Master Naturalists from the Historic Rivers Chapter Amazing Project

VIRGINIA MASTER NATURALISTS IN THE NEWS!
Congratulations to the Virginia Master Naturalists from the Historic Rivers Chapter on a job well done.

Susan Powell helps cut the ribbon at new Freedom Park Interpretive Center (photo from here)

November 16, marked the official ribbon cutting ceremony for the brand new Interpretive Center at Freedom Park in James City County. The new Interpretive Center is the location for the touch-screen electronic kiosk that Virginia Master Naturalist volunteers from the Historic Rivers Chapter helped to develop. Thirty-three VMN volunteers (including two from the Northern Neck and Peninsula Chapters) plus 16 other volunteers with partnering organizations contributed nearly 2000 hours of service on this project over the last year.

The idea for an educational exhibit that could make use of the amazing photographic talent that exists in the Historic Rivers Chapter had been brewing for years, but finally became a reality when the Superintendent of James City County Parks requested Master Naturalist help with providing information on plants and animals that might be present at Freedom Park. In the last year, the volunteers have provided information on 353 species of animals and plants, including 835 photos and 15 audio recordings. I had the opportunity to browse a beta version of the kiosk information, and it was truly a treasure trove of wonderful images and natural history tidbits. I encourage all Master Naturalists who might be traveling in the James City County region to stop by Freedom Park and spend some time at the kiosk. ...Read more here

Visit the Historic Rivers Chapter website here and view some of their photos here, more about their photos below:
Many of our members have their own photo sharing sites. A list of member sites that the owners have elected to share is shown below.

• Felice Bond: Many photos on different subjects including natural history and Historic Rivers Chapter events.
• Shirley Devan: VMN and Bird Club events, birds and other critters, trips, etc.
• Alice & Seig Kopinitz: All kinds of critters plus trip photos.
• Linda Miller: Botanical Art Today Original watercolor paintings by Virginia Master Naturalist, Linda C. Miller of Williamsburg, Virginia.
The Virginia State Master Naturalist office maintains a photo sharing site on Smugmug for all chapters. You can go to that site and see what other chapters are doing by clicking http://virginiamasternaturalist.smugmug.com/

The next BRFAL Chapter Basic Training for Aspiring Virginia Master Naturalists is coming up in March at The Franklin Center in Downtown Rocky Mount VA! You can get the Draft Schedule of Classes and View the Itinerary here, and get the Information Letter and Application here.  If you have any questions about this upcoming basic training please send an email to:  contact@brfal.org 

Learn more about the Virginia Master Naturalist Program here. We hope to see you at the next training!