree plaques and prepared a book and pamphlets that identified the trees and told something about them. Pictures that could be enjoyed by all were also included. The Hermitage’s director thanked and honored the volunteers who worked on this project in a dedication ceremony held in early November.  

Martha lifts binoculars to her eyes, scans the view from the window and focuses on a flash of blue that came to rest on a birdhouse atop a post in the garden.  She exclaims with visible joy, “It’s a bluebird!  I haven’t seen one in years!”  Even though she can no longer hike in a park or stroll through a garden, thanks to members of the Old Rag Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists, Martha and other residents of Dogwood Village Health and Rehabilitation and Senior Living, a long-term care facility in Orange, Virginia, enjoy the sights and sounds of nature from their rooms or on the facility’s grounds. In 2012, a dozen or so volunteers, encouraged by the chapter’s vice-president Julie Connelly, developed a program they call the Reconnect with Nature Project: Bringing Nature Home to Long-term Care, which includes various programs to bring nature to residents who otherwise had little access to the natural world. Besides the Bluebird Project, programs include a vegetable garden, a healing garden, an interactive display of nature trivia, both large- and small-group presentations that might include a display of photographic prints, a lecture with projected images, and/or hands-on resources.  And for those unable to join a group, volunteers make one-on-one visits to their rooms if requested to do so.

The activities directors and administration of Dogwood Village welcome the master naturalists’ participation, because all these activities encourage the residents to socialize, share memories, and benefit from the healing powers of nature.  The volunteers provide not only their time and expertise, but offer their attention, friendship, and kindness to the residents of the long-term care community, all the while connecting the residents with the natural world. 

So effective is the chapter’s Reconnect with Nature Project that in September, 2014, the Virginia Health Care Association (VHCA) honored the Old Rag Master Naturalists chapter with its Group Volunteer Award of the Year. The VHCA is an organization of nearly 300 licensed nursing and assisted living facilities in the commonwealth.  It advocates for long-term care communities and aims to enhance the quality of life for those living in nursing homes, rehabilitative, and assisted living facilities.  Each year the VHCA makes awards to volunteers for outstanding services. 

To explore ways to meet this need in her community, then vice-president Julie Connelly, M.D., invited interested members of the Old Rag Chapter (ORMN) to assess their skills and interests and explore ways they could use them to address the disconnection with the natural world experienced by long-term care residents.  Their brainstorming resulted in the Reconnect with Nature program, which aims to help residents find more joy in their lives by connecting with nature and igniting their curiosity and wonder, feelings that might have been forgotten or not acknowledged for a long time. The residents’ responses to these programs, as evidenced by their words, facial expressions, and gestures show how well this program works.  Expressions of joy, appreciation, and surprise, and often the resurfacing of memories allowed them to connect the past with the present. Textures and smells of pieces of the natural world sparked liveliness and remembrance.  Friendships among the residents and the volunteer naturalists developed.  Friendships also developed among residents, especially around the vegetable garden during the summer months. The residents express how much they look forward to the next activities, which inspires both the volunteers and staff to continue this work and demonstrates the importance of connecting the residents with the natural world. 

The Old Rag chapter’s Reconnect with Nature Project: Bringing Nature Home to Long-term Care demonstrates that Master Naturalists can play an important role in improving the quality of life for people who are confined to a long-term care facility.  Living in an institution need not translate into being disconnected from the natural world.  Other chapters might follow this example and develop similar projects of their own. 

The VDEQ is also leading two workshops for educators (including Master Naturalist volunteers) on developing effective Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) for youth.  Participants will have a chance to begin planning their own seasonal or yearlong action project. Participants will receive CBFs Guide to Creating a MWEE and U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Schoolyard Habitat Project Guide.  To register: 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WEI
You will receive a confirmation email and a follow up email several weeks before the workshop(s).  For more information, contact Page Hutchinson at 804-698-4488 or 
Page.Hutchinson@deq.virginia.gov 

Date: Thursday, January 15, 2015
Location: Herrity Building, Room 107, Fairfax
Fee: $12

OR

Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Location: VDOT District Office, Culpeper
Fee: $12