By Arianne Aryanpur
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 19, 2006; PW10
In a classroom at idyllic Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve in Leesburg on Thursday evening, a class of two dozen students examined diagrams of fish scales and shark tails. Over the course of two hours, they asked probing questions and became mini-experts on the region's waterways and the creatures that live in them.
The students, among whom are science teachers, government workers and others interested in the environment, meet once a week at Banshee Reeks to train to become volunteer naturalists.
They are participants in the Virginia Master Naturalist Program, which started this fall in Loudoun County and was created by five state agencies, including the Department of Forestry and the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
With 10 chapters across the state, the expanding program is intended to address the shortage of volunteer naturalists -- nonprofessionals who help to preserve the environment through volunteer projects and educational programs.
The 12-week training course covers such topics as forest ecology, the climate, urban wildlife and conservation through classroom instruction, field trips and service projects.
State coordinator Michelle Prysby said the goal is to reach Virginians who want to help in preserving the environment but don't know how to do so.
"There are a lot of people who want to do something," Prysby said, "and to really make progress with conserving and managing our natural resources effectively, we need to have citizen involvement."
Banshee Reeks Manager Ron Circe, who approached Prysby in the spring about starting a local chapter, said his program is the first in Northern Virginia.
"I'm a big proponent of environmental education," said Circe, 54. "In order to appreciate and conserve what you have, you have to understand what you have. The more people we can educate, the more information they have to make an educated decision, be it writing letters to the editor or voting on Election Day."
Bruce McGranahan is an environmental coordinator with the Loudoun County Department of Planning and one of the program's six hired teachers. On Thursday, he used a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate the effects of pollution on local streams, rivers and watersheds.
"It isn't until people understand their connection to these systems that we can make a change," McGranahan said, adding that burgeoning Loudoun is an ideal place for such a program.
"We have to find a way to accommodate growth without jeopardizing the environment. And the government can't do it alone," he said.
Students in the program take a state test each semester to become certified master naturalists. The state certification means that volunteers can speak at farmers markets and other local venues about the environment.
The hope is that eventually they will pass on their knowledge, enlarging the pool of those who are educated about the environment, Circe said.
"We're not trying to make people biologists or scientists; we're trying to make them informed citizens," he said. "Hopefully it will have a trickle-up effect."
The curriculum is supplemented with two field trips on the 725-acre Banshee Reeks preserve. Participants must also complete 40 hours of volunteer service and a final project.
The project portion of the training is a draw for many of the students.
Jill Rasmussen, a high school science teacher in Annandale, said she plans to conduct a survey of amphibians in Banshee Reeks as her final project. The survey, she said, will supplement the work of professional researchers at the nature preserve.
For Rasmussen, being a citizen-scientist is much of the program's appeal.
"I think a lot of people have interests that are much broader than what they're able to fulfill in a job environment. And programs like this give you the opportunity to pursue those other interests," she said.
That's what attracted Scott Knudsen, 44, to the program. Knudsen, an accountant in Fairfax County who is interested in tree preservation, said the class has widened his view of the natural world.
"The first thing I'm going to do is volunteer and share my knowledge with other people," he said.
In addition to its fall program, Banshee Reeks will offer the master naturalist course in the spring. The spring class already has a waiting list. Tuition is charged. For more information, visit http://www.bansheereeks.org or e-mail bansheereeks@starpower.net.
