Course Registration
VOL - City Nature Challenge Meet Up
City Nature Challenge Meet Up website
15865 Rapids Lake RoadCarver, MN 55315
Come hang out with Amy and Andrea and your fellow Nature Nerds as we document the plants, animals and fungi at the Rapids Lake Unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge as part of the 2024 City Nature Challenge, a global event celebrating urban biodiversity. Drop in anytime between 10 am and 3 pm to walk the trails of the different habitat types there and document spring's arrival. We might as well take advantage of (and learn from) this year’s earlier-than-average spring warm up!
SPECIAL GUEST: Come join Tanner Barnharst to hunt mushrooms and lichen during the City Nature Challenge! Tanner has eight (8) years of experience leading and identifying mushrooms on forays. He has led mushroom forays for the Minnesota Mycological Society and the University of Minnesota Mycology Club. Tanner hopes to find a multitude of fungi including morels, pheasant back mushroom, and potentially other edible species! No matter what we find, you will learn practical skills for mushroom and lichen hunting and identification. Tanner will lead a group of Master Naturalists in the morning (~10am to noon) to hunt fungi and will bring back specimens for identification and discussion over the lunch hour from noon to 1 pm.
Be sure to download the iNaturalist app and create an account before arriving, but we’ll coach you through using the app if you are unfamiliar with it.
Bring a lunch if you like, or come and go as you please.
Did you know?
This area is a featured service project site for the 20th Anniversary of the Minnesota Master Naturalist Program in 2025. Over the next couple years we are working on a variety of habitat restoration projects here, including removal of invasive buckthorn and prairie invaders, clearing out the area around an old barn foundation, hauling and stacking woody material for removal, planting native prairie plants and more. Today’s task is an informal “bioblitz” to document what’s here.
Course Dates:
Meeting from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. on:
- Saturday, April 27, 2024
Instructor Information
Amy holds a BA in Elementary Education from the College of St. Scholastica and a MEd in Environmental Leadership and Learning from the University of MN. With over 30 years of experience in cooperative extension, Amy's career has been dedicated to intertwining her work with a passion for the environment. Since its inception in 2005, she has been an integral part of the Minnesota Master Naturalist program. Hailing from the Duluth area, Amy is a true native Minnesotan who has always cherished the outdoors, finding joy in sharing her love and knowledge with others.
Andrea Lorek Strauss grew up playing outdoors at every opportunity. Today, she is an Extension Professor with the University of Minnesota Extension with a MSEd in Curriculum and Instruction/Outdoor Education. Her career focuses on environmental education, including past work for the International Wolf Center in Ely, MN, the Prairie Ecology Bus Center in southwest Minnesota, and various naturalist roles in the Boston area, northern Minnesota, and New York state.
Tanner has a BS in Microbiology and an MS in Environmental Engineering. He has an enthusiasm for finding and identifying the odd and interesting world of fungi including mushrooms and lichens. Tanner has been teaching in formal roles for over 10 years and enjoys adapting fungal education for folks of all educational backgrounds and mobility levels. Outside of mushrooming, Tanner enjoys photography, camping, and reading.
Sponsor Information
Minnesota Master Naturalist
Register Now!
Seats Taken: 11 of 100