Virginia Junior Naturalist Workbook

HERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL WE CAN DO FOR OUR KIDS AND GRAND-KIDS!

Shellie is sharing this from here.

Virginia Junior Naturalist Workbook

Hi, I'm Kim! Two years ago I decided to become a Fairfax Master Naturalist.  Our final test to pass Master Naturalist Basic Training was to do a presentation.  Some people thought I was crazy when I said I wanted to create a workbook/journal/field guide for my kids, Riley and Ethan.  I wanted to share the cool things I was learning about the natural history of Fairfax County with them. 

As I worked on my presentation, it became obvious that 10 weeks of trainingwould not fit into one workbook.  But I had to start somewhere, so I decided that I would work on a few topics and put the other content on the back burner to go into future workbooks.  My first workbook covers botany, dendrology, entomology and ecology...that's plants, trees, insects and relationships in nature. 

When I presented my workbook to my Master Naturalist class on presentation day, everyone was excited...even the nature center I volunteer at wanted to see this project get off the ground and talked about using it as program curriculum.  I was so excited!  And I passed Fairfax Master Naturalist boot camp too!

I had a lots of work ahead of me.  The content needed tweeking and I had to find an artist to illustrate the workbook.  Finding quality artwork free from copyright headaches is hard!  Chantal Pinnow stepped in as the illustrator.  Her artwork is breathtaking!  Next I needed some help in the PR department...enter Roya Zarrinhad.  She produced the video for me!  Now I need the funds to print, making this dream a reality.  Kickstarter.com uses micro-donations to fully fund creative projects like mine!  Once this project is fully funded through pledges, I get the money to print the books, to get them into kids hands!

Somewhere along the way I realized that my goal of sharing this with just my kids, Riley and Ethan, was to small...my dream is to get this workbook into the hands of every kid who wants to get out, explore, discover and learn!  Make it happen...donate today!

Click here to make a donation in any amount (even just $1!)

Calling all citizen scientists and outdoor enthusiasts - The Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes Chapter (BRFAL) of Virginia Master Naturalist next basic training will be held at The Franklin Center in Downtown Rocky Mount beginning March 2012, feel free to email us for more details: contact@brfal.org or visit our website for the draft schedule of classes here and application form for this program! Learn more about the Virginia Master Naturalist program here.

Learn more about the Virginia Master Naturalists basic training core objectives here.