The Headwaters Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists Program will hold its next Basic Training Class from February through September 2026, with a long summer break. Applications will open on September 20 and will remain open until December 1 or until we reach 24 applicants.
Please note that the state requires reference checks, so inform your references that they may receive a call or email with a few questions about you.
There is a $130 fee for this class, which covers instruction and texts. Additionally, we ask that you purchase your own copy of the Flora of Virginia app (approximately $20).
Exciting news! Our chapter has been selected as one of four chapters to participate in the Variable Pricing Pilot in 2025. This means you may be eligible for a reduced fee. We are committed to reducing financial barriers to participation in the VMN program. As part of the volunteer application process, you will have the option to select a different registration fee based on your needs.
Please visit https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9WEHAiZxPSYIANE within 2 to 3 days after applying to participate in this pilot program.
Additionally, please feel free to share this information with anyone who might benefit from a reduced fee and would not otherwise apply.
Classes will tentatively be held weekly on Tuesday evenings from March to May and September to November 2026, approximately from 6 to 9 pm, at
McKinney Science Center
Bridgewater College
Dinkel Avenue
Bridgewater, VA
The class format includes two and a half months of weekly evening classes in spring 2026, along with various field trips. This is followed by a summer break, which offers opportunities to continue learning both indoors and outdoors, as well as to build chapter connections through introductions to members and ongoing projects. The course concludes with another two and a half months of weekly evening classes in fall 2026, culminating in a celebratory commencement.
Still interested?! Apply online HERE starting September 20, and before December 1, 2025.
With each class we look for those individuals who are curious about the natural world, enjoy the outdoors, and want to develop the necessary skills for volunteering and contributing to natural resource management, preservation and conservation in Virginia.
Classes will include presentations from local experts on Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Interpretation, Urban Environments, Ecology, Botany, Trees, Fish, Pollinators, Management of Wildlife Areas, Invasives, Geology, Insects, and Mammals. Zoom attendance is possible for occasional times you need to miss a class.
Students will be asked to make a short presentation to the class on a topic of their interest.
The course also requires at least 10 hours of approved field trips (outside of class).
If you have questions about the Basic Training classes, please contact Lincoln Gray, graylc [at] jmu.edu, Headwaters Chapter Basic Training Committee Chair.
Click HERE for more about what it means to be a Virginia Master Naturalist!
The basic training course covers background knowledge and skills that every Virginia Master Naturalist needs to have. Topics include:
- Virginia biogeography
- Core biology topics such as ornithology, entomology, botany, and dendrology
- Basic ecology
- Geology
- Climate and weather
- Management and conservation of ecological systems such as forests and streams
- Citizen science
- Volunteer project development skills
- Teaching and interpretive skills
- The roles of Virginia state agencies in the management and conservation of natural resources
Photo by Andrea Dono.
The volunteer hours and continuing education (CE) needed to attain “certified master naturalist” status may be acquired simultaneously with the training course or anytime after commencement. Forty hours of volunteer work and eight CE hours are needed within a year to gain “certification,” but not necessary to stay in the program.
With emphasis on public education, stewardship, citizen science, and chapter development, a sampling of current Headwaters Chapter volunteer opportunities includes:
- James Madison University Campus Tree Data and Inventory
- Living With Black Bears in Virginia outreach with the Department of Wildlife Resources
- Bumble Bee Watch
- Native nut collection for injured wildlife and for the benefit of Augusta Forestry Center
- Stream water and benthic macroinvertebrate monitoring
- Annual Christmas and Great Backyard Bird Counts
- Tree and shrub planting to create riparian buffers
- Removal of invasive plants in public areas
- Removal of litter from streams and public lands
- Assisting with Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience programs and other educational programs for young people
- Assisting in chapter development through activity on the Board and various committees
A few past projects include:
- Adoption of a Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail loop site and seasonally monitoring it
- Assisting in our annual spring Shenandoah Mountain Wildflower Walks for the public
- eMammal Camera Trapping project with the Smithsonian Institution
- Creating and installing Pollinator Waystations in the valley
A sampling of past continuing education opportunities includes:
- Grand Caverns tours
- mushroom walks at the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum at JMU and the George Washington National Forest
- Saw-whet owl banding
- Lesesne State Forest Tour about Saving the American Chestnut
- Quarry Gardens tour
- presentation about Wildlife Corridors in Virginia
- Peregrine Falcon population restoration program at Shenandoah National Park
- forest management at the McCormick Farm
- evening herp “hunting” at Hone Quarry
- tours of the Black Bear Composting facility in Crimora
- night sky observations
- Science Talks at Wayne Theatre and other local venues
This video, generously produced by VMN volunteer Sonny Bowers (Historic Rivers Chapter), gives viewers a great sense for what it means to be a VMN volunteer and why the program is so important.
Virginia Master Naturalists Headwaters Chapter 