The mission of the Indiana Master Naturalist Program
is "to bring together natural resource specialists with adult learners
to foster an understanding of Indiana's plants, water, soils, and
wildlife and promote volunteer service in local communities."
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Participants in the Indiana Master Naturalist program complete
at least 8 weeks of classes covering topics
such as: birds, trees,
geology, forest ecology, insects, wildflowers, critters, soils, water, wetlands,
and people and natural resources. The student will then complete
and open book exam over the covered materials. After the classes, participants complete one hour of volunteer
service involving master naturalist related activities for every hour of classroom instruction.
 Instructors
are generally considered experts in their field and provide you with
relevant content, hands-on learning, and lots of
resources for you to use on your own. Much
of the material is hands-on, such as bird watching, rocks, animal
tracks, keying out wildflowers, touring wetlands, studying insects, and
identifying native trees. Participants also get information on basic
geology so they know what soils are just beneath our feet.
Participants range from young adults to retired people. Men
and women are equally involved in the class and people from doctors to
janitors to journalists have taken the class.
The number and locations of courses vary across the state and depend
on the time of year and the interest of local natural resources agencies
in the program. A fee is normally charged, but the dollar amount
may vary with the number of sessions, the types of speakers, and the
sponsors.
Students gain
knowledge of Indiana's plants, wildlife, and other natural resources,
while meeting others with similar interests. Wood-Land-Lakes
RC&D is proud to
be one of the sponsors of the local Indiana Master Naturalist programs.
For other Indiana Master
Naturalist programs and for more information about the standardized
statewide Indiana Master Naturalist program, visit the
Indiana Master Naturalist
website or contact 317.232.4143 and
speak with Ginger Murphy, Indiana State Coordinator.
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