Arlington Regional Master Naturalists (ARMN) are trained volunteers who share a love of the natural environment and a commitment to service in our local communities. Our members restore native habitats, monitor stream health, lead public nature walks, and do much more to help maintain and improve the region’s rich biodiversity.
ARMN was formed in 2008 as a chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists, a statewide corps of volunteers providing education, outreach and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources.
The chapter now has over 300 members who support a wide range of projects in Northern Virginia, often in collaboration with local partners. In 2024, ARMN volunteers logged over 24,000 hours of service.
Our Work
ARMN’s volunteer efforts are aimed at education and outreach, citizen science, and stewardship of natural resources. Among other things, our volunteers:
Restore native habitats at about 55 sites in Northern Virginia. We help bring forests and meadows, and other natural areas back to life by removing invasive non-native plants and planting native plants where needed.
Develop and maintain demonstration native plant gardens to showcase the beauty and benefits of native plants. Gardens are grown in both sunny and shady locations, demonstrating that beneficial plants can thrive and attract wildlife anywhere. ARMN maintains three demonstration gardens: at the Arlington Central Library in central Arlington, Potomac Overlook Park in North Arlington and Jerome “Buddie” Ford Nature Center in west Alexandria.
Help homeowners create and nurture backyard wildlife sanctuaries through the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance Wildlife Sanctuary program. ARMN volunteers serve as ambassadors, offering information and on-site consultations to help homeowners and other landowners restore native plants, reduce or eliminate pesticide and fertilizer use, and support wildlife with water, cover and food.
Lead nature programs for all age groups in collaboration with schools, scouts, nature centers and other youth and adult programs.
Lead citizen science projects by tracking and reporting wildlife populations, including the City Nature Challenge, the Christmas Bird Count, inventories of frogs, butterflies, phenology monitoring and more.
Measure atmospheric levels of ozone through a garden planted at Walter Reed Community Center as part of the Ozone Bioindicator Garden Network, a collaboration of NASA and Harvard. ARMN’s observations of plants that are sensitive to ozone contribute to a global study of ozone levels.
Monitor stream health by taking water samples four times a year. Volunteers count and track the number and types of macroinvertebrates found in each sample. A sudden loss of more fragile species could indicate a problem in the watershed.
Prepare local ecotype seeds, propagate and maintain plants in conjunction with native plant nurseries at Earth Sangha, Green Spring Gardens and Arlington County. Plants are used for habitat restoration projects, landscaping of public lands and in home landscaping.
Help inspire an awareness of and appreciation for biodiversity by leading nature walks and sharing knowledge through outreach programs and the ARMN blog and newsletter.
Click here to learn more about ARMN and how to get involved!