How Clean is the Roanoke River?

Diversity, volume of bugs speak to health of Roanoke River water

Every mile of the upper Roanoke River is polluted in some way, DEQ says.

BRFAL Member water testing

Trout streams recovering in Nelson, Amherst counties: study

A recent study shows that acidity in Nelson and Amherst counties’ mountain streams has decreased since 2000 and the streams are now considered sustainable for brook trout.

BRFAL Member Marshall Sediment testing in a Franklin County stream

Road salt's second sting

UNC Asheville biologist learns it harms amphibians - and helps mosquitoes thrive

BRFAL VMN Guy B "Water Monitoring" at Booker T Washington National Monument

By T. DeLene Beeland Correspondent

Virginia Naturally

In 2000, Virginia Naturally was designated as the official environmental education program of the Commonwealth.

Celebrate some accomplishments:

Growing Partnerships:
Virginia Naturally established a partnership program for businesses and organizations that have environmental components or missions as part of their programs.  At the end of 2010 the Virginia Office of Environmental Education reported that there are over 900 Virginia Naturally Partners. 

Virginia Naturally Schools:
As of 2010, 52 schools have been recognized as  Virginia Naturally schools demonstrating exemplary practices in environmental education. Virginia Naturally schools make an effort to support environmental conservation and stewardship. A recognized school must continue to submit an annual plan and add an additional feature to its environmental and conservation plan each year.

Virginia Naturally Grants Program:
In 2002, in an effort to help teachers meet Bay Agreement's educational goals, the Virginia Resource Use Education Council (VRUEC)  partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Virginia Environmental Endowment (VEE), and Smithfield Foods to establish and administer the Virginia Naturally Classroom program. Many classrooms around the state are conducting “Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences" thanks to the Virginia Naturally Classroom Grants and Partner Grants.  Combined, 748 grants have been awarded for a total of $643,900 involving more than 200,000 students, 1,000 faculty and 800 community partners.

Water Quality Monitoring at Booker T. Washington National Monument

Today I was able to volunteer with other BRFAL Chapter members at Booker T Washington National Monument in Hardy Virginia.

The data gives Booker T. Washington Nat’l Monument baseline values for future comparison and may reveal early warnings of degrading conditions in the watersheds.  Without BRFAL’s help, the Park would not be able to conduct this valuable monitoring, and the natural resource management decisions of the Park would be based on sporadic visual information only.

Volunteers and staff will conduct monthly water chemistry measurements at five sites in the Park. A YSI Professional Plus electronic meter is calibrated against known standards and then is used in the creeks to measure temperature, pH, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen in the water. A long term YSI water quality sonde is also used to make specific conductance measurements every 15 minutes at one site.  Water samples are also collected for laboratory analysis of additional chemicals and sediment.

Shellie "Since today was my first day on the job, I tried to follow what the other members were doing as we calibrated the YSI Meter and then took samples as well as sediment samples that were to be sent off to a lab. It was a hot, muggy and buggy day, but uber interesting! I look forward to going back next month to give it another shot.

I will now show a few photos from the Water Quality Monitoring without getting too technical. At the end you have an opportunity to click a link to learn more about the Virginia Master Naturalist Program. We invite you to join this group, take the training, getting involved as a citizen scientist!"

Ranger Timbo and Don preparing to collect data from the long term YSI water quality sonde

PCC at Booker T Washington National Monument

Water quality monitoring

Marshall collecting sediment for testing

Guy entering the calibrations

BRFAL Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalist wants you to get outside, explore and learn something new today. Get involved in something cool! Learn more about the Virginia Master Naturalist program here. Keep an eye on this blog for updates and announcements for BRFAL CHAPTER classes!