CANCELED – Wisconsin Master Naturalist 2020

UPDATE 4/24: The course is canceled for this year. We may offer an advanced training half day in August.

The Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy is hosting a Master Naturalist Course in Middleton beginning June 19, 2020. The course will include some classroom time, but will focus mostly on outdoor experiences in the Pheasant Branch Conservancy and field trips to other exceptional sites for learning in our topic areas. Many experts will share their knowledge, research, tips, tricks and inspiration as they lead or present parts of the course. The Conservancy includes 500 acres of remnant and seeded prairie, oak savanna, woodlands, springs, wetlands, and stream corridors. The course will look within the Conservancy and other places in the Pheasant Branch Watershed and beyond to explore geologic history, ecology, water and plant resources, and the connections between humans and the landscape. The course will have two focal points from which to cover the topics above: one is water, water resources and the relationships between water and all of the above. The other is learning through restoration and management activities – a service-learning approach. The target audience includes individuals who are interested in teaching using the outdoors as a classroom as well as folks interested in volunteering for restoration and management of natural areas all while gaining an environmental knowledge base. Plan to arrange your own transportation with classmates to outdoor sites.

The Wisconsin Master Naturalist program is a network of well-informed volunteers dedicated to conservation service, leadership, and lifelong learning. The Master Naturalist Volunteer Training provides 40 hours of coursework in natural history, interpretation, and conservation stewardship. Trainings combine classroom instruction with field experiences and are taught by professional natural resources educators and scientists. Once trained, Wisconsin Master Naturalists provide 40 hours of service and take 8 hours of advanced training each year to maintain their certification and receive a recognition pin.

Schedule

June 19: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
June 20: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
June 26: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
June 27: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
July 10: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
July 11: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Attendance Requirements

Course participants that want to be certified Master Naturalist Volunteers will be required to:

• Attend regularly. Only four hours of training may be missed.
• Participate in field trips, even in inclement weather.
• Travel in personal vehicles as necessary to reach field trip locations.
• Experience moderate activity on uneven terrain. Please consult with the program office info@wimasternaturalist.org before registering if you have you have questions about accessibility.
• Complete a capstone project during the course.