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Description

The mission of the Minnesota Master Naturalist Program is to promote awareness, understanding, and stewardship of Minnesota’s natural environment by developing a corps of well-informed citizens dedicated to conservation education and service within their communities.

Our core biome courses are designed to give a general overview of one of Minnesota's three biomes:

  • Big Woods, Big Rivers - Eastern broadleaf forest
  • Prairies and Potholes - Prairie parkland
  • North Woods, Great Lakes - Laurentian mixed forest

Each biome training course includes 40 hours of lectures, hands-on activities, videos and field trips that cover in-depth, specific aspects of Minnesota's natural history. After completion of the core course, you will be a certified Master Naturalist in the biome that you take, and you need only take one biome course to start volunteering.

Note: Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, in-person courses require participants to comply with safety guidelines such as social distancing and mask wearing. Specific, updated requirements will be emailed to you before the course begins. Registrants should be aware that in-person courses may be cancelled, suspended and/or moved to online formats based on guidance from local health department officials and University of Minnesota safety requirements. If the course is cancelled, you will receive a full refund. If your course is suspended or moved online we will contact you with options. 

All books and necessary materials are included in the course fee, and will be provided to you during your first class. If your course takes place online, materials will be mailed to the address you provide during the registration process. 

Big Woods, Big Rivers

In this core course, training is tailored to Minnesota's Eastern Broadleaf Forest biome. This area makes a diagonal sash across Minnesota, starting at the northwest corner of the state with a narrow band and widening out in the southeast. It encompasses approximately 12 million acres, and includes three of the largest rivers in the state.

Big Woods, Big Rivers covers topics of geology, glaciers, water, wildlife, humans, ecology, and botany using a variety of teaching techniques, ranging from lectures, classroom discussions, field trips, field work, small group work and readings.

Attendance and Capstone Project

Participants must complete the full 40 hours of training to become a certified Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer.

Each participant must complete a group capstone project. Capstone options will be presented on the first day of class, and participants will choose a capstone that they can work on and complete before finishing the course.

Volunteer Service

Following the completion of the training course, Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteers will be expected to complete 40 hours of volunteer service per year to be considered an active Master Naturalist. Any time spent on the capstone project and any volunteer service hours completed after graduating from the training course may be counted towards the 40 hours. There are four basic areas of service:

  • Stewardship. Natural resource management activities such as invasive species removal or restoration projects.
  • Education/Interpretation. Public presentations of natural resource information, educational materials development, or leading hikes.
  • Citizen Science. Data collection and other support for research projects. Examples include Monarch larval monitoring, plant or animal counts, or water quality monitoring.
  • Program Support. Projects include working in a store or office of the Minnesota Master Naturalist or sponsor or serving as a local chapter organizer.

Help

Course content questions

info@minnesotamasternaturalist.org

Registration questions 

Extension Registration, ext-reg@umn.edu

User Name or Password help

UMN Help Desk, HELP@umn.edu, 612-301-4357.

Visit the Minnesota Master Naturalist website for more information on this and upcoming courses.

The best way to register is to register online and pay with a credit card. If you must pay with a check contact ext-reg@umn.edu and we will provide a mail-in registration form. Thank you.

 

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Enroll Now - Select a section to enroll in
Section Title
BWBR - ARCC Field Biology
Type
--
Days
M
Time
9:00AM to 11:45AM
Dates
Aug 21, 2023 to Dec 04, 2023
Campus
Off-Campus
Schedule and Location
View Details
Contact Hours
41.2
Location
  • Off-Campus
Course Fee(s)
Event fee $295.00
Section Details

This course is integrated with a for-credit class at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. Class meetings will focus on lab activities on Rapids campus or sites within Anoka and/or Hennepin Counties to satisfy the field requirements of the course. Lecture material will be presented in recordings and reading assignments. Students are required to participate in a minimum of 10 hours of service-learning. D2L Brightspace will be used as the instructional management system.

Location: Anoka Ramsey Community College, 11200 Mississippi Blvd NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55433

If the course cost is a hardship, please fill out the scholarship application. After the scholarship is fully processed, you will receive a code to be entered in the on-line registration process. Please wait until you receive that code to complete registration. If you would like to receive a scholarship do not register now. Instead, complete this scholarship form and wait to be contacted before enrolling: https://umn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6rIvVxoy9qlFz9j

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this course material is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct requests to Julie Larson, larso143@umn.edu at least two weeks in advance.

Cancellation requests received more than two weeks before the start of class are refunded minus a $20.00 processing fee. Cancellation requests received less than two weeks before the start of class are refunded minus $50.00. If possible, your full fee may be transferred to another biome course.

Section Title
BWBR - Camp Fire MN, Excelsior
Section Schedule
Nov 07, 2023 to Jan 16, 2024
Type
--
Days
T
Time
6:00PM to 8:30PM
Dates
Nov 07, 2023 to Jan 16, 2024
Campus
Off-Campus
Type
--
Days
Sa
Time
9:00AM to 5:00PM
Dates
Nov 18, 2023
Campus
Off-Campus
Type
--
Days
Sa
Time
9:00AM to 5:00PM
Dates
Dec 16, 2023
Campus
Off-Campus
Schedule and Location
View Details
Contact Hours
41.0
Location
  • Off-Campus
Course Fee(s)
Event fee $295.00
Section Details

Come learn about the Big Woods region of Minnesota at Camp Fire MN's beautiful location in Excelsior! Classes will include onsite exploration of the Big Woods biome, hands-on activities, presentations led by Camp Fire's naturalist team and guest speakers, and field trips to amazing natural settings within the Twin Cities. You will learn about geology, plant communities, wildlife, ecology, aquatic systems and human impacts on this region.

All students will complete a capstone service project connecting them to volunteer opportunities at Camp Fire or other local environmental organizations.

Location: Camp Fire Minnesota, 3300 Tanadoona Dr, Excelsior

If the course cost is a hardship, please fill out the scholarship application. After the scholarship is fully processed, you will receive a code to be entered in the on-line registration process. Please wait until you receive that code to complete registration. If you would like to receive a scholarship do not register now. Instead, complete this scholarship form and wait to be contacted before enrolling: https://umn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6rIvVxoy9qlFz9j

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this course material is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct requests to Julie Larson, larso143@umn.edu at least two weeks in advance.

Cancellation requests received more than two weeks before the start of class are refunded minus a $20.00 processing fee. Cancellation requests received less than two weeks before the start of class are refunded minus $50.00.

Section Title
BWBR - Cedar Creek
Type
--
Days
T, W, Th, F, Sa
Time
8:30AM to 5:00PM
Dates
Jan 02, 2024 to Jan 06, 2024
Campus
Off-Campus
Schedule and Location
View Details
Contact Hours
42.5
Location
  • Off-Campus
Course Fee(s)
Event fee $295.00
Section Details

Explore the Big Woods, Big Rivers at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, a University of Minnesota biological field station. Cedar Creek is a mosaic of uplands dominated by oak savanna, prairie, hardwood forest, pine forests, and abandoned agricultural fields and of lowlands comprised of ash and cedar swamps, acid bogs, marshes, and sedge meadows. Experience and learn about the ecosystems, geology, flora and fauna that define the deciduous hardwood forest.

Location: Cedar Creek, 2660 Fawn Lake Drive NE East, Bethel, MN 55005

If the course cost is a hardship, please fill out the scholarship application. After the scholarship is fully processed, you will receive a code to be entered in the on-line registration process. Please wait until you receive that code to complete registration. If you would like to receive a scholarship do not register now. Instead, complete this scholarship form and wait to be contacted before enrolling: https://umn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6rIvVxoy9qlFz9j

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this course material is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct requests to Julie Larson, larso143@umn.edu at least two weeks in advance.

Cancellation requests received more than two weeks before the start of class are refunded minus a $20.00 processing fee. Cancellation requests received less than two weeks before the start of class are refunded minus $50.00. If possible, your full fee may be transferred to another biome course.

Instructor: Kara Baldwin, 605-593-3159, baldwink@umn.edu.

Section Title
BWBR - Camp Fire MN, Excelsior
Type
--
Days
M, T, W, Th, F
Time
9:00AM to 5:00PM
Dates
Feb 12, 2024 to Feb 16, 2024
Campus
Off-Campus
Schedule and Location
View Details
Contact Hours
40.0
Location
  • Off-Campus
Course Fee(s)
Event fee $295.00
Section Details

Come learn about the Big Woods region of Minnesota at Camp Fire MN's beautiful location in Excelsior! Classes will include onsite exploration of the Big Woods biome, hands-on activities, presentations led by Camp Fire's naturalist team and guest speakers, and field trips to amazing natural settings within the Twin Cities. You will learn about geology, plant communities, wildlife, ecology, aquatic systems and human impacts on this region.

Location: Camp Fire MN, 3300 Tanadoona Dr, Excelsior, MN 55331

If the course cost is a hardship, please fill out the scholarship application. After the scholarship is fully processed, you will receive a code to be entered in the on-line registration process. Please wait until you receive that code to complete registration. If you would like to receive a scholarship do not register now. Instead, complete this scholarship form and wait to be contacted before enrolling: https://umn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6rIvVxoy9qlFz9j

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this course material is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct requests to Julie Larson, larso143@umn.edu at least two weeks in advance.

Cancellation requests received more than two weeks before the start of class are refunded minus a $20.00 processing fee. Cancellation requests received less than two weeks before the start of class are refunded minus $50.00. If possible, your full fee may be transferred to another biome course.

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