If you love nature, and you live near Charlottesville and Albemarle, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson counties, consider joining our efforts as certified naturalists. The Rivanna Chapter includes members of all ages, interests, and backgrounds—from college students to retirees. We are united by our desire as volunteers to teach, gather data, and participate in service that protects, preserves, and supports our shared ecosystem.
What does the RMN do?
The Rivanna Chapter serves the goals of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program as a statewide corps of trained volunteers dedicated to supporting our region’s natural resources and public nature preserves. Thirty VMN chapters in Virginia undertake projects and initiatives that benefit Virginia’s natural environment and its inhabitants.
RMNs volunteer their time to various tasks in the following arenas:
- education and outreach (ex. hike leaders, field trip guides, tabling, training class)
- citizen science (ex. gathering data, observing trends in the field, reporting observations)
- stewardship (ex. trail maintenance, riparian buffer planting, clean ups)
- administration (ex. leadership meetings, committees, organization, training class)
Land Acknowledgement
The Rivanna Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists acknowledges that the land we strive to protect and support is the homeland of the Monacans, the first naturalists of the land and waters in our area. We pay our respects to the Monacan Nation and its people, past, present, and emerging.
Chapter History
Many in the Charlottesville area first heard of the Master Naturalists program in 2005 from Michelle Prysby, at a meeting of the Natural History Roundtable. Dede Smith chaired and hosted the meeting while serving as Ivy Creek Natural Area’s Executive Director. Michelle, based at Virginia Tech, shared her vision of a statewide cadre of volunteers under the oversight of the Virginia Master Naturalist movement and Virginia Cooperative Extension. Texas started up the first MN program in 1997, providing a county-based model that the VMN adopted. Michelle Prysby continues to serve as the VMN’s director, but also completes her certification hours every year as an RMN member.