Register Now To Secure Your Choices! Registration for the 2019 VMN Statewide Conference is open! August 18 – Early Registration Closes August 19 – Regular Registration Opens September 1 – Registration Closes Changes to your registration (including any refund requests), must be done on or before September 6 A few quick notes: For now, use…
Photo from https://harrisonburg-international-festival.org/ HMN Outreach Needs You . . . To Put a Friendly Face on Our Biodiverse and Accessible Parks and Forests We have two wonderful opportunities for HMN outreach, especially if you are conversational in Spanish or Russian. Even if you aren’t, volunteers to represent Headwaters and share information about and your enthusiasm for…
Photo: VMN Recertification Pins, 2011-2019 Calling All Artists: Design Competition for VMN 2020 Recertification Pin The species for the pin will be an aquatic macroinvertebrate Who can enter: Any VMN volunteer (certified, member or trainee) What is the topic: submit artwork that could be the basis for the pin design: an aquatic macroinvertebrate Guidelines: 1. Species: You can choose…
Photo: Johns Hopkins University Press Book Announcement: Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of Virginia Congratulations, Paul E. Bugas, Jr.! In Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of Virginia, the foremost experts on Commonwealth fishes bring their decades of field experience to readers, offering a complete reference to the fishes of the entire state of Virginia. Gathering…
June Weekend Retreat Review Precipitated by the chance meeting of our Headwaters Chapter’s president and the then president of the Southwestern Piedmont Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists at a leadership workshop last fall, members of our Chapter recently enjoyed a full weekend of activities in a distant part of Virginia new to many of…
Virtual Hydro-Geologic Tour of Rockingham and Augusta Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Groundwater Characterization Geologist Joel Maynard lent his expertise and enthusiasm to Headwaters Master Naturalists and guests in a program at the DEQ’s local office on Wednesday, June 26. The presentation was attended by ten master naturalists and eight guests. Before zeroing in on…
Update August 2019: The contest has wrapped up and voting is completed. Find the winners HERE! Headwaters Chapter members are invited to submit photos you’ve taken anywhere in Virginia from anytime you were a Master Naturalist, that fit categories listed below. Submissions will be accepted through the end of June after which we will ask Chapter…
Want to learn about the water beneath us? Attend the “Virtual Hydro-Geologic Tour of Rockingham and Augusta” on Wednesday, June 26. Joel Maynard, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Groundwater Characterization Geologist for our region, will be describing the occurrence and movement of groundwater in our area. His presentation, which will include photos and fascinating…
Tyler Urgo is the Shenandoah Valley Region Steward for the Virginia Natural Heritage Program of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. He previously spent many years with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Tyler is learning about Headwaters Master Naturalists while he slides into our Chapter advisor position. Our founding advisor, Paul Bugas, has…
Virginia Museum of Natural History / Fairy Stone State Park Retreat June 21 to June 23, 2019 HMN Chapter President Chris Bowlen and Continuing Education Committee Chair Margaret Speicher have been making plans since early this year for a 1st Annual HMN Retreat to visit another part of the state. We will stay at a…
For seven years, the Headwaters Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists has organized wildflower walks on Shenandoah Mountain in the George Washington National Forest that cuts across the western side of Augusta and Rockingham Counties. What started as a cohort project, has grown into a tradition for some families and groups of friends. It offers a…
April 22, Earth Day, with warm sunny weather, was an appropriate time for three Headwaters Master Naturalists and guests Mike Smith of the local PATC Chapter and Roger and Cynthia Barouti of Allegheny Highlands Master Naturalists to explore rare plants at four area shale barrens and a couple other locations. Jay Shaner, a well- known…
