May 2020 • Nebraskaland 53
the freedom to explore their interests and fashion a volunteer
life that suits their schedule and personalities. Taking kids
on educational hikes, leading sandhill crane tours or teaching
fi shing and hunter safety can all be great options for those
who like working with people. For the less extroverted, there's
behind-the-scenes opportunities, too: planting pollinator
gardens, tending bluebird boxes, harvesting native seeds and
conducting bumble bee surveys, to name a few.
Kelly Kelly of Omaha found her niche in bur oak
conservation. She adopted a trail assigned to her by the
Iowa-based Hitchcock Nature Center, and over the course of
a year, surveyed every bur oak along it for signs of a harmful
fungus, submitting detailed notes along the way.
"I feel like I'm making a real impact," she said.
For her, as well as other master naturalists, part of the
program's draw is its sense of community.
"I'm rather shy," said Kelly, while attending the program's
winter celebration with about 100 others from across the
state. "But I come in here today, and I have connections to
almost every table. And I'm so happy to see these people that
are also passionate about the environment."
Carol Hinkle of Lincoln collects seeds of rough gayfeather at Dieken Prairie for Wachiska Audubon Society. Wachiska sold the
seeds to Prairie Legacy Inc. to be used in prairie restoration.
During training, master naturalists learn about Nebraska's
native bees, their habitat, their services as pollinators
and the challenges they face. After training, some master
naturalists have volunteered to conduct bumble bee
surveys for the Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas, a statewide
citizen science project.
PHOTO
BY
RENAE
BLUM
PHOTO
BY
RENAE
BLUM
