Mushroom and Lichen Outing for HMNs

Once again, we are being treated to the wealth of knowledge and generosity of local fungi experts Jack Wilson and Chris & Vicki Vacher on a walk/talk and more, on Sunday, September 12, starting at 9:30AM. Jack shares this “draft plan” for our outing: “To avoid hot weather, we should start at MoonDance Camp (Braley Pond…

HMNs Help with Heat Watch Project

On July 15, HMNs Adrie Voors, Art Fovargue, and I, along with other volunteers, participated in the “Heat Watch” project, a nationwide program for heat mapping in local communities. Our job was to drive around a preset 20-mile route with a temperature sensor attached to the passenger’s side window of our car. The device measures…

Better Impact is your friend!

HMNs: If you haven’t yet, check out Better Impact, the new Virginia Master Naturalists’ volunteer management system at MyImpactPage.com. There you can:  find a complete list, with descriptions, of all our approved activities (formerly called “projects”) through which you can get volunteer service credit  find and sign up for any scheduled events that may be coming…

Grand Caverns: “Cohort Zoom” Field Trip

Grand Caverns, the oldest show cave, discovered in 1804 by Bernard Weyer, was the site of another field trip for “Cohort Zoom.“ On Thursday, June 24, eight members of Cohort VII (aka “Cohort Zoom” due to completing all our classroom work through Zoom), plus our instructor Peggy, were led on a personalized tour by guide…

Meet our board: Mary Gatling-Finks

This is the second installment in a series to learn more about who’s doing the work behind the scenes to keep our Chapter running along. Stephanie Gardner, HMN Board Historian and Parliamentarian, is conducting a series of online interviews with the members of our 2021 Board of Directors. Here we are featuring Mary Gatling-Finks, Vice…