Program
PENNSYLVANIA MASTER NATURALIST™
A training program for volunteers, stewards, and adults.
The Master Naturalist training program is a national initiative that aims to connect people with their local
ecosystems through intensive natural science training and local conservation service work. It is a venture directed toward developing local corps of “master volunteers and service providers” to offer education, outreach and service dedicated to the understanding and management of natural areas within their communities. Pennsylvania is an ecologically diverse state containing eight ecoregions: Areas with a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of species, dynamics, and environmental conditions. Program modules will be developed to represent each ecoregion.
This program will be piloted in 2009 in one ecoregion, adding more ecoregions to the program in the future.
This program is perfect for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of the natural environment in which they live. Participants may include volunteers, teachers, retired professionals, nature guides, outdoorsmen and women, eco-tour operators, youth leaders and you!
Master Naturalist training, based on the “Master Gardener” concept, represents a commitment to continuing education in natural history. There are three components to Pennsylvania Master Naturalist™ training.
Natural Science Training: All Naturalists will receive indepth training in natural history, natural sciences,
biodiversity, and nature interpretation.
Service Hours: Service hours give Master Naturalist volunteers and providers an opportunity to apply the
knowledge and skills they have learned during the training. Volunteer work, student projects, and work- related projects can all be applied to Master Naturalist service hours so long as you can demonstrate the application of your natural history or nature interpretation skills.
Specialized Courses (elective hours): Continuing education is an important part of a naturalists life,
therefore, we require a certain number of credit hours each year on specialized topics. Any PICE or partner course qualifies for elective hours (the number of contact hours in the course is the number of credit hours you apply to your training). Any non-PICE or partner course needs to be approved by the Program Coordinator to apply it to your elective hours (just to maintain quality control of training).
WE WANT YOUR INPUT:
Success of this program will depend on the input and involvement of several partnership organizations, including Penn State's Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, who will host the inaugural sessions. We welcome input from any interested individual or organization as we plan for 2008. If you would like to give us your input, please download one of the questionnaires, complete it, and email it to our Program Coordinator, gfarmer@piceweb.org.
Questionnaire for potential participants
Questionnaire for interested organizations
A LOOK AHEAD!
Our pilot program and the 2008/2009 timeline are pending National Science Foundation grant approval. We will post more information on our pilot Master Naturalist plans once the grant has been approved and we continue moving forward.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Gail Farmer, Program Coordinator; gfarmer AT piceweb.org; 610-756-3194
|
