Laurels for Martina Coker

In 2019, Eastern Shore Master Naturalist Martina Coker joined with a small group to establish the Edward S. Brinkley Nature Preserve, on land once slated to become a golf course. Since then she has been instrumental in developing the preserve into a rich and varied habitat that is visitor friendly for humans and wildlife alike.

Martina has played a major role in maintenance of and improvements to the Edward S. Brinkley Nature Preserve, turning it into a beautiful asset for the people of the County and visitors from throughout Virginia. The Preserve has become well known for its great variety of birds and wildlife that can easily be observed, and protects several different habitats including open meadows, maritime forest and saltwater marsh. Other improvements include a man-made freshwater pond with two wooden lakeside platforms built to give birders, photographers, and other visitors good views of seasonally migrating and year-round populations of ducks and geese, as well as an island where white ibis flocks commonly congregate.

From early on Martina performed major work behind the scenes to find the funds necessary for various projects that would improve Preserve access for visitors to explore the varied ecosystems supporting birds, insects, plant life and mammals. This included re-construction of the Seaside Walkway and Boardwalk which traverses the maritime forest and low-lying swamp and marsh allowing access to an educational marsh overlook platform which includes a cell phone holder allowing any visitor the opportunity to contribute their photos for a long-term citizen science project on coastal change. Through grant funding provided by the NOAA Coastal Zone Management and Martina’s leadership, the boardwalk construction project was adopted by a group of Eastern Shore Chapter of Master Naturalists, who under Martina’s guidance completed the project in the grant allotted time.

Since its inception, Martina has worked hard and effectively on overall Preserve maintenance and improvement. As Brinkley Steward Chair she coordinated the volunteer team of Eastern Shore Master Naturalists who perform weekly stewardship walks and report on any wildlife observations, Preserve maintenance needs, and ensure that the Seaside Walkway/Boardwalk is swept and kept clear of debris. Martina then arranges for these reports to be distributed to all Preserve stewards and communicates with the County to ensure that all necessary maintenance is performed.

Under her leadership as the Committee Chair, the following improvement projects were implemented.

• The parking lot was moved 500 yards north to allow for sunrise to sunset access every day of the week. It has been expanded and resurfaced twice since it was installed.
• A network of trails giving easy access to all parts of the Preserve was established and is now maintained by Northampton County.
• In 2021 Martina worked with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) for park signage including the donation and installation of introductory signage at the Preserve entrance.
• Further interpretive and directional signage was created and put in place in 2022.
• A native habitat area for the benefit of pollinators and birds was planted in autumn 2023 with a variety of native plants, including Milkweed, Bee Balm, Virginia Mountain Mint, Black-eyed Susan, Golden Alexander, Seaside Goldenrod, and others. We are optimistic that we will see the results this summer.
• Martina has been pushing for the removal of two temporary storage buildings located near the entrance to the Preserve. This has now been completed with plans for the installation of proper bathrooms scheduled to take place in 2024.

The final touch will be a pavilion where visitors can sit down and relax while enjoying the views. This construction project will be funded through Northampton County Tourism Infrastructure Grants. Martina deserves recognition for her vision identifying the above improvements, as well as her role in managing the Eastern Shore Master Naturalist stewardship team and coordinating maintenance of the Preserve.

First published on the Virginia Master Naturalist website. See additional information about the development of the site here. Learn more about Ned Brinkley here and here.