Four Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes (Virginia Master Naturalist Statewide Conference near Charlottesville Sept 23-25.
Participants were Shellie Leete of Rocky Mount, Meg and Rich Brager of Hardy, and Charlotte Hubbard of Boones Mill. (*Rich Brager is not pictured as he took the photo)
River Exploration on "Thomas Jefferson's River" the Rivanna River
Habit Snatchers550.jpg)
Invasive species are a serious threat in Virginia
They achieved advance training hours required to be a fully certified Virginia Master Naturalists (40 volunteer hours plus 8 hours advanced training in addition to the 40 hour basic training). Virginia Master Naturalist are volunteer educators, citizen scientists, and stewards helping Virginia conserve and manage natural resources.
The advanced training included River Exploration, Site Evaluation for Habitat Improvement, Botany and more!
There were 27 VMN Chapters present. The "BRFAL Babies" (had all recently completed the 2011 basic training) shared their chapter with others at the conference via a table-top display of projects with photos and information.
Thank you to the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) for being one of the sponsors of this amazing program. Thank you to all the planners of the Rivanna Chapter and participants for making this a memorable conference and to Michelle Prysby our statewide VMN coordinator for all her hard work.
The next our blog here for more details on this amazing program.
VMN Chapters here.