Hello FMN volunteers – nature sojourners, citizen scientists, outdoor enthusiasts, and nature journalists. FMN recently added Soldiers to Scientists as a chapter partner and created two activity codes to record support hours for relevant projects (E170: Soldiers to Scientists Educational Projects and S170: Soldiers to Scientists Service Activities, under Community Outreach). Through SciStarter , S2S […]
As many read in the recent VMN Newsletter, the VMN State Program office recognizes volunteers who complete 250, 500, 1,000, 2,500, and 5,000 hours of service. These are cumulative volunteer hours starting when a volunteer joins the program. Volunteers may start recording hours as soon as they are accepted into the program… even while in […]
At its meeting on June 24, the Fairfax County Park Authority Board approved a resolution honoring 21 individuals as 2026 Outstanding Volunteers. These peer-nominated individuals were recognized for their dedication to their community and their invaluable service to the Fairfax County park system: (Three of the awardees are FMN) * Avril Garland, Accotink Stream Valley […]
In April 2026, FMN Katy Johnson was awarded the 2026 Woman of Influence Award by the City of Fairfax. She credits her involvement with FMN and her advocacy for the remaining wild spaces in Fairfax City for this recognition. Even though she intentionally kept the two separate her active involvement with Virginia Master Naturalist opportunities […]
#WOW – FMN and teacher Kristin Bauersfeld co-organized a watershed festival & art show at her school that took place on Thursday, April 23 to coincide with Earth Week. The organizing theme was how we can individually and collectively make a difference and help improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The students from […]
Many of our Fairfax County parks, NoVA Parks, and even our local state park (Mason Neck) have active Trail Steward Programs. They vary in responsibilities from physical trail maintenance to passive monitoring and reporting on trail conditions and nature interpretation for park visitors. Trail Stewardship is one way to provide a greatly valued service to […]
The FMN Chapter Stewardship Project is restarting in mid-March 2026. This project is for the long-term maintenance of Mason Neck State Park’s Pollinator Gardens. The volunteers on this project are providing long term care and maintenance of the 2 main pollinator gardens on the grounds of Mason Neck State Park and the beds around the […]
Enhancing Our Understanding of Ecology – By FMN Mike Mixon National Geographic defines Ecology as, “the scientific study of how organisms interact with each other and their unique physical environments”. As Virginia Master Naturalists we acquired a fundamental understanding of Ecology while undergoing the chapter’s basic training program. If you would like to enhance your […]
The Department of Wildlife Resources in cooperation with VMN, is offering to train Master Naturalists via a statewide program on “Living with Coyotes”. Recordings: As with all of our VMN CE Webinar Series, this session was recorded and posted on the CE Webinar Series page of our website. Viewing the recorded session counts as VMN […]
It is increasingly hard nowadays to avoid running into a Spotted Lanternfly (SLF). They are in our parks, backyards, and favorite public spaces. However, efforts to stomp, squash, and smash the spread of this nuisance invader has a stalwart champion in FMN Susan Laume. Via a pilot program under Fairfax County’s Urban and Community Forestry […]