Good Water Master Naturalist Fall Training Class will start Tuesday evening, September 4th. The class will meet on Tuesday evenings from 6:00-9:30 p.m. Some classes and field trips will be on Saturdays. The first class is Tuesday, September 4. The last class will be December 11. Cost is $150 and includes the comprehensive Texas Master Naturalist Program manual as well as a one year membership to the Good Water Chapter. For couples who plan to share the manual, there is a discount for the second student. Click here for online registration.The Tuesday classes will start at 6:00 p.m. and finish around 9:30. There are four Saturday field trips and classes planned. The schedule will be posted in the next week or so. Check back here after August 15 for the link to the schedule.
Texas Master Naturalists are people who still like to play in the dirt and are willing to get their feet wet and their hands dirty. We are a volunteer organization and we have many opportunities to serve. Good Water Master Naturalists volunteer at many parks in Williamson County, provide nature education to children and adults in many different settings, and participate in many Citizen Science projects such as Texas Stream Team Monitoring, Cornell’s eBird, and iNaturalist. To become a Master Naturalist, one takes a training class of over 40 hours of expert training about almost every aspect of the natural world – soils, backyard habitats, prairies, rangeland management, forest ecology, birds, mammals, fish, insects, botany, climate, geology and archaeology.
To complete the certification process, each volunteer completes 40 hours of service and an additional 8 hours of training. To maintain their certification each year, volunteers are encouraged to take their knowledge and volunteer for 40 hours and take 8 hours of additional training.
David Robinson took our Spring Training Class this year. He says, “The Instructors & Speakers were absolutely fantastic. They were knowledgeable, approachable and eager to share their knowledge. I also would like to thank all the Goodwater Master Naturalists who were there for every class and made the whole experience thoroughly enjoyable!”
Mary Gail Hamilton also took the Spring Training Class. Her comments: “The whole course was incredibly interesting. Based on the agenda, there were classes that I told myself would be boring. However, that was never the case! Each of the speakers did an excellent job sharing his/her knowledge. I will say the bat class was particularly eye-opening, learning how non-threatening and adorable bats really are. The wildflower and bird-watching field trips have made me much more aware of the nature around me. I was sorry the classes came to an end. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about nature and meeting others who share my interest!”