Jerry’s Report

Reports are that the Groundhog has seen his shadow … But the weather does not seem to stop our Chapter at all.

The year is getting exciting!

We have made it through January and things are really getting exciting and busy. February is sometimes called the longest month of the year. Reports are that the Groundhog has seen his shadow and we should expect six more weeks of winter. But the weather does not seem to stop our Chapter at all.

Focus Project 2015, Monarchs and More, was really busy in January. Some groups met at their project site and performed maintenance like marking beds and putting down mulch to be ready for the spring plantings. Others completed their landscape designs and list of desired plants to be presented at Sandy Greene’s Rally.

January 29 our Focus Project Chairperson, Sandy Greene, had the Monarchs and More Rally at the Augusta Stone Presbyterian Church [this church just celebrated its 275 year anniversary; the oldest Presbyterian Church in continuous use in Va.]. Each Project Team presented its plan to everyone in attendance and then broke into groups to meet with the Plant Support Team of Chris Bowlen and Kate Guenther and then with Gail Napora to select their sign for their particular pollinator site [it’s a fancy term for garden]. Needless to say there was a fabulous array of desserts from which to choose. There will be more about this meeting from Sandy in this newsletter. Thanks to everyone for their hard work so far; Sandy for her leadership in getting the project moving, Gail for all her design work on signs and continued support for Monarchs, Chris and Kate for their plant guidance, and the site chairpersons and their volunteers on getting their sites ready for planting.

There is a noteworthy guidance to the recording of your volunteer hours from RoxAnna as a supplement to her Snapshot Look at our 2014 Annual Report for the February Newsletter. Please take a moment to review this article as it may help you as you record your hours on our Volunteer Management System. You can click here to access that information: Some Lessons Learned From the 2014 Annual Report Process.

As an update on other activity that has occured in January, there will be a Regional Conference for Master Naturalists this year rather than a State Meeting. This meeting will hopefully enable more in this Region to attend some advanced training programs and not have to travel as far or even spend the night. This is just beginning in the planning stages by the state coordinators and we will have more information in the coming months. If someone has a particular topic they might like covered then please let me know. Also, our Chapter Advisor, Paul Bugas, at the January meeting had one of his staff present a plan that the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has for Lake Shenandoah and how our Chapter can participate. We will have more on this project by next month.

As you can tell, January was indeed a busy month and is only an indication of what is coming for 2015. That Groundhog has been wrong before and we may be planting soon after March Madness. Also, RoxAnna has a training class lined up and ready to start and it will soon be time for Chip’s Wildflower Tournament. The year is getting exciting.

The next Board Meeting will be held in Verona at the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Office on February 19 at 11:30. You are welcome to attend.