Registration for 2021-2022 Junior Master Naturalists for current participants opens on May 18, 2021. New participants will begin registration on May 24, 2021.
Here is the Elementary School Junior Master Naturalists registration link, also with information about the program.
Elementary Junior Master Naturalist program will begin in September 2021. We are hoping to begin a middle school program sometime later in the year. The middle school program will be monthly field trips on Saturday mornings. Middle School students who participated in the 2020-2021 program are welcome to join the Elementary program and then transition to Middle School program. New Middle School participants please join the list below to receive information.
Click here for a reminder email for registration for Middle School Junior Master Naturalists.
Note: Participants for Elementary JMN will need to join an iNaturalist project, and access a secure Zoom meeting.
Join us for the 2021-2022 Junior Master Naturalist program. Our theme is Earth Wonders. We will be exploring the world around us: geology, archaeology, paleontology, weather, water reclamation, watersheds, etc.
The program focuses on Junior Master Naturalists getting outside, making observations, and learning about the creatures seen. We will use a hybrid model. We will have:
- One hour group meetings once a month on Thursday evenings starting at 7pm including monthly invites to the Good Water Master Naturalist seminar
- Once a month field trips are planned depending upon COVID limitations
- Online Master Naturalist videos and other learning resources links for deep understanding of our Central Texas creatures
Saturday field trips will be dependent upon what the COVID-19 active cases are at the time of the field trip.
In order to protect our families and volunteers, there will not be an in-person classroom component this year. The in-person field trips are also tentative, but we are hopeful. In-person field trips are subject to local/state/national restrictions as well as Williamson County 4H and Good Water Master Naturalist policies. Although we love to get outdoors together, safety is our number one priority.
Grades: 3rd-5th grade (previous JMN participants are also welcome)
Fees: $51 Total ($25 JMN Registration, $25 4H Membership, and $1 iNaturalist youth set-up)
The $25 JMN registration fee may be paid through PayPal or a mailed check during registration. Registration is not complete until this fee is paid. Additional information will be sent in September for 4H fees and to set up the iNaturalist account.
Participants need to be able to join live Zoom sessions, and to set up and access an iNaturalist account.
Each participant will receive a Junior Master Naturalist t-shirt prior to field trips.
To earn the Junior Master Naturalist pin, each participant must attend at least 80% of the online meetings and complete at least 80% of the observation activities. Field trip participation will not be required to earn the pin as we understand some may not be able to engage in in-person events.
Program Start Date: September 18, 2021
Registration Link: https://txmn.org/goodwater/junior-master-naturalist-registration/
Earth Wonders 2021-2022
3rd-5th Grade Tentative Schedule
September 18, 2021 – Kickoff
September 30 – Virtual Meeting – Geology
October 16 – Field Trip – Geology
November 4 – Virtual Meeting – Astronomy
November 13 – Field Trip – Astronomy
December 2 – Virtual Meeting – Watershed
December 11 – Field Trip – Watershed
January 6 – Virtual Meeting – Water reclamation
January 22 – Field Trip – Water reclamation
February 3 – Virtual Meeting – Paleontology
February 19 Field Trip – Paleontology
March 3 – Virtual Meeting – Weather
March 10 – Weather – field trip or guest speaker
April 7 – Virtual Meeting – Sustainability, Climate Change
April 23 – Field Trip – Sustainability, Climate Change
May 5 – Virtual Meeting – Land Management
May 21 Field Trip, End of Year Celebration – Prairie