Registration for our 2023 Initial Training class is now closed. If you would like to be placed on our email list for chapter news and to be notified when registration opens for our next training class, please contact our marketing director Ken English. . .
The next chapter initial training class will be in 2024 and registration will open in August of 2023. Once your application has been submitted, your payment of the fee will secure your place in the class. Class size is limited to 20 students so early applications are encouraged. REGISTRATION (tuition and membership fee) is $200 per person or $375 for a couple sharing materials. Fees must be paid by December 30 to keep your place in the class.
Becoming a Master Naturalist – Training and Membership
The Texas Master Naturalist Program’s mission is 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.
What’s First?
The first step to becoming a master naturalist and joining us on our mission is to enroll in the chapter’s Initial Training Class. The Texas Master Naturalist program of study created by Texas Parks and Wildlife and Texas AgriLife is designed to provide you with a basic understanding of the natural world. You will receive a comprehensive textbook and attend weekly sessions taught by experts in their particular field. In addition, the subject matter is tailored to the territory served by the chapter and class field trips provide the opportunity to observe in person some of the topics you are studying in class.
The Gideon Lincecum Chapter serves a 5-county area: Austin, Colorado, Fayette, Lee, and Washington counties. You will join a group of people who, like you, enjoy the Texas outdoors and want to learn how they can better manage their own land and work with the State to promote and protect our natural resources. The 40-hour course includes the following topics:
- Master Naturalist Orientation
- Ecology Concepts, Ecosystems & Ecoregions
- Hydrology/Soils
- Geology
- Weather/Climate
- Aquatic Systems Ecology/Pond Management
- Plants
- Rangeland Ecology
- Entomology
- Ornithology
- Forest Ecology
- Mammals
- Herpetology
- Archaeology . . . and more . . .
The schedule (days and times) for the Training Class is set for Saturdays and some Monday evenings; however, it is subject to change throughout the 5 month course period. In addition to classroom sessions, there will be four or five field trips. Since it is possible that some of the class sessions will be conducted online as webinars or virtual meetings, please be aware there may be computer and internet access requirements. Classes begin in January with graduation in May.
Want to know more? You can visit the state website, Texas Master Naturalist, or contact our training director.
What happens next?
When you start the Initial Training Course, you are a member of the chapter and designated as Master Naturalist Trainee. When you graduate (completing the minimum 40 hour requirement), you are designated as a Texas Master Naturalist.
Our goal is to get you involved in our mission, so the next step is to fulfill the requirements to become a Certified Master Naturalist and maintain that certification each subsequent year. Certification requires a minimum of 40 hours of volunteer service and a minimum of 8 hours of advanced training each year to earn your dragonfly pins and annual recertification pins. We are all working to earn the Texas ecoregions pin for 2023.
Want to read more about who we are and what we do? Check out our Newsletters.