Screen shot from online Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards ceremony, 22 March 2021.
In March, the Shenandoah Chapter’s Sensory Explorers’ Trail project received one of the highest awards for environmental work in Virginia, the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award. The project, completed in partnership with Sky Meadows State Park and its Friends Group, was honored with a bronze medal in recognition of its significant contributions to conservation and the environment.
The Sensory Explorers’ Trail is a .3-mile loop located inside the chapter’s 76-acre Outdoor Laboratory area at Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane, VA. The project goal is to provide a way for people of all ages and abilities to engage their senses in the exploration of the natural world. More than 50 Shenandoah Chapter volunteers worked to conceive, research and design the trail, raise funds, develop its exhibits and audio tour, and complete the construction. The result is a trail designed for all, signage, print booklets, and an audio tour. Laure Wallace, Certified VMN, served as the main project leader. She worked on this project for more than 2 years and demonstrated the ideals of the VMN program for inclusivity, both in terms of finding a way for every volunteer who wanted to be involved to be able to contribute, and in terms of working with partners to really make the trail accessible to a diversity of potential users. You can find the audio tour online and read a lot of the interpretive material on the chapter’s website, but we encourage you to take the time to visit Sky Meadows and have the full experience.
Les Lawrence, Historic Rivers Chapter, who recently achieved 6,000 hours of service as a VMN volunteer.
–By Rick Brown, VMN-Historic Rivers Chapter
Recently the Virginia Master Naturalists created the Golden Circle for those who members who have achieved the remarkable goal of volunteering for 5,000 hours. Les Lawrence was one of our Chapter’s charter members. I sent him a note of congratulations and said, “Now on to 6K”. He wrote back and said he didn’t think he would ever get there and was thinking of cutting back a little. I didn’t believe him then because everywhere I go there was Les, and also at many other places that I didn’t attend. Well, last week he hit the new mark and becomes the third member of our Chapter to get there.
If you haven’t met Les, you probably don’t get out much. If you’re new to the Chapter he will walk up and introduce himself and immediately become your friend. I first met Les when I was in Basic Training, on my first field trip. We all met in a parking lot somewhere and he came over and introduced himself and invited me to ride with him. We have been friends ever since. But, then Les has hundreds of friends. Les is one of those people that others just feel good being around. When he’s in the woods, he knows his stuff; everything that flies, crawls, hops or grows he can tell you a story about. Les earned 6,000 hours not because he had a goal. It just happened because he enjoys being around other people. And when others are around, Les is naturally willing to share what he knows. I asked some of Les’s other friends in the Chapter who have known him longer to also offer their observations.
In the last few years, Les has had a couple of health challenges, but did that stop him…. NO!
Almost every week, he comes out to do wildlife mapping at York River State Park. Some days he walks the whole route, while other days he leaves a bit early. We enjoy his company so much, he is a big part of the team, and is a great resource for trees, birds, and butterflies. He’s often the first to offer an identification and sometimes the last to verify one.
Prior to COVID, you could always count on Les for a big hug. Now, its just warm wishes and a big smile from behind the mask. I can’t wait to get back to those needed hugs.
—Adrienne Frank
Les Lawrence never met a stranger and very seldom met a project he did not like. He is always one of the first to volunteer for cleanup and trash pickup projects and does not retreat from projects requiring dirty hands and boots. The choice for the recipient of the Chapter’s 2019 Nancy Norton Spirit Award was an easy one. Les Lawrence embodies the spirit of all that is good about the Historic Rivers Chapter.
–Shirley Devan
I was lucky enough to sit next to Les for Basic Training way back in Cohort IV. He made every class more fun with his humor and enthusiasm. Our chapter is great because of members like Les.
–Dean Shostak
6,000 hours! What great news! He’s such a jewel in our HRC crown!
–Judy Jones
My first contact with the Master Naturalist program was in the fall of 2010 at the HRC display at the Williamsburg Farmers Market. I was greeted by a very friendly, outgoing volunteer who enthusiastically explained the program and organization. It was Les Lawrence and he “had me at hello”.
As a member of Cohort VI in 2011, I was eager to start participating in V
olunteer Project activities as soon as we finished Risk Management. My first activity was at York River State Park collecting acorns under the guidance of Les Lawrence. A couple of days later I volunteered to build oyster reef balls at VIMS, and there was Les, who told me I would really love this project because I could swing a hammer as hard as I could (!). A few days later I helped at Wallerpalooza, an outreach event at Waller Mill Park, and there was Les teaching me about frogs and toads (“what’s the difference?”). Soon after I went to New Kent Forestry Center to measure trees, there was Les, then York River State Park Friday Follies, led by Les. You get the idea. Les is the quintessential Master Naturalist. He is involved, helpful, smart, well- informed, encouraging, funny, supportive, humble, and a great friend. It is an honor and a privilege to know and count as a friend and fellow Master Naturalist Les Lawrence. Congratulations on an outstanding achievement of 6000 volunteer hours, Les.
–Nancy Barnhart
Les will tell you he’s not planning on getting to 7,000 hours, but don’t believe him. It is not in his nature to stay home when others are out and about. Count on Les to show up with a smile and a story. His license plate kind of says it all “POPNAT”.
Congratulations Les! As Glinda, says to Elphaba in the musical “Wicked”; “Like a seed dropped by a sky bird in a distant wood; who’s to say if we’ve been changed for the better? But because I knew you, because we knew you, we have been changed for good.” Les, you really make being a Master Naturalist mean something. Thanks, now to 7K!
–Rick Brown
VMN-Banshee Reeks Chapter’s 2021 basic training course graduates. Photo contributed by Susan Sims.
Editor’s note: The Banshee Reeks Chapter (based in Loudoun County) was our only VMN chapter that held a fully in-person course during the last year. They only moved to virtual for two classroom sessions on very cold days when it wasn’t practical to keep the doors and windows in their training venue open. The volunteers leading the training, the instructors, and the trainees all deserve extra kudos for the work that it took to provide an excellent and safe learning experience under COVID protocols!
–By Susan Sims, VMN-Banshee Reeks Chapter
Banshee Reeks is excited to announce the graduation of the VMN class of 2021. After 8 months of hard work, dedication and commitment to being strong stewards of Virginia’s natural resources, 12 new graduates have joined the VMN family! Thank you to the Training committee for working diligently to ensure the safety of the students, instructors, and training assistants over the last year.
Welcome to the VMN Class of 2021!
Penny Barry
Kathy Cain
Mike Cain
Dave Groy
Gail Groy
Mary Hess
Laura Karwoski
Tom Larsen
Mark Long
Jessie Pickard
Cynthia Stowers
Jake van Schilfgaarde
Dean Shostak, VMN-Historic Rivers Chapter. Image contributed by Judy Jones.
–By Judy Jones, VMN-Historic Rivers Chapter
Dean Shostak, a member of Historic Rivers Chapter of VMN, has created a video for Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Watershed Wonders Wednesday educational YouTube series. The video focuses on the Atlantic Sturgeon of the James River—their life cycle, their history, and the need to preserve this species for the future. Working on the project for over two months, Dean gathered information, wrote the script, interviewed Atlantic Sturgeon specialist Dr. Matt Balazik of the VCU Rice Rivers Center, edited the material, and finally presented it to Virginia Cooperative Extension in its finished form.
Dean became involved in the project after Michelle Prysby sent an email out in 2020 asking for volunteers. The contact person for the project was Ruth Wallace, VCE 4-H agent in Buckingham County. Dean was especially grateful for the support he received from HRC’s co-advisor, Meagan Thomas of DWR. She connected Dean with Dr. Balazik for the interview. Several members of the community also helped provide images including Captain Mike Ostrander of Discover the James, and Barbara Houston of the Colonial Nature Photography Club. And, of course, there was help and support from various members of the Historic Rivers Chapter. But it was Dean’s skill with videos, his creative approach to the project, and the narration read by Historic Rivers Chapter president Rick Brown that combined for such an interesting and high caliber product.
Folks interested in viewing this amazing seven-minute video can see it at the following link:
Atlantic Sturgeon of the James River – YouTube
In addition, VMN volunteer Daina Henry in the Peninsula Chapter created another video in the series on monitoring water quality in the Lower James watershed, and VCE 4-H agents and other partners created many others. View the whole series online, and thank you to the VMN volunteers who stepped up to help with this educational effort!
Glenn Tobin inaction removing kudzu in Windy Run Park. Photo by Toni Genberg.
–Contributed by Kasha Helget, VMN-Arlington Regional Chapter. See the Arlington County website for additional details.
Glenn Tobin is the 2020 winner of the Bill Thomas Park Volunteer Award, which recognizes an individual or group whose efforts show ongoing dedication and tangible benefit to Arlington’s natural resources, parks and public open spaces.
Glenn is an Arlington Regional Master Naturalist (ARMN) since 2016 and Trail Maintainer with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) since 2015. Among his efforts were to remove invasive plants at Windy Run Park and the adjacent Potomac River waterfront in the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Because of his work alone and with volunteers, significant natural areas are recovering and becoming more beautiful and biodiverse. In 2020, Glenn raised money and worked with the PATC and the National Park Service (NPS) to rebuild the stone stairway that connects the Windy Run park trail to the Potomac Heritage Trail along the river, improving access for many people. Then, inspired by the reemergence of diverse native flora at Windy Run and along the Potomac, Glenn began working with experts in ecology, botany, and natural resources to create a detailed website, Natural Ecological Communities of Northern Virginia (https://www.novanaturalcommunity.com/). As a result of Glenn’s leadership, ARMN is adopting natural plant communities as a framework for park restoration, in collaboration with local jurisdictions. This work will have lasting impact on restoration planning throughout the County and on selection of plant species for the County’s native plant nursery.
Some of Glenn’s other work includes helping lead Weed Warrior Training with the NPS, assisting in leadership for Park Stewards, and mentoring others who share deep passion for helping restore natural areas in Arlington County and beyond.
Ida Swenson, Certified VMN Volunteer
Ida Swenson, Certified VMN volunteer in the Rivanna Chapter, was the runner-up for the Environmentalist Award in Best of the Blue Ridge. Best of the Blue Ridge is Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine’s annual reader’s choice awards, and the top three vote-getters were listed online and in the February magazine issue. Ida’s accomplishments include more than 5,000 hours of service as a VMN, particularly in the areas of youth environmental education and water quality monitoring. She helped start the Rivanna Chapter 15 years ago and has continued to be a leader in the chapter since that time. Learn more about the Rivanna Chapter in this recent C-ville Weekly article, written by a current VMN trainee.