Virginia Master Naturalists recently converged on the Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH) in Martinsville and Fairy Stone State Park (FSSP) in Patrick County to further their training and share their successes.
The 2012 Master Naturalist Conference took place from September 7th through the 9th. Master Naturalists from chapters all across Virginia attended. Most of the indoor sessions took place at VMNH on the 7th and 8th, but everyone came out to FSSP on the evening of the 8th for dinner at Fayerdale Hall Conference Center and a talk by Captain William Clark (Craig Rockwell of Philpott Army Corps of Engineers).
Master Naturalists at Shelter 3
September 9th was filled with special sessions at Fairy Stone, including: Bird Identification and Wildlife Mapping, The Ecology of Topography, Advanced Save Our Streams, Seeing the Forest and the Trees, Leopold Education Project, Mushroom Ecology and ID, and an Invasive Plant Removal Service Project.
Master Naturalists Remove Invasive species
Virginia Master Naturalists are volunteer educators, citizen scientists, and stewards helping Virginia conserve and manage natural resources and public lands. The process for becoming a certified Virginia Master Naturalist typically takes 6 to 12 months. One starts by completing a 40-hour basictraining course offered by a local chapter of the program. An additional 8 hours of advanced training are also required. An important part of the certification process is the required 40 hours of volunteer service.
For more information on Virginia Master Naturalists, including how to join, visit this website here.
For more information on Invasive Species in Virginia, visit this website here.
For more information about Fairy Stone State Park, visit this website here.
