Nebraskaland

52 Nebraskaland • May 2020 knowledge is needed. "It's really a crash course in all these diff erent things," said Matt Jones, who coordinates the Nebraska Master Naturalist Program from its base at University of Nebraska-Lincoln's School of Natural Resources. "There's really not any other comprehensive training that would give you that much information, unless you went back for your fi sh and wildlife undergrad." To keep their certifi cation, a Nebraska master naturalist must complete at least 20 volunteer hours and eight hours of continuing education each year. Volunteer opportunities include education and outreach, citizen science, resource management and outdoor skills mentoring. For the program's 40-some partner organizations, this volunteering aspect is a godsend. "Many of those organizations look to us as their arm into volunteer recruitment," Jones said. Being a master naturalist gives you an "in" with them that the average person doesn't have, he added. "Our partnering programs know what that training looks like and the background of what that individual received, so it really breaks the ice," he said. The Life of a Master Naturalist The master naturalist experience begins with the training, which gets rave reviews from participants. Trainings take place in areas that lend themselves to outdoor learning, such as Heron Haven in Omaha, Rowe Sanctuary, Spring Creek Prairie and DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. Organizers schedule several trainings each year and try to spread them out across the state. Participants can choose from two training formats, a weeklong version or the "core" training, which covers 24 hours of content across two weekends. While both include hands-on fi eld activities, the weeklong training, which includes meals and lodging, is especially memorable. "It was awesome. You walk out of your cabin and there's a mule deer standing right there," said Debra Kaufman of Papillion, who completed her training at Cedar Point Biological Station near Ogallala. She spoke with excitement about all the activities she participated in, including examining rocks during the geology session, taking water samples and getting a close-up look at nocturnal insects. "[The training] was intense, but it was a lot of fun," she said. Once initial training is fi nished, master naturalists enjoy Andrea Jenkins of Lincoln holds a crayfi sh during a master naturalist training session on aquatic ecosystems. Nebraska master naturalists helped release lab-reared Salt Creek tiger beetle larvae back into the wild. PHOTO BY OMAHA'S HENRY DOORLY ZOO AND AQUARIUM PHOTO BY KAREN KLEIN

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