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
