Events Calendar

February

EmpowerU! Advocating Invasive Species Management

February 15
10 - 4:00
Prince Edward County Extension Office, Farmville
$25 - includes lunch

Have you been working on invasive species issues but feel compelled to do more? Taking part in the EmpowerU Advocacy Training Program will move your invasive species work to the next level!

In this 4 week course, woodland and shoreline owners, master volunteers, and natural resources professionals can grow their skills to meaningfully engage decision makers about invasive species. Through a series of self-paced online learning activities and one in-person workshop, participants will:

Gain understanding of the roles and levels of government and who to contact regarding invasive species management
Learn to use skills such as influence, power, persuasion, framing, questioning and listening in interactions with decision makers
Know where to find reputable information on the status of invasive species in your area
Create an engagement plan and experience practicing it in a safe, peer-learning environment
See yourself as a resource to decision makers on invasive species management
View engagement with decision makers as a norm and encourage others to do it
Network with other people passionate to make a difference around invasive species

Contact Michelle Prysby, 434-872-4587, mprysby@vt.edu, for more information.

EmpowerU! Advocating Invasive Species Management

February 16
10 - 4:00
Squires Student Center at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
$25 - includes lunch

Have you been working on invasive species issues but feel compelled to do more? Taking part in the EmpowerU Advocacy Training Program will move your invasive species work to the next level!

In this 4 week course, woodland and shoreline owners, master volunteers, and natural resources professionals can grow their skills to meaningfully engage decision makers about invasive species. Through a series of self-paced online learning activities and one in-person workshop, participants will:

Gain understanding of the roles and levels of government and who to contact regarding invasive species management
Learn to use skills such as influence, power, persuasion, framing, questioning and listening in interactions with decision makers
Know where to find reputable information on the status of invasive species in your area
Create an engagement plan and experience practicing it in a safe, peer-learning environment
See yourself as a resource to decision makers on invasive species management
View engagement with decision makers as a norm and encourage others to do it
Network with other people passionate to make a difference around invasive species

Contact Michelle Prysby, 434-872-4587, mprysby@vt.edu, for more information.

Applied Forest Finance

February 19
7:45 - 3:30
Georgia Tech Global Learning Center, Atlanta, GA
$580

Join us for the one-day "Applied Forest Finance" class on February 19th in Atlanta, GA! Learn to understand the identification, valuation, and ranking of timber-dependent and forest-related investments. This class details the step-by-step financial analysis required to answer key investment and forest management questions.

Tree Farm Dinner

February 21
3:00
Porterfield Forest LLC Tree Farm, St. Stephens Church
$10 - includes dinner

The Rappahannock Chapter of the Society of American Foresters, in cooperation with the Virginia Tree Farm Foundation will be hosting a field tour and dinner for current and prospective Tree Farmers in King and Queen County. A field tour (meet at 665 Spring Cottage Road, St. Stephens Church) will be followed by dinner and a presentation at the King and Queen County Branch Library located at 396 Newtown Road, St. Stephens Church, VA at 5:30pm. The field tour and dinner presentation will be led by the Department of Game & Inland Fisheries Quail Restoration Leader Marc Puckett and focus of ways to improve wildlife habitat for game and non-game species on private land. David works in partnership with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and will provide an update on federal and state cost-share programs available to private landowners, including the new Working Lands for Wildlife Program. Individual transportation is required from the field tour to the library. All are welcome attend. If you cannot make the field tour, we would still love to have you join us for dinner.

Please RSVP to Dan Wilson by January 31^st, 2019 at dan@trfva.com or 434-531-0456.

15th Annual Woods & Wildlife Conference

February 23
8:30 - 4:30
Daniel Technology Center, Germanna Community College, Culpeper
$45/person; $80/couple

Join Virginia Cooperative Extension and partners for a full day of presentations and workshops geared towards helping both large and small acreage landowners become better stewards. Topics include:

History & Literacy of your Woods– Joe Lehnen, VA Department of Forestry
Tending Hardwood Dominated Forests– Billy Newman, EnviroFor Consulting Forestry
Conserving Soil during a Timber Harvest– Stephen Jasenak, VA Department of Forestry
Brook Trout & Stream Habitat– Seth Coffman, Trout Unlimited
The Loggerhead Shrike (a.k.a., butcher bird) – Amy Johnson, Ph.D., Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
Gardening for Pollinators– Celia Vuocolo, Piedmont Environmental Council
Assessing Tree Failure Risk – TBA
Oak Identification – Tom Wild, Virginia Master Naturalist, Rivanna Chapter
How to Kill (bad) Trees (& bushes) – Joe Rosetti, Virginia Department of Forestry
Tapping Various Trees for Syrup– Matt Cabral, Sugar Bug
Frogging by Ear– Travis Anthony, VA Herpetological Society
State of the Herd (Virginia Deer) – Mike Dye, VA Dept. of Game & Inland Fisheries

Program subject to change without notice

Agenda

Register by mail

Register on-line

Contact Adam Downing, 540-948-6881, adowning@vt.edu, for more information.

Woods & Wildlife Conference

February 23
8:30 - 4:30
Whitman Theater, Virginia Western Community College, Roanoke
$45/person; $80/couple - includes lunch

Join Virginia Cooperative Extension and partners for a full day of presentations and workshops geared towards helping both large and small acreage landowners become better stewards. Topics include:

Forestry & wildlife working together hand-in-hand. Andy Rosenberger, VA Quail Recovery Initiative
Making friends with flames: Does your forest need a fire? Adam Coates, Virginia Tech
Non-wood goods from your woods. Bill Worrell, VCE
Getting started with game trail cameras. Kevin Light, New River Valley Wildlife
Second life for Virginia’s forests: Providing wood products to you and the world. Charlie Becker, VDOF
Creating a conserved land legacy that endures transfer to the next generation. Andrew Fotinos, VDOF
Ticks & tick-borne diseases: Everything you need & want to know. Liz Gleim, Hollins University
Open land management for wildlife. Justin Folks, VA Quail Recovery Initiative
Timber stand improvement. David Richert, Whole Forest Solutions, Inc.
Virginia’s forest health threats: Major insects and diseases to know about. Katlin Mooneyham, VDOF
Young forests for wildlife: Management practices for attracting golden-winged warblers and other wildlife. Chris Peters, NRCS
Managing conflicts with wildlife. Dan Lovelace, DGIF

Program subject to change without notice

Agenda

Register by mail

Register on-line

Contact Jennifer Gagnon, 540-231-6391, jgagnon@vt.edu, for more information.

Coyotes in Virginia: Here Today and Here to Stay

February 26
7 - 8:30 p.m.
Blandy Experimental Farm, Boyce
$15

An overview of the history, biology, and ecology of coyotes in Virginia, including an update on coyote research in western Virginia. Learn more about these adaptable mammals and dispel a few myths. Coyotes are new to Virginia but they are here to stay; suggestions for reducing coyote-human conflicts will be discussed.

Contact Blandy Experimental Farm for more information. 540-834-1758 x 224

March

On-line Woodland Options for Landowners

March 4 - May 24
Field Trip June 8th
On-line
$45/family
Syllabus

This 12-week self-paced on-line course teaches the fundamentals of forest management.

Topics include:

Setting management goals and objectives
Forest history
Stewardship and sustainability
Marking your boundary lines, and locating, reading, and understanding your deed
Using maps, photos, Google Earth, and soil surveys
Forest ecology and management
Sources of assistance and planning options

Upon completion of the program, you can have a draft forest management plan. Natural resource professionals serve as mentors and the class winds up with an optional end-of-the-semester hands-on field trip at Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center on June 8th. Registration fee includes materials, 3 books, and field trip.

On-line registration opens January 3, 2019.

Contact Jennifer Gagnon, 540-231-6391, jgagnon@vt.edu, for more information.

EmpowerU! Advocating Invasive Species Management

March 8
10 - 4:00
New Kent Forestry Center, Providence Forge
$25 - includes lunch

Have you been working on invasive species issues but feel compelled to do more? Taking part in the EmpowerU Advocacy Training Program will move your invasive species work to the next level!

In this 4 week course, woodland and shoreline owners, master volunteers, and natural resources professionals can grow their skills to meaningfully engage decision makers about invasive species. Through a series of self-paced online learning activities and one in-person workshop, participants will:

Gain understanding of the roles and levels of government and who to contact regarding invasive species management
Learn to use skills such as influence, power, persuasion, framing, questioning and listening in interactions with decision makers
Know where to find reputable information on the status of invasive species in your area
Create an engagement plan and experience practicing it in a safe, peer-learning environment
See yourself as a resource to decision makers on invasive species management
View engagement with decision makers as a norm and encourage others to do it
Network with other people passionate to make a difference around invasive species

Contact Michelle Prysby, 434-872-4587, mprysby@vt.edu, for more information.

EmpowerU! Advocating Invasive Species Management

March 9
10 - 4:00
Madison County Extension Office, Madison
$25 - includes lunch

Have you been working on invasive species issues but feel compelled to do more? Taking part in the EmpowerU Advocacy Training Program will move your invasive species work to the next level!

In this 4 week course, woodland and shoreline owners, master volunteers, and natural resources professionals can grow their skills to meaningfully engage decision makers about invasive species. Through a series of self-paced online learning activities and one in-person workshop, participants will:

Gain understanding of the roles and levels of government and who to contact regarding invasive species management
Learn to use skills such as influence, power, persuasion, framing, questioning and listening in interactions with decision makers
Know where to find reputable information on the status of invasive species in your area
Create an engagement plan and experience practicing it in a safe, peer-learning environment
See yourself as a resource to decision makers on invasive species management
View engagement with decision makers as a norm and encourage others to do it
Network with other people passionate to make a difference around invasive species

Contact Michelle Prysby, 434-872-4587, mprysby@vt.edu, for more information.

Greener than Grass: A Sustainable Landscaping Series

Alternative Groundcovers

March 12
7 - 8:30 p.m.
Library, Blandy State Arboretum, Boyce
$10

Learn how to landscape for both beauty and sustainability. This four-part series provides the tools you need to identify landscaping elements with negative ecological impact and replace them with designs to benefit pollinators, wildlife, and you.

In part 4, you'll learn that turfgrass, America's biggest crop, has a significantly negative environmental impact. Find out how to replace it with alternative lawns, lower maintenance and friendlier for you and pollinators alike. The workshop includes a panel of homeowners who've experimented with alternative groundcovers and will share their successes and failures.

Register on-line or call (540) 837 1758, x224, M-F 1-5 pm.

Central Virginia Beginning Forest Landowners' Retreat

March 14-16
Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center, Appomattox
- Individual, No Lodging - $40
- Couple, No Lodging - $70
- Individual, Sat. Lodging - $65
- Couple, Sat. Lodging - $120
- Individual, Fri. & Sat. Lodging - $90
- Couple, Fri. & Sat. Lodging - $170

Developed for landowners new to woodland management, this entry-level program covers the basics of keeping your woods and wildlife healthy and productive, while working towards meeting your ownership goals. A combination of classroom, field trip, and hands-on activities are used to explore these concepts of sustainability. A variety of natural resource professionals will be available throughout the program.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Gagnon, jgagnon@vt.edu, 540-231-6391.

April

May

Beginning Landowner Retreat

May 16-18
Matthews State Forest, Galax

Developed for landowners new to woodland management, this entry-level program covers the basics of keeping your woods and wildlife healthy and productive, while working towards meeting your ownership goals. A combination of classroom, field trip, and hands-on activities are used to explore these concepts of sustainability. A variety of natural resource professionals will be available throughout the program.

Registration opens in March. For more information, please contact Jennifer Gagnon, jgagnon@vt.edu, 540-231-6391.

Save the date flier

June

July

August

September

Beginning Landowner Retreat

September 19-21
New Kent Forestry Center, Providence Forge

Developed for landowners new to woodland management, this entry-level program covers the basics of keeping your woods and wildlife healthy and productive, while working towards meeting your ownership goals. A combination of classroom, field trip, and hands-on activities are used to explore these concepts of sustainability. A variety of natural resource professionals will be available throughout the program.

Registration opens in July. For more information, please contact Jennifer Gagnon, jgagnon@vt.edu, 540-231-6391.

Save the date flier

October

November