Virginia Master Naturalists Headwaters Chapter

Chapter happenings

  • The National Wildlife Federation Honors Sandy Greene with a Special Achievement Award

    Sandy GreeneSandy was among “six National Wildlife Federation volunteers … recognized for their outstanding contributions to the organization’s conservation efforts at NWF’s annual meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Saturday, March 16th, 2013,” described here.

    For decades, Sandy Greene has taught adults and children the importance of environmental stewardship with imagination and joy.

    For the twelve years she has served as Education Specialist at the Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District in Verona, VA , Sandy has partnered with local, state and federal agencies, and the school systems themselves, to provide over 200 field trips for 22,000 students, in addition to over 300 classroom presentations, 50 teacher workshops and tours and 78 civic programs.

    For many years she worked at The Wildlife Center of Virginia, coordinating field trips.

    Recognizing the watershed connections between their farm and the Shenandoah River, Sandy and her husband walk the talk, with riparian buffers, wildlife plantings and solar power. Sandy has served on a variety of Boards, including the Shenandoah Valley Pure Water Forum and the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts Education Committee, taught summer courses and teacher workshops, and often coordinated outdoors experiences for students, teachers and the general public.  Sandy was appointed by two governors to The Foundation for Virginia’s Natural Resources, and is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist.

    She was named National Outstanding Environmental Educator of the year in 2006 by Project Learning Tree, and received the National Education Award in 2007 from the Daughters of the American Revolution.  Now retired, Sandy is busier than ever, volunteering with partners and agencies on behalf of the natural and wild areas around us.

    Partially reprinted from the National Wildlife Federation March 16, 2013, Awards Winners Bulletin

    Sandy Greene is currently the Membership and Projects Chairperson for the Headwaters Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists

  • Big Meadows Mammalogy Field Trip Notes

     

    by Tom Long    May 13, 2013

    big meadowsMany wildflowers can be found at Big Meadows; some provide wildlife food. It is believed Native Americans and early settlers kept the meadows cleared to attract game and perhaps for grazing livestock. For historical reasons, the Shenandoah National Park keeps the meadow in open using a 3 year cycle of burn, brush hog, and fallow. Otherwise, it would soon be a thicket of locust trees.

    Park Ranger, Rolf Gubler, described the exclusion fencing used to protect rare plants like Canadian Burnet from the huge deer herd — 100-150 deer per square mile in the Big Meadows area. Blue flags warn deer of the fencing.

    This "high rise" bear den near Big Meadows housed a sow and a couple cubs a few seasons ago. The nearby trail was briefly closed.
    This “high rise” bear den near Big Meadows housed a sow and a couple cubs a few seasons ago. The nearby trail was briefly closed.
    This deer exclusion area protects grey birch at one of its southernmost locations in the United States.
    This deer exclusion area protects grey birch at one of its southernmost locations in the United States.
    Also protected are marsh marigold.
    Also protected are
    marsh marigold.

  • Headwaters Geology Field Trip with Professor Callan Bentley

    by Tom Long               March 30, 2013, Fort Valley, Shenandoah County, VA

    Veach Gap hikeThe early spring morning was crisp and clear as a group of Headwaters Master Naturalists gathered at the Fort Valley Community Center and Library. Northern Virginia Community College Assistant Professor of Geology and Fort Valley resident Callan Bentley joined RoxAnna Theiss, Dwayne and Pat Martin, Art Vasy, and Tom Long. Our goal for the day’s adventure was to learn more about the geology of the Blue Ridge and Massanutten mountains as well as the Shenandoah Valley and Fort Valley.

    Our first stop, the Woodstock Tower, is one of the relatively few old towers in the George Washington National Forest that the public can still climb. To the west lies the Shenandoah Valley, the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, and the Allegheny Mountains beyond. To the east your gaze is across Fort Valley through Woodstock Gap to the Shenandoah National Park. In the chilly breeze atop the tower that offers rare 360° views, Callan gave an interesting overview of the geologic forces that created the mountains, valleys, and the famous seven bends of the river.

    Callan hike to Veach GapThe Hike up Veach Gap is a gradual assent with some stream crossings. Callan lead us just off the trail climbing over rock debris to a couple stunning examples of an anticline – a fold in the rocks that is convex up with the oldest beds at its core. Sitting on the rocky hillside, we learned more about how anticlines form and other geological features of the gap. Callan set up his Giga Pan controlled camera to take panoramic pictures of the formations which will eventually become part of a worldwide data base.

  • Winter Silhouettes

    by Tom Long                    March 18, 2013, Buffalo Gap, Augusta County, VA

    winter silhouettesSeveral inches of snow fell overnight making roads slick and closing area schools. The forecast called from additional snow turning to cold rain later in the afternoon. Most of us signed up for the Winter Silhouettes field trip probably thought it would be postponed for a second time, but Roxanna was working the phones early in the morning to determine who and how many would show up in spite of the weather.

    At 11:00 AM a hearty band gathered at the U.S. Forest Service Work Center at Buffalo Gap – RoxAnna, Gretchen, Dwayne, Pat, Judi, Kathy, Carl, and Tom – to meet up with state forester Patti Nylander for a primer on tree identification during the leafless winter months. Patti pointed out various characteristics such as size/shape of the tree, bark form and coloration, branch alignment, and even smell to help identify trees commonly found in Shenandoah Valley woodlands. Some like the shagbark hickory (pictured), white oak, and evergreens such as hemlock are easy to identify. It can be more difficult to distinguish between others, for example the scarlet and black oaks.
    Most of us will probably identify trees during warmer months when leaves, flowers, nuts and other distinguishing characteristics make using the field guide much easier. Patti’s tips on identifying trees during the winter months strengthened this group of Master Naturalists’s year-around tree identification skills.

  • Class of 2012-2013

    by Sopia Cliffe                     from the Spring 2013 newsletter

    class of 2013The  Class of 2013 Fall semester began on August 31, 2012 with 15 resourceful students eager to begin their studies and participate in lab work and field trips.

    Fall classes included instruction in ecological concepts, geology, meteorology ecology, forest management, interpretive skills, dichotomous keying, and an overview of citizen science opportunities.

    The classes provide an overview.  Students spend many hours reading, and preparing for presentations, and participating in field trips.

    class imageclass image 2The Spring Semester began April 3, 2013. Paul Bugas, DGIF,  and Dawn Kirk, USFS, gave presentations about Ichthyology and Aquatic Entomology followed by lab work.