Merrimac Farm Continuing Education Corner - February 2026
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Greetings! Hope you've survived the snow and ice and are warm and well!
If you didn't know: Members now have ten (10) in-person CE opportunities, (over 20 CE hours), through the Merrimac Farm Virginia Master Naturalists chapter with five, (5) local lectures, and (5) five local field trip events planned. You have the choice to attend these local lectures and events, to meet your required annual eight (8) CE hours. Please always check the chapter website for registration, cancellations and more information.
The statewide theme is water! Our chapter's goal this year is to increase our diversity, accessibility and inclusion.
The MF VMN chapter is excited to announce a change of location for the CE lectures! All CE lectures for 2026 will be held in Woodbridge, Virginia, at Cokesbury United Methodist Church, 14806 Blackburn Rd, Woodbridge, VA 22191, instead of the Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Church in Manassas. Cokesbury has a large (FREE) parking lot and is a very accessible building.
The Continuing Education Team is looking for volunteers. Team members are wanted to assist with set up, clean up, hospitality, and people with advertising & marketing skills. We need light refreshments. If you can contribute light refreshments, (even, if you don’t join the team), (no mess things that people can eat with their fingers). Fill out this form to express interest: https://forms.gle/aw6JYNEcLMRkxNes7.
Merrimac Farm 2026 Chapter Continuing Education Lecture & Event Series
March 19, 2026 Thursday, 7 PM - 8:30 PM - Join us for a fun, engaging and informative presentation with Drew Uglow, Senior Environmental Analyst, MS4 Coordinator and the Neabsco Bandalong Project Manager, with Prince William County. What is a Bandalong and why is it important? Come and find out! Drew can help you connect with the volunteer opportunities at the Bandalong too.
Cokesbury United Methodist Church,14806 Blackburn Rd, Woodbridge, VA 22191.
March 28, 2026 1 PM Our first field event is with Drew Uglow, Senior Environmental Analyst with Prince William County at the Neabsco Bandalong. You will get an in-depth, in-person, close-up tour of the Neabsco Bandalong in Woodbridge, Virginia, the premier floatable trash capture system spanning the Neabsco Creek in PWC. You will never see plastic water bottles in the same way. Parking is limited. Please share the ride.
Save the dates!
April 11, 2026 10 AM - 2 PM Gabby Youngken, will discuss the history of Occoquan Bay Wildlife Refuge, give us a tour around the Visitor Center starting with a bird walk and talk. 14050 Dawson Beach Rd, Woodbridge, VA 22191. Please note due to fire code the inside presentation is *Limited to 40 registrants. Please share the ride. This is a hybrid presentation and field event opportunity.
"Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets" - Leonardo da Vinci.
Save the date! Chapter Continuing Education opportunity May 21, 2026 7 PM - 9 PM Tom Dombrowski, Environmental Scientist with Prince William County will talk about Wetlands, Streams & RPAs (Riparian Buffers)
Online Opportunities - available at any time
Izaak Walton League
Explore their Clean Water Webinar series from policy to landscaping and everything between, join to learn about clean water issues and what you can do to protect America’s waterways. Sign up to be notified about those by checking off “Clean Water Webinars” on this form.
Other webinars available on demand.
Virginia Master Naturalists - Lots of interesting webinars! https://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/continuing-education/webinar-series/
Virginia Save Our Streams https://vasos.org/ Learn how to become a Certified Stream Monitor!
Other opportunities for gaining your continuing education hours (8), are listed below.
Clifton Institute
Check their website for more learning opportunities. https://cliftoninstitute.org/events/
Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virginia, DCR https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/
Greater Prince William Trails https://www.gpwtrails.org/trails
Prince William Conservation Alliance 10:15AM – 12:30 PM First Friday Hike- Monthly on the first Friday. Plan to join us? Contact Neil Nelson (neil-nelson@comcast.net) for meeting location and additional info. Join every first Friday of the month for a fun hike in Prince William County. Also check out PWCA’s other events https://pwconserve.org/staging/3382/calendar-of-events/
Virginia Native Plant Society Check their wonderful website for all their events! https://vnps.org/events/. Their statewide calendar goes through the end of the year with events Virginia wide.
Online Opportunities - available at any time
Bat Conservation International https://www.batcon.org/about-bats/bats-101/
Prince William Conservation Alliance PWCA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6gZtBWNhcvlU-PEMp0URbQ
Lots of videos on native plants, wildflowers, wildlife and more.
The Virginia Soil Health Coalition - (Virginia Cooperative Extension)- The Virginia Soil Health Coalition strengthens and supports a broad, collaborative network that improves and expands soil health across all of Virginia's landscapes. Online videos and podcasts. virginiasoilhealth.org, 4thesoil.org
Virginia Master Naturalists - Lots of interesting free webinars! https://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/continuing-education/webinar-serie
Continuing Education Opportunities
Here is a list of our partners that you can use to find additional CE opportunities.
Sponsoring Agencies
VMN - Continuing Education Webinar Series
Prince William - Virginia Cooperative Extension (& PW Master Gardeners)
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation - Leesylvania State Park
Additional Partners
Greater Prince William Trails Coalition
Clifton Institute
Prince William Conservation Alliance
Virginia Native Plant Society (& Prince William Wildflower Society)
Northern Virginia Bird Alliance
Plant NOVA Natives (& Plant NOVA Trees)
Prince William Forest Park
Leopold’s Preserve
Prince William Soil & Water Conservation District
Keep Prince William Beautiful
Prince William Parks & Recreation
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