Boise By Nature

I have had the pleasure of living and working in several states across the country, and wanted to share a bit about how the Master Naturalist program works in different states. For this post, I wrote about my experience with the Master Naturalist program in Missouri and Idaho. Read on to learn more!  Missouri The Missouri Master Naturalist program is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the University of Missouri Extension. There are twelve chapters across the state, and the program welcomes those who do not have a chapter nearby to start a new chapter. The basic training course is at the chapter level and involves 40 hours of basic training. After the basic training course is completed, students are considered Master Naturalist "trainees" and must complete eight hours of advancing training and 40 hours of volunteer service each year to be a certified Master Naturalist. MDC and MU Extension Staff serve as advisors to each chapter. I h...

Master Naturalist programs across the country I have had the pleasure of living and working in several states across the country, and wanted to share a bit about how the Master Naturalist program works in different states. For this post, I have two lovely friends as guest writers who are sharing about the Vermont Master Naturalist and California Master Naturalist programs. Read on to learn more!  California UC California Naturalist (CalNat) is a statewide program run out of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, and is the newest UC ANR program with its first pilot certification course taking place in 2010. Since then, it has quickly grown to be offered at almost 50 locations across the 10 bioregions of California! The program is offered via a "train the trainer" model, where CalNat trains groups of instructors who are based at different organizations - environmental non profits, nature centers and museums, land trusts and conservancies, UC reserves and campuses, and c...