Certified Master Naturalist Dwayne Martin (class of 2013/2nd class) devotes hundreds of volunteer hours a year to the Headwaters Chapter partner organization Edith J. Carrier Arboretum on the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg. Dwayne’s dedication to the arboretum has earned him the title of “EJC Arboretum Volunteer of the Year” 2013!
The arboretum welcomes all master naturalists to engage in a wide variety of volunteer opportunities there including as “Trail Stewards,” a position created exclusively for certified Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners.
The 125 acres of gardens and forests that comprise the arboretum are “open free to the public, dawn to dusk, 365 days a year.” The many ecosystems represented and many trails provide a convenient place to study nature.
You can find Dwayne on the arboretum grounds most Tuesdays. He offers this background on his work there:
It all started back when I was working as a computer programmer at JMU. The university had “Employee Appreciation” days when the employees took off work and went to movies or played games or tried out segways or something similar. One of the options was “Working at the Arboretum.” That sort of “work” sounded like more fun than any of the planned activities, so I tried it, and sure enuf, it was! So, when I retired from my job at JMU the first thing I did was call up the Arboretum and ask if they would like a volunteer, and they did, and it was just as much fun as I remembered it!
winged burning bush, Euonymus alatus | click on the image to learn more about this VA invasive
Basically, I go to the Arboretum every Tuesday morning and do whatever they ask me to. I do a LOT of weeding and removing of invasive species. Right now I am waging a war of extermination against “burning bush.” I THINK I’m winning.
Sometimes I help set up for plant sales or other miscellaneous work. I mainly go because I love the place, and it feels good just to be there and know that I am contributing to it. And it seems to be mutual. They invented the “Volunteer of the Year” award just for me! “Trail Steward” basically means walking along a trail and digging up plants that are leaving the woods and venturing out into the trails. In reality, that is only a small portion of what I do on a typical day.
click on this map image for a better view and to find more maps of the arboretum
To learn more about volunteer opportunities at the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum and Botanical Gardens click here. Attending a short orientation session is required; these are offered twice monthly.
Besides his many volunteer hours as a Master Naturalist, Dwayne’s involvement with our chapter extends to being the 2013-15 co-chair of the HMN Membership Committee with his wife Pat Martin and to being our “resident entomologist.” His early training in, and enthusiasm for entomology qualified him to present this topic to the 2012/13 HMN training class in the spring of 2013.
“One hundred and fourteen years and still counting ……”
Dark-eyed Junco in western Rockingham County | photo by Diane Lepkowski
As some of you may know, Frank Chapman, an officer in the early stages of the formation of the Audubon Society, suggested changing the Christmas ‘Side Hunt’ (a competition of choosing sides and who could shoot the most game…feather and fur) to a ‘Christmas Bird Census’ that would count birds versus shoot birds. Twenty seven birders in 25 different areas tallied 90 species on December 25th, 1900. Thus began the annual Christmas Bird Count and what is now the longest running citizen scientist wildlife survey!
According to the Audubon website for last year, there were 2,248 CBC circles and approximately 63,000 participants tallying over 60 million birds. All 50 states, all Canadian provinces, plus 99 count circles in Latin American, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands participated. The Audubon website states “Each of the citizen scientists who annually braves snow, wind, or rain, to take part in the Christmas Bird Count makes an enormous contribution to conservation. Audubon and other organizations use data collected in this longest-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations – and to help guide conservation action.”
Please check the December/January VMN-VMS calendars for details of the three circles active in the Rockingham/Augusta area for this year.
This is a great opportunity to round up some approved project volunteer hours before the end of the calendar year. And it’s full of fun and camaraderie.
Hope to see you at one! – RoxAnna Theiss, November 27, 2013
This year’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) will be held from December 14, 2013 – January 5, 2014. The Audubon website tells us:
There is a specific methodology to the CBC, and you must make arrangements to participate in advance with the circle compiler, but anyone can participate.
Each count takes place in an established 15-mile wide diameter circle, and is organized by a count compiler.
If you are a beginning birder, you will be able to join a group that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher.
If your home is within the boundaries of a CBC circle, then you can stay at home and report the birds that visit your feeder on count day as long as you have made prior arrangement with the count compiler.
To participate in this project, please contact one or more of the compilers for our three local circles:
A mostly Rockingham County circle is centered at Ottobine Rd. and Clover Hill Rd. (257 and 613). Its count will be on Saturday, December 14. Contact Bill Benish, 540-908-7336, wcbenish[at]comcast.net If at all possible, he needs to hear from you by December 7 for you to participate.
An entirely Augusta County circle is centered at Verona. This count will be on Sunday, December 15. Contact Allen Larner, birdergonewild[at]yahoo.com
A third counting circle in our area straddles the Augusta and Nelson County lines incorporating Stuarts Draft and parts of Waynesboro. It will be held on Saturday, January 4, 2014. Contact Crista Cabe, ccabe[at]mbc.edu no later than December 14.
by Frank Deckert November 19, 2013 … as written to HMN facebook administrator Kate Guenther
On November 7, my wife Gloria and I went to Berkeley Glenn Elementary School in Waynesboro to participate with 60 third graders in a milkweed seed “planting”. …
The day was beautiful, the kids were enthusiastic and many thousands of seeds were distributed by the kids and the wind in a natural area on school property. PE teacher, Mr. Freeman, coordinated the project at the school. Gloria is president of the Waynesboro Woman’s Club which co-sponsored a Monarch Butterfly Art Contest at the school with the Waynesboro Public Works Department. Gloria passed out award certificates to the contest winners (and did a great job of displaying the sign that warned mower operators not to mow the milkweed).
In Waynesboro, Coyner Springs Park, Berkeley Glenn Elementary School and the new hilltop park will all be designated as official monarch migration sites.
by Gretchen Achenbach November 15, 2014 … from the Annual Meeting Minutes
photos by Tom Long unless otherwise credited
Date Meeting Held: November 2, 2013 2:30pm to 8:00pm
Program Coordinator: Penny Warren.
Venue: Buck Hill Farm, in Mt. Solon, has a wonderful big fireplace, warm meeting room and bathrooms, and a giant kitchen with plenty of space to heat up or cool down food for the potluck.
Advanced Education: Hike or Salve-Making: Chip Brown and Sandy Greene led a hike on interpretive hikes. Chip had us testing our powers of observation as we searched through the fallen leaves for a hidden pencil and looked for signs of winter, and Sandy taught some “pocket tricks” that can be used to create interest. Sandy brought hazelnuts and persimmon for tasting, and a sprig of witch hazel shrub with its winter blooming flowers and witch’s hat galls.
fall blooming Witch-hazel, photo credit: Wikimedia CommonsWitch-hazel aphid gall cones, photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Advanced Education: Stokesville Observatory and Starry, Starry Night program: Due to impending clouds, the planned trip to the Stokesville observatory was cancelled. Instead, Chip Brown gave an introduction to astronomy and star viewing techniques, after which we went outside and located the Summer Triangle and its associated constellations of Cygnus, Lyra, and Aquila, as well as several other constellations.
Raffle: Tom Long led the 50/50 raffle. Tickets were $1 each (or 6 for $5.00),where the winner gets 50% of the pot and the rest of the money goes to the 2013 Focus Project. The winner was Ann Murray, who generously donated her winnings back to the Focus Project, for a total of $101. Tickets were also drawn to award several wildlife calendars brought by Paul Bugas.
Environmental Book Sale: Books donated by members were sold to raise money for the chapter. Judy Tammi supervised the sale, which raised $47.
Socializing: Members socialized in front of the fire while dining on many wonderful hot dishes and stews, salad, breads, and desserts.
The Summer Triangle is defined by the bright stars Altair, Deneb, and Vega in the three constellations of Aquila, Cygnus, and Lyra, respectively.
Business Meeting: President Sophia Cliffe conducted a business meeting between the two educational programs which included:
Sandy Greene’s presentation of Kate Guenther’s power point report on our 2013-2014 focus project to create a certified wildlife garden at the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro.
Presentation of certificates to those members recently achieving Certified Master Naturalist status.
Shenandoah Mountain stretches across Augusta and Rockingham Counties in the George Washington/Jefferson National Forest (North River Ranger District). It is a biodiversity treasure, with native forestland for native species habitat, recreation, hunting, fishing and clean water. The Shenandoah Mountain complex includes the largest roadless area east of the Mississippi (Little River roadless area), one of Virginia’s highest elevations (Reddish Knob at 4,397′) and over 170 miles of trails. This is the literal “backyard” of the Headwaters Master Naturalists, and citizens of the counties we serve. It is important to know and appreciate the rich natural heritage we live beside, and depend upon.
Last year’s planned Wildflower Tournament was cancelled due to thunderstorms. This year’s is sure to offer more perfect weather!
To this end, multiple guided hikes are tentatively planned for Saturday, May 10th, 2014, for anyone willing to come out. The focus of the walks will be on the diverse, abundant wildflowers expected to be adorning the trails this time of year.
The “tournament” aspect is by photography. Who can “photobag” the most species blooming that day, as a measure of the biodiversity of Shenandoah Mountain? A web-based slide show will highlight each trail’s finds.
Master Naturalists and those in training will work together with Friends of Shenandoah Mountain and the Virginia Native Plant Society (Shenandoah Chapter), as well as the US Forest Service, North River District, to plan/host four accessible/rich wildflower hikes on the Shenandoah Mountain trail complex over the day. The schedule and trailhead locations will be publicized locally, and will be open to the public. Teams of Master Naturalists in training, a Master Naturalist or at least one wildflower “expert” will accompany and guide each group. These volunteers will follow all Master Naturalist guidelines, and be reasonably prepared with safety procedures and first aid/communications devices.
