What is a Master Naturalist?

Virginia Master Naturalists are trained and certified volunteer educators, citizen scientists, and stewards helping to conserve and manage natural resources and public lands in Virginia. Check out this wonderful video on what it means to be a VMN volunteer from Sonny Bowers (Historic Rivers Chapter).

Members of the Arlington Regional Master Naturalist (ARMN) chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program:

  • provide, promote, and facilitate volunteer service to sustain natural areas in our communities using sound natural resource management and conservation practices,
  • offer and support environmental education and outreach to encourage understanding and respect for our natural environment, and
  • engage in a wide range of citizen science activities that contribute to greater knowledge of local streams, plants, animals, and local habitat.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Application for the ARMN Fall 2017 Basic Training Class is now OPEN.
To learn more and apply, click HERE.
And stay up-to date with ARMN Blog. Sign up to receive it now!

 

Recent Posts

Calling All Citizen Scientists Who Like Insects and Data!

Posted on by
Reply

by Louis Harrell

Read on for information on two volunteer opportunities.

There are two interesting projects for which ARMN is asking the assistance of both experienced and amateur citizen scientists.

The first should be of interest to the old “bug lab” alumni and anyone else who is interested in learning more about insects. The other project is to analyze raw data from the recently completed Arlington bioblitz as well as other information collected about plants and animals in the county. The schedule for both of these projects is flexible and training is available for the microscope used in insect identification.

Identifying Insects for Arlington County

Arlington County needs assistance with processing and identifying insects caught in various traps around the county. If you are familiar with a particular taxonomic category or group of insect or would like to learn about identifying insect groups, please consider helping with this effort.

Photo of volunteer using microscope

We plan to use the Arlington Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Leica EZ-4D microscope to capture good photos of the insects and make identifications easier. If you have never used this equipment or are a returning user, Kirsten Conrad, Arlington’s Cooperative Extension Agent, will provide training at the VCE office located at 3308 S. Stafford St., Arlington, VA 22206. You can sign up for this training at: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/60B0B4FA8AB22A31-training.

Cataloging Bioblitz Species . . . and More

The recent bioblitz event recorded 460 species of plants and animals.

Photo of a hummingbird

This raw data needs to be categorized in taxonomic order, along with existing inventories of plants and animals in the county. The goal is to create a database of Arlington’s fauna and flora with updated scientific names to which new information could be added in the future.

If you are interested in working on this project or need additional information for either of these projects, please contact Alonso Abugattas at Aabugattas@arlingtonva.us .

  1. To Be or Not to Be: A Mason Bee Monitoring Project Observes Virginia’s Native Bees Leave a reply
  2. ARMN: Getting to Know Caroline Haynes Comments Off on ARMN: Getting to Know Caroline Haynes
  3. Joan Gottlieb and Toni Genberg nominated for 2017 Fairfax County Volunteer Service Awards 1 Reply
  4. A Bright Outlook for Citizen Science in Arlington Comments Off on A Bright Outlook for Citizen Science in Arlington
  5. Getting to Know Ann Ulmschneider Comments Off on Getting to Know Ann Ulmschneider
  6. ARMN Member Yu-hsin Hsu Receives Bill Thomas Award 1 Reply
  7. 911 for Wildlife and How You Can Help! Comments Off on 911 for Wildlife and How You Can Help!
  8. ARMN: Getting To Know Sarah Archer Comments Off on ARMN: Getting To Know Sarah Archer
  9. Falls Church Farmers Market, ARMN, and the Environment Team: Good for the Body and the Environment! Comments Off on Falls Church Farmers Market, ARMN, and the Environment Team: Good for the Body and the Environment!