Welcome to Old Rag Chapter

Serving the Virginia counties of Culpeper, Rappahannock, Madison, Greene, and the western portions of Fauquier and Orange

Class IV of ORMN is launched!

by Pat Temples, 2010-08-19

Fourteen students began the fourth twelve-week master naturalist course on August 12. The evening classes are meeting at the Brightwood Ruritan Club building where there is ample space.  They come from Rappahannock, Madison, Rixeyville, Orange, Amissville, Culpeper, Charlottesville and Keswick.  Lou Verner kicked off the first of twelve topics on August 19 with his amazing presentation on Ecology.  Lou's style is to introduce a concept and ask questions of the class.  This class knew the answers, and fired them back at Lou with ease. There were three guests in this class, including a woman from Africa who arrived in the US four days before the class for a two-month visit, and came to the class to learn about master naturalists. 

Students in the fourth class have a wide range of experiences and expertise. Their backgrounds are in law, medicine, physics, zoology, aquatic biology, anthropology and political/social thought and they have work experience in the Navy, the EPA, city planning, gas energy, environmental consulting, teaching, and nursing. Their volunteerism includes animal rescue, fire and rescue, Boys and Girls Club. One member of the class taught English to Buddhist monks in Nepal, one lived on a boat in the Washington, DC, channel for thirteen years, and one spent a year on an Antarctic Research Team. There are some special people in this class, so take some time to meet them and find out who’s who.  Take a look in the gallery for photos of class members.

 At the end of the class Jack Price presented Lou Verner with a copy of the book The Geology of Old Rag as thanks for his work with the chapter.

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Old Rag Mountain in summer and winter. Left photo ©Carl Zitzmann; right photo ©Pam Owen

Environmental Experiences for Early Childhood: Outdoor Learning Environments. 2010-10-11 — Registration deadline. If you are interested in educational programming for some of our youngest Virginians (age 3-6), then this is for you! 

Master Naturalist Training. July 23, 2010, Application Deadline. — (Click title for details.) The next training course is Aug. 12 through Nov. 18, 2010. Classes will be held on Thursday evenings, 6–9:30 p.m. at the Brightwood Ruritan Club clubhouse in Madison.  

Class IV of ORMN is launched!. 2010-08-19 — The fourth class began on August 12, 2010, with fourteen members.   

Appalachian Trail Exotic Invasive Plant Management Project. 2010-08-02 — This project introduces volunteers including school children, summer camp groups, scouts and ofter recognized volunteer groups to invasive plant identification and removal along the Appalachian Trail. 

The Bluebird Trail. 2010-08-01 — One of our favorite projects for ORMN has been our Bluebird Trail at The Greene Hills Club.  Learn about how we set it up and monitor it.   

Denali National Park. 2010-07-29 — Denali National Park, created in 1917, has maintained its natural beauty with minimal human impact.    

Bald-Faced Hornets Feeding on Hummingbird Nectar. 2010-07-27 — A chapter member shares a close-up view. 

Chapter Begins Stewardship Project at Montpelier. 2008-05-23 — Old Rag Chapter began a long-term stewardship commitment to James Madison's Montpelier with an inaugural garlic mustard pull in the Old Growth forest. 

All Photos
Photo Essays:
Botany Field Trip to the Jones' Farm
Buck Hollow Garlic Mustard Pull
Class IV Starts Training 2010
Forestry Field Trip to Conway River Tract
Learning About Stream Assessment
Old Rag Chapter Classroom Training