Montana Master Naturalist Course – registration now open for Spring and Summer 2012!
Who can be a Montana Master Naturalist?
Any adult who is curious and enjoys learning about the natural world, shares that knowledge with others, and supports conservation. If you enjoy hiking, bird watching, following tracks, or identifying wildflowers, you’ll love being a Montana Master Naturalist. Montana Master Naturalists are a motivated group of fun and interesting people: teachers, retired professionals, nature guides, hunters, eco-tour operators, farmers, and . . . YOU!
The Montana Master Naturalist Course consists of 40 hours of in-classroom training. The training includes lectures, in-class laboratories, and outdoor field trips. You’ll learn naturalist skills such as Montana rock, plant, and animal identification; how to identify mammal skulls by their teeth; natural history interpretation skills; keeping a journal; drawing from nature; collecting insects; and much, much more. The course is designed to be a general overview of the local ecology and focuses on the richest sites to study Montana’s landscapes and native species.
Spring 2012
We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for our Spring 2012 Montana Master Naturalist Course, taught by MNHC Naturalist Brian Williams. This is a 12-week course beginning in mid-February and running through early May. We will offer two sections of classes, one on Tuesdays and the other on Thursdays, from 4-7pm. The Tuesday class begins on February 14th and ends on May 8th, with three full-day SATURDAY field trips on March 3rd, April 14th, and May 5th. The Thursday class begins on February 16th and ends on May 10th, with three full-day SUNDAY field trips on March 4th, April 15th, and May 6th.
Openings in the Tuesday class: 1
Openings in the Thursday class: 0
Registration for the Spring 2012 course is now open. Please call during business hours to register. The cost of this course is $395. A $100 non-refundable deposit must be paid on registration to hold one’s place, with the remaining balance due 30 days prior to the first day of class (for this spring, balance is due on January 20th).
3 college credits will be available (pending approval); this course is listed as EVST 395.
Some scholarships are available–please contact us at 327.0405 for details.
Summer 2012
We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for our Summer 2012 Montana Master Naturalist Course, taught by MNHC Naturalist Brian Williams. This is an intensive one-week course offered from Wednesday, June 27th to Tuesday, July 3rd, with Saturday and Sunday off. The class runs from 7am to 3:30pm.
Openings in summer class: 8
Registration for the Summer 2012 course is now open. Please call during business hours to register. The cost of this course is $395. A $100 non-refundable deposit must be paid on registration to hold one’s place, with the remaining balance due 30 days prior to the first day of class (for this summer, balance is due on May 29th).
2 college credits will be available (pending approval); this course is listed as EVST 395.
Some scholarships are available–please contact us at 327.0405 for details.
Attendance Policy
Participants must complete at least 40 full hours of basic training to become certified Montana Master Naturalists. One make-up night is included in most courses.
Volunteer Service
Following the completion of the training course, Montana Master Naturalists will be expected to complete 40 hours of volunteer service and 8 hours of advanced training per year to be considered active Master Naturalists. Any time spent on the Capstone Project and any volunteer service hours completed after graduating from the training course may be counted towards the 40 hours. There are four basic areas of service:
- Stewardship Projects—these projects involve natural resource management activities, such as invasive species removal or restoration projects.
- Education/Interpretive Projects—these projects would be public presentations of natural resource information, educational materials development, or leading hikes.
- Citizen Science Projects—these projects would focus on volunteers gathering data and returning it to researchers to support the research projects. Examples would include: Monarch larval monitoring, plant or animal counts, or water quality monitoring.
- Program Support—these projects include working in a store or office of the Montana Master Naturalist or sponsor, or serving as a local chapter organizer.
For a list of organizations with which you can volunteer, click here. >>
For more information about advanced training opportunities, click here.>>
Scholarships
Scholarships may be available. Call MNHC for more information.
