If you’ve been involved in sustainability for long, you might’ve heard about or met someone who is a Texas Master Naturalist. Our state’s Master Naturalists are well trained and a great resource!
The program is run by the Texas A&M Agrilife extension, and their goal is “to develop a corps of well-informed volunteers to provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities for the State of Texas”.
Anyone can receive the valuable training to become a Master Naturalist. To become a Master Naturalist, all you need is to complete an approved training course consisting of 40 hours in the field and classroom combined. Then, to become certified, 40 hours of community service must be given back to the local community and 8 hours of advanced training must be completed. Chapters hold events to fulfill these requirements, or they can come from outside sources.
Becoming a Master Naturalist gives you a wild array of information about our local environment and ecology as a whole. It sets you up to be an incredible community resource, and with a network of fellow passionate and knowledgeable people. Chapters hold frequent events on a regular basis, such as hikes, Bioblitzes, and speaker sessions!
If you’re interested in becoming more education, receiving certification for it, and meeting a community with shared goals, training to become a Master Naturalist can be a great way to accomplish it all!
Chapters are organized by your county of residence. Listed below are some local chapters:
-Dallas, Rockwall, and Kaufman Counties: North Texas Chapter
-Collin and Hunt Counties: Blackland Prairie Chapter
-Tarrant and Parker Counties: Cross Timbers Chapter
-Ellis and Navarro Counties: Indian Trail Chapter
-Denton, Wise, and Cook Counties: Elm Fork Chapter
-Johnson, Hood, and Sommerville Counties: Rio Brazos Chapter
A map of chapters by all Texas counties can be found here.
Written by Caroline Lonneman
The Greenhouse Blog 