Scavengers Photography Club
2026-05-21 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Denver) | Montana Natural History Center
Dates: Third Thursday of the Month
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Montana Natural History Center
Come find community and inspiration for your nature photography passion at our Scavengers Photography Club! Everyone is welcome – hobbyists, enthusiasts, professionals, and new beginners! Peggy Christian, artist, author, and Master Naturalist, hosts this unique club.
Photo by Kathy Eyster
This month we explore two themes from Digital Photography Through the Year — Pond Life & Reflected City. Kathy Eyster will show examples and provide suggestions for photographing these subjects to share at our June meeting.
At each session we will share our photos (up to 6 per person) and discuss current projects, interests, successes, and challenges. Some sessions will feature a guest presentation on an aspect of photography.
Note: Please bring your photos to share on a thumb drive to use in our computer.
“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”
― Ansel Adams
Share your perspective and connection to nature through photography!

A Beginner's Guide to Drawing Trees with Jason Poole
2026-05-23 13:00 - 15:00 | Montana Natural History Center
Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Montana Natural History Center
Cost: $45 MNHC members/$50 non-members.
Add your MNHC membership to your order when you check out!
REGISTER HERE
Join artist (and paleontologist) Jason Poole for a beginners’ sketching class focused on trees!
Trees are often a challenge for beginners who want to sketch outside or from photos of landscapes. How do you draw details like intricate branches, textured bark, delicate leaves, or clusters of needles, and make them look realistic? Jason will teach you techniques that will make you much more comfortable with the subject – and sketching in general. Learn trips and tricks of sketching using trees as the focus. You will practice ways of seeing complex structures and how to represent them on paper. Jason will cover structure, texture, weight distribution, layout, mass, and light and shadow.
Bring your favorite sketchbook and pencils or use the materials provided.
Instructor: Jason C. Poole has worn many hats: Adjunct Professor of Paleontology, scientific illustrator, art teacher, and paleontology field instructor. He has excavated dinosaurs on three continents, including Africa and South and North America. Paralititan, Dreadnoughtus, and Suuwassea are three dinosaurs Jason has worked on; all were new to science when discovered and two are supermassive titanosaurs. Jason is also a paleontological artist who’s been published in National Geographic and whose art work appears in many museum and private collections.

FAQs
What’s the refund policy?
The course fee (minus a 25% administrative fee) is refundable if a cancellation is made up to 7 days before the event. No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after this deadline. See our full refund/cancellation policy here.
Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
Nope! We will have a list of all the attendees.

Volunteering at Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden
2026-05-24 09:00 - 11:00, 2026-05-31 09:00 - 11:00, 2026-06-07 09:00 - 11:00, 2026-06-14 09:00 - 11:00, 2026-07-05 09:00 - 11:00, 2026-07-19 09:00 - 11:00, 2026-07-26 09:00 - 11:00, 2026-08-02 09:00 - 11:00 and 1 more date | Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden, 404 H Road, Missoula, MT, 59804, United States
Dates: Select Sundays, May-August
Time: 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
Location: Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden
The beautiful Native Plant Garden at Fort Missoula could use volunteers to weed, transplant plants out of the walkways and prune shrubs. Volunteering is available most Sunday mornings from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and you can pop in and out any time during that period. We will supply the gloves and tools but if you have your own feel free to bring them. In addition to working, you can learn about the plants, birds and ecology of the garden from Elena Ulev, the Garden Manager.
DIG IN! For more information on programs happening at the Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden, click here!

Mount Jumbo Wildflower Walk
2026-05-26 09:00 - 11:30 | Montana Natural History Center
Date: Tuesday, May 26
Time: 9:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Location: Meet at the Mount Jumbo Lincoln Hills Trailhead
Cost: $20 MNHC members/$25 non-members (1 child free per ticketed adult!)
Taking a field trip from our regular programming at the Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden.This Tuesday we’ll be exploring Mount Jumbo!
REGISTER HERE!
Mount Jumbo is one of the best places in Missoula to see wildflowers this time of year. We will slowly walk up to the saddle of Mount Jumbo and see up to 25 species of wildflowers, from arrowleaf balsamroot to kittentails and death camas. We will discuss their roles in the landscape for pollinators and other animals and conclude the walk at a unique cushion plant community. The walk is a total of 1 mile with uphill and downhill portions. Please come prepared for some light hiking.
FAQs
What’s the refund policy?
The course fee (minus a 25% administrative fee) is refundable if a cancellation is made up to 7 days before the event. No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after this deadline. See our full refund/cancellation policy here.
Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
Nope! We will have a list of all the attendees.

miniNaturalist Pre-K Program
2026-05-26 10:00 - 11:00 | Montana Natural History Center
The miniNaturalist pre-K program encourages curiosity for the natural world.
Dates: Every Tuesday, September – May
Time: 10:00-11:00 am
Location: Montana Natural History Center, 120 Hickory Street.
The miniNaturalist program encourages curiosity for the natural world through exploration and play. We sing songs, read books, play games, and develop skills with art and science tools. Each program begins with songs, movement, and stories. We then provide materials for learner directed discovery in our garden. We look for bugs and birds, color on rocks, build with branches, experiment with science tools and play with a variety of art materials.
Please bring clothes for outdoor play! We have some snow clothes to borrow.
Best for ages 2-4, though any age is welcome!
Cost: FREE!

Drop-In Nature Journaling
2026-05-27 11:30 - 13:00 | Montana Natural History Center
Date: Last Wednesday of the Month
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: Montana Natural History Center
Cost: Free with admission/membership!
Fellow naturalists! Are you looking for community, accountability, inspiration, and more? We’re excited to offer monthly drop-in nature journaling / phenology wheel / nature writing sessions September-May. Bring your nature journals, phenology wheels, pens, pencils, and paints, and have fun crafting your observations in community. We’ll have some supplies available (colored pencils, micron pens, watercolor pencils, etc.), as well as field guides and specimens, and we’ll provide a fun journal prompt, too! For those working on phenology wheels – whether daily, monthly, or seasonal – this is a great time to work on your wheel template for the next month or catch up on your daily or monthly observations.
Scheduled over the lunch hour, this is a perfect mid-day break; please feel free to bring lunch or snacks.
This program is FREE with admission/membership!
Come join us for fun, creativity, and naturalist exploration!
2025-2026 dates:
September 24th, 2025
October 29th, 2025
November 26th, 2025
NO SESSION in DECEMBER
January 28th, 2026
February 25th, 2026
March 25th, 2026
April 29th, 2026
May 27th, 2026
We’ll be back in September!

Virtual Naturalist Book Club #2
2026-06-08 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-07-13 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-08-10 18:30 - 20:30 | Virtual Zoom Classroom
Date: Monthly, on the second Monday of the month (except January, June, July, and August)
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location/Platform: Virtual Zoom Classroom
The only thing better than reading a fascinating natural history book (and there are so many of them!) is getting to discuss it with a wonderful group of like-minded people. We can help you do that! Join one of our free naturalist book clubs, where you can read and discuss a great new book each month, enjoying various perspectives and insights, all from the comfort of your own home. (Cozy pjs are perfectly acceptable attire.) This book club meets September-May and breaks for the summer.
Book List
September: Light Eaters
October: The Serviceberry
November: The Stubborn Light of Things
December: Flight Paths
January: no meeting this month
February: Woman Among Wolves
March: What an Owl Knows
April: Restoring the Kinship Worldview May: Tenacious Beasts
Your hosts will be Sherry Staub and Cas Kendley. Sherry has led the Sacajawea book club for over two years in Bozeman and has extensively read in the nature book genre. Cas started and led a book club as a UM student and is looking forward to starting an advanced degree in forestry at the UM.
You will need a computer that can access the internet and Zoom platform in order to participate.
Interested in joining? There are spaces available! Email Christine at cmorris [at] montananaturalist [dot] org to sign up.
Group is limited to 10 participants.

Dig Your Own Native Shrubs
2026-06-09 09:00 - 11:00 | Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden, 404 H Road, Missoula, MT, 59804, United States
Date: Tuesday, June 9
Time: 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Location: Native Plant Garden at Fort Missoula
Cost: $20 MNHC members/$25 non-members
(1 child free per ticketed adult!)
REGISTER HERE!
Native shrubs are important for pollinators, nesting birds and other wildlife. The garden has an abundance of chokecherry, snowberry and Wood’s rose and you can dig up a bunch! We’ll first teach you about each plant then provide shovels and containers and show you how to dig and transplant the shrubs into your own yard.
DIG IN! For more information on programs happening at the Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden, click here!
FAQs
What’s the refund policy?
The course fee (minus a 25% administrative fee) is refundable if a cancellation is made up to 7 days before the event. No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after this deadline. See our full refund/cancellation policy here.
Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
Nope! We will have a list of all the attendees.

Virtual Naturalist Book Club #1
2026-06-09 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-07-14 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-08-11 18:30 - 20:30 | Virtual Zoom Classroom
Date: Monthly, on the second Tuesday of the month
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location/Platform: Virtual Zoom Classroom
The only thing better than reading a fascinating natural history book (and there are so many of them!) is getting to discuss it with a wonderful group of like-minded people. We can help you do that! Join one of our free naturalist book clubs, where you can read and discuss a great new book each month, enjoying various perspectives and insights, all from the comfort of your own home. (Cozy pjs are perfectly acceptable attire.)
Your hosts are Master Naturalist Suzanne Hendrich and Deborah Drain.
You will need a computer that can access the internet and Zoom platform in order to participate.
There are some spaces available in this book club. Contact cmorris (at) montananaturalist.org to sign up.
Group is limited to 10 participants.

Confident Color Mixing for Nature Journaling
2026-06-10 09:00 - 12:00 | Montana Natural History Center
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Time: 9:00 am. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden
Cost: $45 MNHC members/$50 non-members.
Add your MNHC membership to your order when you check out!
REGISTER HERE!
(Registration closes June 3rd.)
Master color mixing with artist Nancy Seiler! Have you been nature journaling for a while and feel a bit overwhelmed when mixing colors? This class is for you!
Nancy will help you understand how to choose colors to match the natural objects that you see. She’ll explain pigments so that you will come away understanding how to obtain bright and dull colors, use complimentary colors, mix grays, and utilize whatever watercolors you have on hand. Nancy will be teaching from the QoR Mini 12-pigment set, so it would benefit you to have this set.
We’ll start with swatching to understand the pigments you have, tricks for blending and layering color, and how values play a big part of helping your drawings pop. The first two hours will be teaching and working with your pigments. The last hour will be color mixing on your own from objects you find on site with Nancy there to help you achieve color matches.
Instructor: Nancy Seiler received her Visual Communications degree from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1981. As a Golden Working Artist for Golden Artist Colors she presents lectures, demonstrations, and workshops in acrylics, watercolors, and oils in Southern California and Montana. She has taught classical botanical illustration and nature journaling since 2003. Her work is represented by Frame of Reference Fine Art in Whitefish and Bigfork, Montana.
Activity level: Easy. We will be sitting at picnic tables and/or folding chairs. Feel free to bring seating that you prefer. The bathrooms are port-a-potties.
What to Bring:

clothes appropriate for changing Montana weather conditions, layers
sunscreen, bug spray
water, snacks
your watercolor set
watercolor paper or watercolor/mixed media journal
#8 round brush or similar
graphite pencil and eraser and/or micro pen (any size point)
anything you may need to be comfortable sitting and journaling outside for 3 hours. There are picnic tables, but you may want your own chair, or pillow, or whatever you use when journaling.

FAQs
What’s the refund policy?
The course fee (minus a 25% administrative fee) is refundable if a cancellation is made up to 7 days before the event. No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after this deadline. See our full refund/cancellation policy here.
Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
Nope! We will have a list of all the attendees.

Color Mixing Greys, Blacks, and Neutrals for Nature Journaling
2026-06-10 13:30 | Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Location: Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden
Cost: $45 MNHC members/$50 non-members.
Add your MNHC membership to your order when you check out!
REGISTER HERE! (Registration closes June 3rd.)
Master color mixing with artist Nancy Seiler! Follow the morning class (or just attend this one) with this afternoon class on color mixing grays, blacks, and neutral colors.
Learn how to match the colors such as the dry hills around Missoula along with rocks and other natural objects that we find on site. By mixing blacks and grays with two or three pigments, you’ll achieve depth and interest in your journal pages instead of the colors looking flat. Nancy will be teaching from the QoR Mini 12-pigment set, so it would benefit you to have this set. The first two hours will be teaching and working with your pigments. The last hour will be color mixing on your own from objects you find at site with Nancy there to help you achieve color matches.
Instructor: Nancy Seiler received her Visual Communications degree from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1981. As a Golden Working Artist for Golden Artist Colors she presents lectures, demonstrations, and workshops in acrylics, watercolors, and oils in Southern California and Montana. She has taught classical botanical illustration and nature journaling since 2003. Her work is represented by Frame of Reference Fine Art in Whitefish and Bigfork, Montana.
Activity level: Easy. We will be sitting at picnic tables and/or folding chairs. Feel free to bring seating that you prefer. The bathrooms are port-a-potties.
What to Bring:

clothes appropriate for changing Montana weather conditions, layers
sunscreen, bug spray
water, snacks
your watercolor set
watercolor paper or watercolor/mixed media journal
#8 round brush or similar
graphite pencil and eraser and/or micro pen (any size point)
anything you may need to be comfortable sitting and journaling outside for 3 hours. There are picnic tables, but you may want your own chair, or pillow, or whatever you use when journaling.

FAQs
What’s the refund policy?
The course fee (minus a 25% administrative fee) is refundable if a cancellation is made up to 7 days before the event. No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after this deadline. See our full refund/cancellation policy here.
Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
Nope! We will have a list of all the attendees.

Master Naturalist Club
2026-06-10 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-07-08 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-08-12 14:00 - 16:00 | Montana Natural History Center
Date: Monthly, on the second Wednesday of the month
Time: 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Location: Various – contact club host
Share outdoor explorations and learning experiences with other curious naturalists at our monthly Master Naturalist Club! We will connect with experts and hone our skills, meeting at field locations around Missoula.
April Topic: Introduction to Oding: Looking for dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) in Western Montana
Suzanne Hendrich, Master Naturalist, has led dragonfly field trips for MOLLI and is in the midst of a multiyear survey of Odonata in this region. She will share keys to identifying Odonata, key features of their life cycle, habitat and ecology, and good local spots for oding adventures.
Club hosts: Master Naturalists Sarah Elsasser, Bill Buseman, and Elizabeth Johns
Interested in joining? There are spaces available! Email Christine at cmorris@montananaturalist.org to sign up.

The Blackfoot River: A Conservation Success Story with North Sky Adventures
2026-06-13 09:00 - 16:00 | Montana Natural History Center
Date: Saturday, June 13
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 or 4:00 p.m.
Location: Meet at the Montana Natural History Center. Travel by North Sky Adventures van.
Cost: $150 MNHC members/$160 non-members
REGISTER HERE!
Registration closes Friday, June 5
Travel to the iconic Blackfoot River on a day tour with North Sky Adventures that tells one of Montana’s greatest conservation success stories. Guests will learn how a river once heavily impacted by mining, logging, and pollution was restored through decades of collaboration, science-based management, and community stewardship.
As you explore this now-pristine trout stream, you’ll see firsthand how healthy watersheds support thriving fisheries, wildlife, and local communities—an inspiring example of how thoughtful conservation can bring a landscape back to life.
We’ll stop at Milltown State Park, Johnsrud Park, Daigle’s Eddy, Sheep Flats, Whitaker Bridge, and Ninemile Prairie before ending the tour at Clearwater Junction.
What’s Included:

Expert interpretation and insight from our professional naturalist guides
A full lunch
Drinking water, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages
Roundtrip transportation
Binoculars, spotting scopes, trekking poles, and bear spray
Entrance fees and permits
Our guides carry emergency communication devices, first aid kits, and are current WFRs or EMTs

What to Bring:

Reusable water bottles
Clothing, footwear, and raingear and layers appropriate for changing Montana weather conditions
Backpacks
Guide gratuity
Sunscreen
Bug spray
Weather is highly variable, and it is advisable to check the weather before the tour
We recommend bringing a fleece or puffy jacket and a rain jacket just in case

Activity Level:
Easy. On and off the van multiple times throughout the day. Standing. Walking on flat ground.

FAQ
What’s the refund policy?
The course fee (minus a 25% administrative fee) is refundable if a cancellation is made up to 7 days before the event. No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after this deadline. See our full refund/cancellation policy here.
Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
Nope! We will have a list of all the attendees.

Scavengers Photography Club
2026-06-18 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-07-16 18:00 - 20:00 | Montana Natural History Center
Dates: Third Thursday of the Month
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Montana Natural History Center
Come find community and inspiration for your nature photography passion at our Scavengers Photography Club! Everyone is welcome – hobbyists, enthusiasts, professionals, and new beginners! Peggy Christian, artist, author, and Master Naturalist, hosts this unique club.
At each session we will share our photos (up to 6 per person) and discuss current projects, interests, successes, and challenges. Some sessions will feature a guest presentation on an aspect of photography.
Note: Please bring your photos to share on a thumb drive to use in our computer.
“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”
― Ansel Adams
Share your perspective and connection to nature through photography!

Summer Master Naturalist Course for Teachers
2026-06-22 - 2026-06-26 | Montana Natural History Center
Are you a teacher — in the schools or in an informal setting (summer camps, afterschool, day care)? This course is for you! This certification course consists of at least 40 hours of instruction in a mix of lectures, in-class labs, independent study, and outdoor field trips. We’ll cover a wide breadth of topics with the goal of giving you an essential foundation of skills and knowledge on which you can build. Our summer session will focus on flowering plants, birds, and insects. We will emphasize learning methods and activities that can be adapted for a wide age range in formal or informal education settings.
Dates: MONDAY, June 22, to FRIDAY, June 26, 2025, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Location: We will meet at MNHC each morning. We will carpool to field sites.
Cost: $345 MNHC members, $375 non-members. You can purchase an MNHC membership when you register.
We are able to offer scholarships! Please contact us at 406.327.0405 for details.
REGISTER HERE
We’ll take full advantage of the summer season and spend most of our time afield. We will spend time in the cottonwood galleries of the river’s floodplain and venture to the conifer forest in Pattee Canyon. Get a handle on plant identification by recognizing patterns in form, catch and identify butterflies along the Clark Fork River, and recognize birds by song and sight. This is a five-day intensive course with pre-course readings and observation activities. Class meets from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day. There will also be approximately one hour of independent study each day.
This class is compressed into a short window of time so we will delve deeply into three subjects. Our focus will be on learning the core skills of identification of: 1) flowers, shrubs, and trees, 2) birds, and 3) insects. Instruction will also include time on local geology, mammals, fire ecology, and riparian ecology. This program will support teachers in using critical STEM skills in observation, investigation, data collection, and other science and engineering practices they can take back to their classrooms and use with their students.
Instructors: Christine Morris, Community Programs Coordinator and naturalist. Christine teaches the spring and fall Montana Master Naturalist courses, the Certified Interpretive Guide course, and coordinates adult programs and lectures.
Guest instructors may include Elena Ulev, Montana Natural History Center Garden Manager and Master Naturalist instructor; Geoff Farinholt, BLM fuels; Ian Watson, geologist; MNHC teaching naturalists, and more.
Master Naturalist Certification Requirements:

The main project for this class is keeping a detailed naturalist handbook with species list. To get the most out of your experience, you should expect to spend a little time in the afternoon reviewing and organizing your daily notes, and tracking your observations.
Full attendance.
Complete the culminating exercise.

Sample June Itinerary:

Monday: flowering plants at Pattee Canyon
Tuesday: birds at Fort Missoula and Maclay Flat
Wednesday: conifers and ecology at Bass Creek
Thursday: insects at Greenough Park
Friday: final exercise at Council Grove

Please Note: We will be walking, standing, and sitting outside most of each day. Physical activity level is easy to moderate with some uphill walking on trails. You may be walking up to 2 miles.
Please Bring:

Clothes appropriate for changing Montana weather conditions, good walking shoes or boots, sunscreen, hat, etc.
Water, snacks, and lunch
Something to write with
Binoculars and loupes optional (we will have them to borrow)
Anything you need to be comfortable walking, sitting, standing outside

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

Cost: $345 for members; $375 for non-members
This class has already been discounted for teachers. However, we are able to offer some scholarships! Please contact us at 406.327.0405 for details.
20 OPI Credits
Full payment due upon registration. The course fee (minus a $100 administrative fee) is refundable ONLY if a cancellation is made 30 days before the first day of class. No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after this deadline. Exceptions will be made for air quality due to wildfires. Read our full cancellation/refund policy.
