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Look at us in April!
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Headwaters photo roundup for April, clockwise from upper left: Eric Jones at Braley Pond Wildflower Walk; Chris Bowlen at Purcell Park pollinator site; Sandy Greene and Ginny Hoffman at Natural Chimneys pollinator site; Chip Brown and Jerry Hopkins at Hone Quarry Wildflower Walk; Justin Barnes, VDOF, Peggy Plass and Bill Sprinkel at the training class's Meet & Greet with representatives of our sponsoring agencies (upper); Malcolm Cameron at Cooks Creek pollinator site (lower); Judy Tammi water monitoring for Friends of Shenandoah River; Ann Murray with lamb at Kites & Critters. Center: Kathy Romig and Jerry at Earth Day Staunton.
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 Thanks to all the volunteers and participants who braved the cool and wet weather to join us last Saturday on Shenandoah Mountain for our Wildflower Walks. Over 40 people registered and just under 40 appeared at the scheduled time and trails.
The final tally of wildflowers (and other plants) is being calculated and lists collated. Watch on facebook and our website for more information!
View some of the day's photos on facebook HERE and Flickr HERE.
photo credit: Frank Doherty
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 We've been planting!
Follow progress on our five Monarchs & More! pollinator sites through photos and updates found through the site links HERE.
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Meet & Greet with our Sponsoring Agencies
 The table was laid with plates of beautifully arranged fruit, wedges of endive stuffed with salmon, several kinds of cheeses, crackers, chocolates, two kinds of home-made hummus, and smoked salmon slices. Mint and fruit infused water and sassafras tea slaked our thirst. Cascades of lilacs, redbud branches, and ornamental pink cherry blossoms spilled from vases. But even this lavish feast paled in comparison to our enthusiasm in response to the generosity and wisdom of our guests, each of whom represented one of the sponsoring organizations that support the Virginia Master Naturalist Program.
Read more about this special opportunity arranged by and for our Cohort IV training class from Anna Maria Johnson HERE.
Photo of Stephen Pietrowski and Kathy Byers with Paul Bugas by Carl Droms.
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Botany Class with Eric Jones
 We were truly fortunate to have Dr. Eric Jones address our class on April 16. If enthusiasm is the hallmark of a great teacher, he is the best.
Here are some things he taught us about exploring for wildflowers:
There are clues about natural settings that will help us determine what we can expect to find in an area. If we are looking for diverse and plentiful wildflowers for example, we are advised to turn away from shopping centers, plowed fields and building developments. It is “disturbed land” that generally limits the diversity of our local flora. We would want to cast our gaze elsewhere to quiet openings or very steep slopes that are “un-plowable.” Certain kinds of trees being seen from a distance (cottonwood and sycamores) will tell us we will find water at their location, most likely.
More from Cohort IV trainee Sandi Rose about the basic training botany class with Eric Jones HERE.
Photo credit: Mary Baldwin College website
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Have you seen our new display board?
 Headwaters has a new display board for outreach events! We have Janet James and her daughter Jenna, along with Gretchen and RoxAnna, to thank for this Monarch-themed creative work of art.
More about our outreach efforts with this display and Gail's stickAseeds from Adrie HERE.
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HMN events this month ...
 Today! Saturday, May 2, 10AM-4:30PM, Riverfest, Constitution Park, Waynesboro. Contact Sandy Greene, greenes104@aol.com.
 Wednesday, May 13, 7-9PM, Projects Committee Meeting: Seeking chapter-wide input! Home of Sandy Greene, 123 Foxwood Lane, Mount Sidney. Contact Sandy.
 Thursday, May 14, 11AM-2PM, JMU Employee Appreciation Day Community Service Fair, JMU Festival Center, Harrisonburg. HMN Outreach event, contact Pat Martin.
 Tuesday, May 26, 12-1PM, VMN Monthly CE Webinar: From Impairment to Restoration, with Craig Lott from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. More here.
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Bell's Birds
 Augusta Bird Club President and HMN Penny Warren will continue with a series of morning birding walks through mid May on Bell's Lane in Staunton (entrance off of Rt.11, near the VDOT headquarters) to check out spring migrants, warblers being the main focus in May, returning grassland birds and summer residents.
The next walks that are scheduled will be on Monday, May 4th, Monday, May 11th and the final one Friday, May 15th from 8-10AM. You can always look on the Augusta Bird Club website for scheduled field trips.
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 Quixote's Column
So there we were October 27, 2011, finished with our assessments and getting ready to graduate and an email comes in from Paul Bugas on the morning of: a reminder to think about the slate of offices to be selected on our graduation evening . . . WHAT? Reminder? Officers? Board? What Board? How did I miss this?
Read more from RoxAnna about her history with our chapter bylaws HERE.
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 Ready? ... Set, ... Go!
RoxAnna is continuing to track our VMN-VMS logging activity. Please take the time to log all your hours: volunteer service, administrative work, and continuing education hours!
Find the numbers HERE.
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2015 Dates to Note:
 Saturday, August 15
Monarchs & More! Migration Tour of our newly created pollinator sites. A members-only bus tour around the valley to show off the results of our year long 2014/2015 focus project. Others will be invited to meet us at the sites. We'll have lunch and a short membership meeting at Natural Chimneys Park.
 Saturday, August 29
Central Region 2015 VMN Regional Conference, Holiday Lake 4H Center, Appomattox, VA. Four one-day regional continuing education conferences are replacing a single state-wide conference this year. Headwaters Chapter is one of 8 chapters comprising the Central Region.
 Stay Tuned!
HMN Annual Membership Meeting originally scheduled for Saturday, November 7 @ Buckhill Farm in Mt. Solon will likely be re-scheduled to January 2016 to accommodate proposed changes to our bylaws. Plan for a year in review, continuing education, and board elections.
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Headwaters Chapter Board of Directors Meeting
Thursday, May 21, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
 @ Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Office
517 Lee Highway, Verona
Find directions through Google maps HERE.
All members welcome!
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 Wind your way HERE to view our calendar of Naturalist-related events in our area. Contact Adrie if you know of events to add to the calendar.
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