NATURE, HISTORY AND HORTICULTURE IN FAIRFAX COUNTY
VOLUME 9, NO. 1 WINTER 2009
An IABC Silver Inkwell and AMPC MarCom Award and Hermes Creative Award-winning publication
A Natural Combination By Lori K. Weinraub, Park Authority Volunteer
Virginia Master Naturalists are a great fit with the Park Authority
S
uzanne Hough was the kid who always turned over the rock to see what was under it. She looks at dirt and sees the foundation of the world. So when the program coordinator at George Mason University read that the Virginia Master Naturalist program was expanding to Fairfax, she immediately signed on. The Virginia Master Naturalist Program was launched in 2006 and is similar to the Master Gardener program. Master Naturalists are a statewide corps of volunteers who provide education, outreach and service “dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities.” The Fairfax chapter was chartered in 2007 and is now training its third class. Park Authority employees help train the Virginia Master Naturalists. Fairfax Master Naturalists are a growing part of Fairfax County’s natural resource stewardship community, and the Fairfax County Park Authority is one of the program’s partners. With so many parks and natural resources in the county, the two entities are closely linked.
The Spring 2008 training class, Virginia Master Naturalists, Fairfax Chapter, at Huntley Meadows. Photo by Doreen Peters
session: geology and soils, botany, ecological concepts, stream management and entomology. Hough says the training is intense so that volunteer naturalists understand what they’re seeing when they are in the parks. Trained volunteers who lead bird watches and nature walks know what they are talking about. Those who help clean up can distinguish between invasive and native plants.
There is a good deal of “synergy” between the naturalists and the parks, says Hidden Oaks volunteer Marilyn Schroeder, past president of Fairfax Master Naturalists and chairman of the coordinating committee. Three of the four field trips scheduled for the fall 2008 training session were to Park Authority sites. Fairfax Master Naturalists have volunteered at Lake Accotink Park, Cub Run RECenter, Hidden Oaks Nature Center, Riverbend Park and Huntley Meadows Park.
Schroeder says projects, such as the fall cleanup day at Lake Accotink Park, the dragonfly survey at Riverbend Park and the Little Acorns and Forest Fledglings programs for children at Hidden Oaks, have benefited from the knowledge of Master Naturalists.
The county gets well-trained volunteers from the program. Master Naturalists are required to undergo 60 hours of basic training at their own expense and then keep up to date with eight hours of advanced training and 40 hours of volunteer service annually. The training is serious. Consider some of these class topics from the fall 2008
Mona Enquist-Johnston, the Park Authority’s liaison to the Fairfax Master Naturalists and a Certified Interpretive Trainer, continued on page 9
WHAT’S INSIDE . . . Winter Events ................ 2 Park Foundation ............ 3 Colvin Run .................... 4 Preserving History ......... 5 Building Bridges ............ 6 A Bridge to the Past ...... 8 Paper or Plastic ........... 10 Park Accreditation ........ 11 Holiday Shopping ........ 12
p Fairfax County Park Authority • Fairfax, VA 22035 • 703-324-8695 • FAX 703-324-3996 • TTY 703-803-3354 • www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/resources