Become a Master Naturalist for Camden-County area

CAMDENTON Mo -- Help protect Camden and surrounding counties’ natural resources by becoming a Missouri Master Naturalist. The Missouri Master Naturalist program is a community based, adult, natural-resource education and volunteer program designed to engage Missourians in the stewardship of our state’s natural resources. A little time and a desire to learn how to care for the environment are all people need to sign up for the program. The Missouri Master Naturalist program and professional natural-resource experts will provide training needed to get started.

The next Master Naturalist certification training course starts with an orientation on Monday, Feb. 13, from 6-8 p.m. at the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) office in Camdenton. Classes will then commence on Feb. 27 and run through May 21. Classes will be held on Monday evenings from 6-9 p.m. at the MDC office in Camdenton. In addition, three Saturday field trips are included in the program.

The 50-hour course will teach participants about Missouri’s natural-resource ecology and management. After graduation, participants are asked to provide 40 hours of volunteer service on land management, citizen science, education and other conservation-related projects in the local community, and achieve eight hours of continued education annually. To maintain Master Naturalist certification, volunteers continue to contribute 40 hours of service and achieve eight hours of advanced training annually.

Camden County currently has an active Master Naturalist Chapter in place whose membership is comprised of more than 70 individuals that have completed the Master Naturalist training program over the past three years. To learn more about the local Chapter’s efforts, visit www.lakeozarkmasternaturalist.com.

Participants must be 18 or older to enroll. The enrollment fee is $100. For more information or to sign up for the class, contact Jackie Rasmussen at 573-346-2644 or rasmussenj@missouri.edu.