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On Wednesday, June 11 our chapter welcomed eight new members who have completed the 2013/2014 basic training class! Additional congratulations are in order for Malcolm, Margaret, Sue and Ginny who simultaneously achieved Certified Master Naturalist status having already donated at least 40 hours of volunteer service and attended eight hours of additional training.
  "... waders were our gift to our teacher who put in so many hours on our behalf. Next time she's on a benthic mission or stream monitoring or planting along Mossy Creek, her feet will stay dry. Who knows, she may take up fishing!" - Ginny
Margaret and RoxAnna on left. RoxAnna holds her new waders on the right. All photos graciously provided by Gretchen Achenbach. |
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Build it and they will come!
 "The first to arrive were the frogs. Very loud gray tree frogs have taken up residence around the pond. So has a pickerel frog. We’re up to 10 frogs total now!" ... and counting. Find out who else the Wildlife Center of Virginia's (WCV) newly installed Wildlife Gardens has been attracting ... from Kate here.
 We are entering the last phase of this project before the Saturday, August 16 morning ribbon-cutting ceremony to which you are all invited. We still have to finish the signage. Sandy and her team of designers and artists are working with WCV staff to create 3 large metal signs that describe the Center and its mission, what we have done with the habitat in this project and what citizens can do to create wildlife habitat on their own properties.
 If you have not yet been involved in this project and you want to join in on the fun, there still is time! Contact Kate, 540-350-2824.
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Upcoming ...
 National American Butterfly Association (NABA) Annual 4th of July Butterfly Count, Saturday, July 5 @ Island Ford and July 13 @ Shenandoah National Park, scroll down to these dates on the leplog calendar page for details. There is a $3 fee for NABA; participants can pay Mike on the day of the count. Beginners are welcome! Contact Mike Smith, 540-298-1913.
 VMN Continuing Education webinar: Hydraulic Fracturing for Natural Gas in Virginia, Wednesday, July 9, 12 - 1:00 PM, online here. The presenter is David Spears, the State Geologist of Virginia in the Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy. Please submit any questions you may have directly to David Spears before his presentation. He will try to address them.
 Benthic Monitoring with the Friends of the Middle River, Thursdays and Sundays July 10, 13, 17 and 20. Second of three yearly monitoring events at nine sites along the Middle River in Augusta County. Certified monitors and interested volunteers needed. Contact Whit Morriss.
 George Washington National Forest dispersed campsites Trash Pickup, Monday, July 14, 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Rain date July 16. Followed by a picnic lunch. Contact Tom Long.
 Monarchs and Milkweeds @ JMU Arboretum, Wednesday, July 16, 12 noon. HMN Gail Napora presents this installment of the Arboretum's Summer 2014 Brown Bag Lecture Series. Be sure to check out each of the other weekly offerings of interest to all naturalists.
Second HMN information tabling at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market, Saturday, July 19, 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Come help spread the word about our upcoming training class and what we're all about. Contact Adrie.
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Wilderness First Aid: Another Way to Make a Difference
 Six Headwaters Master Naturalists and one interested individual met over the weekend of June 28th and 29th to learn from Brad and Paula Neher of Emergency Prep in Harrisonburg about handling common injuries and illnesses in the field when medical care is an hour or more away.
Find out more about this class from RoxAnna here.
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Our first Adopt-a-Highway pickup!
 We had ten people participate in picking up roadside trash from four miles of roadway near Bridgewater for our first Headwaters Master Naturalist Adopt-a-Highway trash pickup on Wednesday, June 18. After a second pickup, most likely in October, our chapter will be eligible to get our name on the Adopt-a-Highway signs along Spring Creek Rd.! More about our adopted roadways here.
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Invasive Removal
 Escaped from a nearby cemetery, wavyleaf basketgrass (WLBG) has slowly been creeping into the understory of the Shenandoah National Park near Elkton since around 2005. Headwaters Master Naturalist and Virginia Native Plant Society member Chris Bowlen has led a removal effort for the last three years.
Find out more about this from Adrie here.
Statewide, Virginia Master Naturalists have participated in annual Invasive Plant Removal Days for the past five years. This year it was officially on May 3.
 Registration is currently open for the Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council's 2014 Biological Control Workshop, Managing Invasive Plants: Beyond Pull, Cut, and Spray @ Rock Creek Park Nature Center, Washington, D.C. An afternoon of field trips is scheduled on Monday, July 28 and a full day of diverse workshops and discussion is on tap for Tuesday, July 29.
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eMammal Project Hiatus
 Several members of the Headwaters Chapter participated in eMammal camera "trapping" last year through the Smithsonian Institution’s Conservation Biology Institute. The scope of the project has changed somewhat offering fewer local opportunities just now but will likely resume this fall.
More here from Carl Droms.
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 Headwaters Chapter Board of Directors Meeting
Thursday, July 17, Noon- 2 PM
@ Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
517 Lee Hwy, Verona, on odd months only
All board members strongly urged to attend.
All members welcome!
There was no Headwaters Master Naturalists Board of Directors meeting in June.
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