Jeff Wright, a Northern Neck Master Naturalist, is the first volunteer in the Northern Neck chapter to achieve the Virginia Master Naturalist Golden Circle Award for accruing 5,000 volunteer hours. On average, NNMNs accrue roughly 90 hours per year.

Virginia Master Naturalists are volunteer educators, citizen scientists and stewards. They help Virginia conserve and manage natural resources and public lands. They perform a variety of nature-related and environmental services. For example, master naturalists perform trail maintenance and lead hikes at Virginia state parks and other sites. They monitor bird and butterfly populations through counts held routinely throughout the year using a science-based protocol. They perform other citizen science projects including surveys of all the species in a specific location, such as a nature preserve, state forest, or other area.

While many master naturalists hold degrees or career experience in natural science and environmental areas, a sc...