Minnesota Master Naturalist Student Training
Minnesota Master Naturalist Program Volunteer Training Courses
Attendance Policy | Volunteer Service | Scholarships
Who can be a Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer?
Any adult who is curious and enjoys learning about the natural world- shares that knowledge with others- and supports conservation. If you enjoy hiking- bird watching- following
tracks- or identifying wildflowers- you`ll love being a Minnesota
Master Naturalist Volunteer. Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteers are a motivated group of fun and interesting people: teachers- retired professionals- nature guides- hunters- eco-tour operators- farmers- and...YOU!
The Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer Training Course consists of 40 hours of in-classroom training. The classroom training includes a variety of teaching methods- lectures- Power Points- hands-on activities- videos- and field trips that provide the participants with information on Minnesota`s natural history. The course is designed to be a general overview of Minnesota`s three biomes. Each class series focuses on one of the three biomes: Big Woods- Big Rivers; Prairies and Potholes; and North Woods- Great Lakes.
Participants must complete 40 full hours of training to become certified Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteers. One make-up night is included in most courses but field trips cannot be missed or made up.
Following the completion of the training course- Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteers will be expected to complete 40 hours of volunteer service per year to be considered an active Master Naturalist. Any time spent on the Capstone Project and any volunteer service hours completed after graduating from the training course may be counted towards the 40 hours. There are four basic areas of service:
- Stewardship Projects—these projects would involve natural resource management activities- such as invasive species removal- or restoration projects.
- Education/Interpretive Projects—these projects would be public presentations of natural resource information- educational materials development- or leading hikes.
- Citizen Science Projects—these projects would focus on volunteers gathering data and returning it to researchers to support the research projects. Examples would include: Monarch larval monitoring- plant or animal counts- or water quality monitoring.
- Program Support—these projects include working in a store or office of the Minnesota Master Naturalist or sponsor- or serving as a local chapter organizer.
Each course costs $200.00 and includes course manuals and supplies. This is comparable to the cost for a Minnesota Master Gardener course ($200)- and is a bargain compared to tuition and fees for natural history courses offered by universities.
If the $200.00 fee is a hardship- fill out the scholarship application- and send it in to:
46352 State Highway 329
Morris- MN 56267
You will be notified within two weeks of your status.
