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  • Volunteers from Virginia Master Naturalists and AmeriCorps, with VA Natural Heritage staff, take a break from the migratory bird habitat restoration at Mutton Hunk Fen Natural Area Preserve.
  • A Virginia Master Naturalist volunteer plants a southern wax myrtle shrub. Restoring this habitat will help millions of birds find the rest and food they need for their long migration.
  • All work and no play? Not today! Volunteers collect empty nursery pots while having a little fun.
  • This aerial view shows the restoration area at Mutton Hunk Fen Natural Area Preserve.
  • Locally grown, native, southern wax myrtles are ready for planting.
  • Another Virginia Master Naturalist volunteer hard at work! Most of the work involves planting and protecting fruit-bearing shrubs and deciduous trees and returning agricultural fields to former natural conditions.
  • An AmeriCorps volunteer plants a southern wax myrtle. The trees and shrubs will help filter surface water of sediment, fertilizers and excess nutrients and increase the recharging of groundwater supplies.
  • A tree planting contractor uses some muscle to plant a native willow oak seedling.
  • Next step: a tree planting contractor places a tree shelter on an oak seedling.
  • Tree planters install tree shelters and weed mats on a habitat restoration project near Parksley, Virginia.
  • Workers plant native trees and shrubs with shelters at a habitat restoration project near Eastville, Virginia.
Restoring Migratory Bird Habitat Along Virginia's Eastern Shore
The Nature Conservancy in Virginia