The Eastern Shore Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program is a corps of well-informed volunteers who provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of ESVA’s natural resources and natural areas.
- Natural Resources: This focus distinguishes our program from some other programs, such as Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners, which is focused on home horticulture.
- Volunteerism: The primary purpose of the VMN Program is to train, develop, and support volunteers who will participate in natural resource conservation through volunteering.
- Local Communities: Although the program is statewide, it is a chapter-based program that encourages volunteers to focus their learning and service in their own communities.
We support the Eastern Shore by volunteering in three areas:
- Education and Outreach Activities: activities or programs in which the VMN educates the public. It may include interpretive programs at parks; presentations and tabling/booths at fairs, markets, and other public events; and educational presentations to identified audiences, such as community groups, school groups, or homeowner associations.
- Science Activities: service involving data collection, monitoring, biological inventories, and other science-oriented activities. These activities may be called citizen science, community science, participatory science, or other terms, depending on the activity and partners involved. Examples include stream monitoring, vernal pools monitoring, and organized bird and butterfly counts.
- Stewardship Activities: hands-on volunteer activities intended to improve habitat and other natural resources, or, in some cases, to improve the ability of the public to access these resources. These activities typically occur on public lands and may include invasive plant removal, habitat restoration, and trail building/maintenance. As with other service activities, these activities must be for public benefit, not personal gain, and must first be approved by the chapter.
See what we’ve been up to:
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What’s that Bird?
“Where? I don’t see it.” “In the reeds there. Behind the egret.” “Which egret? All I see are white ibis” “To the far right. It’s very dark, blends in.” “It’s a white-faced ibis! No, maybe […]
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New Brinkley Stewards
We have five new stewards at Brinkley! We met last week for orientation and introductions and a walk around the preserve. They all Knew each other as they are Class […]
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Magothy Bay NAP Workday
Excerpted from Frank Renshaw’s report to DCR. Four MBNAP stewards and two VCR staff members participated in a Japanese Honeysuckle Pull session at the Preserve on Nov. 17th. Removal was […]
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Savage Neck Dunes Natural Area Preserve Stewardship Work Day
On Monday November 3rd, volunteers (ESMNS Jim McDaniel, Rose-Marie Roessler, and Tom Young and James Roessler) joined DCR staff (Will Mears and Jennifer Madden) to manually remove invasive species at […]
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ESMNs Support Project Horizons
On October 22, Abby Gale, Amy Lines, Barb O’Hare, and Nancy Biegel volunteered with a unique field trip experience called A Day at the Lab. It was the second year […]
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ESMNs Recognized for Service Achievements
At the September 17th chapter meeting members Kathy Augustine, Debra Baxter, Jeanne Black, Greg Felthousen, and Melissa Rollosson were recognized by the state program office for achieving their initial certification. […]
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ESMNs Support STEAM Event
The Education Outreach Committee has completed the first fair of the Autumn season. We attended the STEAM (Science, Technology. Engineering, Agriculture, and Math) event hosted by the Mary N. Smith […]
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ESMNs Count Butterflies for Science!
On August 3, ESMNs and others gathered to participate in the North American Butterfly Association’s (NABA) annual count for North Northampton County. Established a few years ago by member Carolyn […]
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Magothy Bay and Savage Neck Dunes Natural Area Preserves Maintenance and Clean-up
Each spring, chapter members work alongside DCR Natural Heritage Stewardship staff to trim back vegetation encroaching on the trail through an area of the preserve that was restored by planting […]
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ESMNs and DCR Host A.L.L. Trips
For the third consecutive spring, as part of a course organized by the Academy for Lifetime Learning (A.LL.), interpretive walks were held at preserves in the DCR Coastal Region during […]
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ESMNs Support VESLT Field Trips
As part of our education and outreach activities, members support the education efforts of numerous partners on the Eastern Shore, including the Virginia Eastern Shore Land Trust (VESLT). Recently, members […]
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Minimizing Springtime Reptile Encounters
As the weather becomes more temperate you may encounter more free-roaming turtles or snakes. As a retired veterinarian from South Hampton Roads, Virginia, I treated a variety of wildlife. May […]