VMN-New River Valley volunteer dons wings to educate community members about pollinators and their habitat at the 2018 Hokie BugFest. Photo contributed by Judy Kirwan, VMN-New River Valley Chapter.
We are busy in the VMN state office reading through the annual reports from our chapters. Chapter leaders work hard on these reports to compile the membership and volunteering statistics for their chapters and to describe some of their most impactful projects from the year. It’s exciting for us to hear about their accomplishments, and it is clear that Virginia Master Naturalist volunteers are continuing to make important impacts in their communities and to benefit Virginia’s waters, woods, and wildlife.
In 2018, 1,994 volunteers reported more than 190,000 hours of service, over 28,000 hours of continuing education, and nearly 145,000 face-to-face exchanges of educational information about natural resources. The volunteers reported stewardship work at 446 sites across Virginia, including local, state, and national parks, local and state natural areas, trails, schoolyards, and more. Their service in 2018 is valued at more than $5 million, based on the value of a volunteer hour in Virginia as calculated by IndependentSector.org.
|
Value
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
|
New Basic Training Graduates
|
382
|
415
|
411
|
|
VMN Members
|
2,879
|
3,039
|
3,429
|
|
Active Volunteers (Reported service that year)
|
1,743
|
1,845
|
1,994
|
|
Certified Virginia Master Naturalists
|
1,206
|
1,256
|
1,397
|
|
Continuing Education Hours
|
24,190
|
27,851
|
28,032
|
|
Service Hours: Education
|
35,432
|
38,843
|
43,308
|
|
Service Hours: Citizen Science
|
43,517
|
52,420
|
64,811
|
|
Service Hours: Stewardship
|
29,852
|
36,516
|
43,939
|
|
Service Hours: Chapter Administration
|
25,303
|
28,214
|
38,245
|
|
Total Service Hours
|
145,996
|
155,992
|
190,304
|
|
Monetary Value of Service
|
$3.94 million
|
$4.21 million
|
$5.09 million
|
|
Sites Improved
|
323
|
364
|
446
|
Great quantifications for the value of volunteers!