Continuing Education Programs
2023 Field Trips
To be announced.
To be announced.
2022 Field Trips
Collapse breccia from the Staunton Fault Zone
THE ROCK AND MINERAL GARDEN (December 9, 2022)
GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES PROGRAM HEADQUARTERS, CHARLOTTESVILLE
Dorothy Tepper led a field trip highlighting Virginia's rocks at the outdoor Educational Rock and Mineral Garden in Charlottesville, VA. The garden includes igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks that represent the diversity in geologic terrains and geologic provinces across the commonwealth. Participants received a guidebook titled A Guide to the Educational Rock and Mineral Garden: Samples of Virginia’s Geological Diversity, which contains brief descriptions and pictures of all the rocks for reference. The group also toured the library adjacent to the Rock and Mineral Garden where there are additional interesting geological specimens on display.
GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES PROGRAM HEADQUARTERS, CHARLOTTESVILLE
Dorothy Tepper led a field trip highlighting Virginia's rocks at the outdoor Educational Rock and Mineral Garden in Charlottesville, VA. The garden includes igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks that represent the diversity in geologic terrains and geologic provinces across the commonwealth. Participants received a guidebook titled A Guide to the Educational Rock and Mineral Garden: Samples of Virginia’s Geological Diversity, which contains brief descriptions and pictures of all the rocks for reference. The group also toured the library adjacent to the Rock and Mineral Garden where there are additional interesting geological specimens on display.
GEOLOGY OF SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK (November 3, 2022)
This field trip included 6 stops at overlooks along Skyline Drive. At most of the stops, participants looked at outcrops in the overlook parking area. At others, they walked a short distance from the overlook to look at outcrops along Skyline Drive.
The viewing sites highlighted Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks that range from 1.2 billion years old to 570 million years old. Highlights of the field trip included examining well-developed columnar jointing, locating a feeder dike, finding garnets in a 1.2 billion-year-old gneiss, identifying different volcanic layers in the profile of Stony Man, and a discussion of the uniqueness of the Old Rag Granite.
This field trip included 6 stops at overlooks along Skyline Drive. At most of the stops, participants looked at outcrops in the overlook parking area. At others, they walked a short distance from the overlook to look at outcrops along Skyline Drive.
The viewing sites highlighted Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks that range from 1.2 billion years old to 570 million years old. Highlights of the field trip included examining well-developed columnar jointing, locating a feeder dike, finding garnets in a 1.2 billion-year-old gneiss, identifying different volcanic layers in the profile of Stony Man, and a discussion of the uniqueness of the Old Rag Granite.
FOWL Fest (October 22, 2022)
Friends of Wildlife at the Lake (FOWL) hosted its first Wildlife Education Festival at the Lake of the Woods Community Center in Locust Grove, VA. This free event featured state and non-profit professionals who lead wildlife conservation and inspiring people to value the outdoors and their role in nature, caring for sick, injured and orphaned wildlife, and providing educational opportunities and resources to the public.
Festival guests included a Department of Wildlife Resources Conservation Officer; Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Conservation Wildlife Biologist; Rockfish Wildlife Sanctuary, Interim Director; Chief Ranger from Lake Anna State Park;
Orange County Animal Control Officer; Dispatches from the Forest nature-based education; and Virginia Native Plant Society
Friends of Wildlife at the Lake (FOWL) hosted its first Wildlife Education Festival at the Lake of the Woods Community Center in Locust Grove, VA. This free event featured state and non-profit professionals who lead wildlife conservation and inspiring people to value the outdoors and their role in nature, caring for sick, injured and orphaned wildlife, and providing educational opportunities and resources to the public.
Festival guests included a Department of Wildlife Resources Conservation Officer; Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Conservation Wildlife Biologist; Rockfish Wildlife Sanctuary, Interim Director; Chief Ranger from Lake Anna State Park;
Orange County Animal Control Officer; Dispatches from the Forest nature-based education; and Virginia Native Plant Society
Monarchs and Milkweed (August 23, 2022)
On August 23, a CE Field Trip was conducted at Carolyn Smith's farm on the Monarch larva monitoring project. Milkweed is the exclusive plant on which monarch butterflies lay their eggs. The iconic and endangered monarch butterfly makes an amazing journey from its summer breeding grounds to its overwintering grounds in the mountains of Mexico. Our area of the Piedmont is on the southbound flyway and in August, thousands of monarchs will be lay eggs all around us, which will hatch, metamorphose and fly to Mexico.
This 130-acre farm had sites open for observation. Participants examined milkweed for eggs and caterpillars and learned how data are compiled for a national database that has been active since 1997. The monarch nursery was also open.
This 130-acre farm had sites open for observation. Participants examined milkweed for eggs and caterpillars and learned how data are compiled for a national database that has been active since 1997. The monarch nursery was also open.
iNaturalist Basics and Skill Building (July 29, 2022)
This field trip combined “classroom instruction” and field application of the iNaturalist app. ORMN member Rebeca Sanchez-Burr discussed the major functions of iNaturalist, including taking and uploading photographs, recording sounds, connecting with experts who can identify organisms and how to connect with other naturalists. Held at the home of ORMN member Jere Willis in Culpeper, the group explored the different habitats on the property, including cultivated areas and natural areas, forest and waterfront habitats.
Global Big Day: ORMN Field Trip Highlights (May 14, 2022)
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The annual Global Big Day recognizes World Migratory Bird Day by inviting people, individually or in groups, to report citizen science bird observation data for scientists at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and other organizations.
Two field trips celebrated this year’s Global Big Day in Central Virginia. Sycamore Grove Farm offered birders the opportunity to observe grassland birds as well as bird species that live on the margin of woods. Siegen Forest provided birders a mature forest habitat that runs along the Rapidan River. The two groups logged more than six hours in the field and reported a combined total of 67 species and 321 total birds. Both field trips were sponsored by Old Rag Master Naturalists, Central Rappahannock Master Naturalists and the Germanna Foundation. Orange County: Siegen Forest –- Hosted by the Germanna Foundation and led by Joella Killian (Central Rappahannock MN chapter) and Deanne Lawrence (ORMN Class XI). Madison County: Sycamore Grove Farm -- Hosted and led by Charlene Uhl (ORMN chapter). |
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Photo Highlights: Smith Farm Wildflower Walk (May 10, 2022)
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Hydrology, Floods and Debris Flows (April 9, 2022)
ORMN's Dorothy Tepper will provide a general introduction to concepts on groundwater, surface water and their interactions. She will also address:
Hydrology, Floods and Debris Flows (April 9, 2022)
ORMN's Dorothy Tepper will provide a general introduction to concepts on groundwater, surface water and their interactions. She will also address:
- development of caves and other karst features produced by groundwater flow;
- landforms associated with streams, such as waterfalls, floodplains, and meanders;
- floods, including flash floods and catastrophic flooding that can produce debris flows; and
- historic debris flows caused by extreme weather events in Virginia's Nelson County (1969) and Madison County (1995).
Great Backyard Bird Count (February 18, 19, 20, 21, 2022)
The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual international event sponsored by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada. Volunteers spend time in their favorite places watching and counting as many birds as they can and reporting them. These observations help scientists to better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations. ORMN groups conducted bird counts at single locations in Rappahannock, Culpeper, Fauquier, Orange and Madison counties.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual international event sponsored by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada. Volunteers spend time in their favorite places watching and counting as many birds as they can and reporting them. These observations help scientists to better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations. ORMN groups conducted bird counts at single locations in Rappahannock, Culpeper, Fauquier, Orange and Madison counties.
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ORMN sponsored birding groups across five of our chapter counties, with a total of thirty-seven volunteers. The participants included ORMN members, Class XI students and others from the northern Piedmont area. Even on the days that were blustery and cold, the participants were enthusiastic and excited by the birds they observed and the natural environment through which they traversed. Below is the summary of their observations:
Lenn Park/Culpeper County Leaders: Alex & Linda Bueno
Sycamore Grove Farm/Madison County Leader: Charlene Uhl
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Buzz Van Santvoord farm/Orange County
Leader: Buzz Van Santvoord
Eldon Farms/Rappahannock County Leaders: Patty Lane & Sara Lawrey
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Sky Meadows State Park/Fauquier County
Leaders: Lynne Leeper & Linda Lowery
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2021 Field Trips
Audubon at Home Wildlife Sanctuary–Certified Properties. (November 13, 2021)
On November 13, seven certified properties were on the ORMN Audubon at Home Wildlife Sanctuary tour. The field trip sites offered differing habitats, sizes, and goals of the sanctuary. Properties included:
On November 13, seven certified properties were on the ORMN Audubon at Home Wildlife Sanctuary tour. The field trip sites offered differing habitats, sizes, and goals of the sanctuary. Properties included:
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FAUQUIER COUNTY
Renee Witt Suburban: 0.66 acres (no HOA); 18 year old habitat. Most of the property is an example of restoring understory and shaded areas. MADISON COUNTY Charlene Uhl Rural: 24 acres; 10 year old habitat. Originally a hay field surrounded with woods on three sides. Invasive removal, plantings of native trees and plants; adding pollinator plants/shrubs in hedgerows; planned pond . RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY Gail Swift Suburban: 2 acres; 4 year old habitat Following removal of 100 box woods and continued reduction of lawn to include a wildflower meadow and trees. |
RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY PARK
Park: 7.3 acres; Overseen by Park Authority since 1978. Wildlife sanctuary work began in 2018, with removal of invasive growth, restoring the forest canopy, creating a Virginia bluebell trail, two pollinator gardens. Now planting native low growth understory trees/shrubs in REC right-ofway. RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY Bonnie Beers Rural: 56 acres; 3.5 year old habitat. Converting 20 acres of former hay fields into forestland, managing a low-growth grass-pollinator meadow, planting native understory trees, shrubs and forbs to reduce mowed areas and provide wildlife habitat /food sources. Invasive plant removal ongoing. |
CULPEPER COUNTY
Barry Buschow Boston; Rural: 4 acres; 3 year old habitat A wildlife sanctuary with plans to create a sanctuary by planting pollinator mini meadows that will eventually connect and replace the current fescue lawn. Cindy Colson Suburban: 4 acres; 18 month old habitat Creating and expanding wildlife sanctuary by reducing lawn, preserving wooded areas, and enhancing established habitat. Includes garden rooms and outdoor sculpture gallery. Future plans include converting an adjacent one acre lot into a woodland park to be enjoyed by the neighborhood. |
EDDMapS training (September 20, 2021)
EDDMapS is an internet based web application for reporting, mapping and managing data on invasive species designed for easy use in the field by citizen-scientists with a smartphone equipped with a working camera. The EDDmapS application is widely used across the country by community scientists, conservation organizations, and land managers for determining where to direct resources for the control of invasive plants, insects and animals as well as diseases and pathogens that threaten the health of our ecosystems. ORMN member Rebeca Sanchez Burr completed the statewide training on EDDMapS and was the instructor for this training. For more information about EDDMaps, click here.
EDDMapS is an internet based web application for reporting, mapping and managing data on invasive species designed for easy use in the field by citizen-scientists with a smartphone equipped with a working camera. The EDDmapS application is widely used across the country by community scientists, conservation organizations, and land managers for determining where to direct resources for the control of invasive plants, insects and animals as well as diseases and pathogens that threaten the health of our ecosystems. ORMN member Rebeca Sanchez Burr completed the statewide training on EDDMapS and was the instructor for this training. For more information about EDDMaps, click here.
Pollinator/wildflower walk (July/August/September, 2021)
Dana Squire hosted three separate walks through her 5-acre pollinator meadow located outside the town of Madison: July 29th, August 30th, and September 10th. The land was converted from a fescue hayfield to a native warm season grass and wildflower meadow 8 years ago. Dana co-led the walks with experts on pollinators. The July and August walks were led by Alex Newhart, an entomologist and biochemist who is a member of the Shenandoah Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists. The September walk was led by Celia Vuocolo, Private Lands Biologist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service and Quail Forever. The walks held in July and August featured a colorful diversity of flowering plants and butterflies, while the September walk was ablaze with sunflower and goldenrod blooms covered with bumblebees and other pollinators.
Click here to see the slide show.
Dana Squire hosted three separate walks through her 5-acre pollinator meadow located outside the town of Madison: July 29th, August 30th, and September 10th. The land was converted from a fescue hayfield to a native warm season grass and wildflower meadow 8 years ago. Dana co-led the walks with experts on pollinators. The July and August walks were led by Alex Newhart, an entomologist and biochemist who is a member of the Shenandoah Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists. The September walk was led by Celia Vuocolo, Private Lands Biologist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service and Quail Forever. The walks held in July and August featured a colorful diversity of flowering plants and butterflies, while the September walk was ablaze with sunflower and goldenrod blooms covered with bumblebees and other pollinators.
Click here to see the slide show.
Monarch Larva Monitoring – field data collection and larva nursery (August 25, 2021)
On August 25, a CE Field Trip was conducted at Carolyn Smith's farm on the Monarch larva monitoring project. Milkweed is the exclusive plant on which monarch butterflies lay their eggs. This 130-acre farm ha two sites open for observation: a wild site with established common milkweed plants that is mowed only once a year; and a cultivated garden patch that has five native milkweed species as well as a wide variety of nectar plants for monarchs. Participants examined milkweed for eggs and caterpillars and learned how data are compiled for a national database that has been active since 1997. The monarch nursery was also open. |
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