Virginia Master Naturalists not only do impressive work, they have fun doing it! Lisa Bright and Alan Ford laugh as they separate Carex plants as part of the habitat restoration work going on at Marie Butler Leven Preserve in Mclean. 11/15 Photo by s.dingwell from Arlington Regional Chapter photo database.
Each January, Virginia Master Naturalists scramble to compile their reports of volunteer activities from the previous year. We appreciate their diligence and quick turn-arounds, because we use the numbers and stories from these reports in many ways. We share them with our sponsoring agencies to illustrate the excellent return on investment this program provides. We use them to give feedback and support to chapters to help them accomplish their goals. We use them to gauge how we're doing in relation to our mission and to make changes to continue improving the program.
Next quarter, we'll share some stories of special projects and local impacts, but for now, we would like to share 2015's very impressive numbers. Our program continues to grow in numbers of volunteers, hours of service, and educational contacts made.
In 2015, 1,679 volunteers reported more than 120, 000 hours of service, more than 21,000 hours of continuing education, and more than 104,000 face-to-face exchanges of educational information about natural resources. Their service in 2015 is valued at nearly $3 million, based on the value of a volunteer hour in Virginia as calculated by IndependentSector.org.