Virginia Master Naturalists are Citizen Scientists. Did you know that in 2010 they logged over 60,000+ Volunteer hours?
To become Certified Virginia Master Naturalists, volunteers complete 40 hours of basic training in natural history and natural resource management with a local chapter, 8 hours of advanced training that provides more specialized skills and knowledge, and 40 hours of volunteer service.
View the 2010 Virginia Master Naturalist Annual Reportonline here(PDF format) this is just 5 years into this program!
To see a few highlights from projects VMN are involved withclick here(PDF format)
Here are a few Virginia Master Naturalist 2010 stats:
- Number of Basic Training Courses Held 22
- Number of Volunteers Trained 412
- Number of Active Volunteers 1014
- Number of Currently Certified VMNs 600+
- Number of Advanced Training hours completed 11,905
- Number of Educational Contacts Made by VMNvolunteers62,246
- Number of presentations given by VMN volunteers 2537
- Number of acres positively impacted 2126
- Number of miles of trails built/maintained 1074
- Total number of volunteer hours 60,191
- Monetary Value of total volunteer hours $1,259,798
BRFAL Chapter en-training water testing in the Pigg River with the help of Carl B
Finding "sensitive bugs" means a healthy waterway
Many Virginia Master Naturalists volunteer with SOS (Save our Streams)
What about Virginia State Parks?
From the Virginia Master Naturalist Blog:
*Chapters listed 2000 hours of volunteer activities at 18Virginia Museum of Natural History.
If you would like to learn more about the Virginia Master Naturalist Program – Click here.
Upcoming Master Naturalist Trainings:
New Class Begins in August 2011 for the NRV (New River Valley) Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalist.
The Historic Southside Chapter is a newly formed chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program includes Isle of Wight, Surry, Sussex and Southampton counties, as well as the City of Franklin. Training for this chapter will begin in August and finish in October. (email-Terri Cuthriell,[email protected], phone-Janet Spencer, 757-365-6258)
We hope you will consider joining us as a Citizen Scientist and volunteer at your favorite BRFAL Chapter Blog here.