The Mission: To develop a corps of well-informed volunteers to provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities for the State of Texas.

The Need: Many communities and organizations rely on such citizen volunteers for implementing youth education programs; for operating parks, nature centers, and natural areas; and for providing leadership in local natural resource conservation efforts. In fact, a short supply of dedicated and well-informed volunteers is often cited as a limiting factor for community-based conservation efforts.

 

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Upcoming Events

Texas Master Naturalist Trainings

Many of the chapters of the Texas Master Naturalist program are conducting training classes in the summer and fall months for volunteers wanting to learn about natural resource and conservation management. If you are interested, search for a chapter near you and check back soon to see where fall trainings will be held.

The main qualification needed to become a certified Texas Master Naturalist is an interest in learning and playing an active part in conservation. Volunteers will receive a minimum of 40 hours of basic training from educators and specialists from places such as universities, natural resource agencies, nature centers and museums. Training topics include interpretation and management of natural resources, ecological concepts, eco-regions in Texas and natural systems management. Volunteers are then asked to provide enhancement projects in order to maintain certification as a Texas Master Naturalist. They are also expected to pursue a minimum of eight hours of advanced training in areas of personal interest. However, many of the volunteers will go above and beyond their basic requirements once involved, and are encouraged to develop personal projects connecting to the mission of the chapter and statewide program.

To get even more information about reasons to join the Texas Master Naturalist program, we encourage you to watch the winning submission for the 2015 Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting’s Video Contest. The video was submitted by the North Texas Chapter, located in Dallas.

 

For more information about existing chapters or forming a new chapter contact Mary Pearl Meuth, Texas Master Naturalist Program Assistant State Coordinator, by email: mpmeuth@tamu.edu or by phone at: (979) 845-7294.

Highlights of chapter’s projects, state-wide initiatives and program achievements can also be found on the Texas Master Naturalist Programs Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/TexasMasterNaturalistProgram

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