CE Opportunity! “When Archives Take Flight: The Bridgewater College Birding Journal, 1918 and 1947- 1950” with Stephanie Gardner The program for the Rockingham Bird Club‘s December meeting will be presented by HMN Stephanie Gardner. The public is invited. While inventorying treasures of the library vault, Bridgewater College Special Collections Librarian Stephanie Gardner rediscovered a historic birding notebook.…
While not strictly a naturalist activity, I did get the chance to participate in an all-day, hands-on 18th-century cooking class at Sky Meadows State Park near Delaplane, Virginia, earlier this month. The teacher, Rebecca Suerdieck, is a second-generation historic re-enactor who literally grew up at Colonial Williamsburg! Not only does she know her open fire…
HMN-Led Presentation and Possible Future CE Opportunity for HMNs I led a small and informal stargazing session on Thursday, October 27, at Starry Meadows, a farm near Linville owned by Sharon and Jay Landis, participants in the most recent Headwaters class. They have been hosting numerous bird walks there, but had expressed an interest in…
by Elizabeth Pass, Cohort VIfor the November 2022 issue of Headwaters Highlights November is a time for thanks. As the weather gets colder, animals hibernate, and trees drop their leaves, we too begin to turn inward. We turn to home for physical warmth, to loved ones to give gratitude, and in the evenings now darkening earlier,…
Headwaters Chapter VMN – Update on JMU Tree Campus Inventory Project Over the last five months, eight Headwaters Chapter master naturalists (and one Charlottesville Area Tree Steward in training) have worked together with James Madison University staff to geolocate approximately 1,667 campus trees. This work has pushed the new total of campus trees to over…
HMNs Host Their Annual Tour of a Local Large Scale Composting Operation Under a recent late afternoon, cloud-streaked, vivid blue sky, some 15 folks from around the Valley gathered at the compost facility in Crimora, run by Black Bear Composting, to learn how microbes are managed to turn waste into a valuable product. Owner/ operator…
On the evening of Saturday, October 15th, a group of about 12 master naturalists and friendsmet in Harrisonburg to carpool up to Shenandoah Mountain in search of salamanders andpossibly other amphibians. Billy Flint, a James Madison University herpetologist who has devoted his life to studying salamanders and preserving their habitats, led us along the trail…
On September 17, a beautiful Saturday afternoon, seven Headwaters Chapter members plus one guest were led on a mushroom hunt by our own Peggy Plass at the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum at James Madison University. Fortunately, she did not cancel under threat of uncooperative weather, i.e., being too dry. First Peggy taught us three important…
Thanks to Ann Murray for sharing her conference experience with us here! My trip to Virginia Beach for our state conference only took about 3½ hours. I arrived in time Friday to hang on the beach, soak in some rays and watch the wind surfers. Hurricane Earl caused rough tides, so no swimming for me…
Thanks to Pam Gray for filling us in on the VMN annual meeting that most of us missed! Find a Part 2 report on the conference from Ann Murray HERE. The 2022 Virginia Master Naturalist Conference was a resounding success. The Tidewater Chapter worked hard to pull off another memorable and worthwhile conference in Virginia…
Virginia Master Naturalist Headwaters Chapter 