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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.

Prairies & Potholes

The official name for the ecological province called the Prairies & Potholes by the Minnesota Master Naturalist Program is the Prairie Parkland Province. This biome was historically composed mainly of tallgrass prairie. Today it is used for agricultural purposes. The glaciers deposited between 100 and 600 feet of drift over the entire region. The Prairies & Potholes biome covers just over 16 million acres on the western edge of the state.

The biome is a hot and dry place, where evapotranspiration is annually higher than precipitation. In the northern portions of the biome, glacial kettles have filled with water and form the "potholes" that dot the landscape. These bodies of water are important for migratory waterfowl, and waterfowl production. The Minnesota River now flows through the old channel carved by Glacial River Warren, an outlet for Glacial Lake Agassiz.

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.

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
PP - Southwest Minnesota State University
Type
--
Days
T
Time
6:00PM to 8:30PM
Dates
Apr 09, 2024 to May 07, 2024
Campus
Off-Campus
Type
--
Days
Th
Time
6:00PM to 8:30PM
Dates
Apr 11, 2024 to May 09, 2024
Campus
Off-Campus
Type
--
Days
Sa
Time
8:00AM to 5:00PM
Dates
Apr 20, 2024
Campus
Off-Campus
Type
--
Days
Su
Time
8:00AM to 5:00PM
Dates
May 05, 2024
Campus
Off-Campus
Schedule and Location
Contact Hours
43.0
Location
  • Off-Campus
Section Details

Minnesota’s remaining prairie grasslands and wetlands are still visible as you travel across the western and southern areas of the state. Enroll in this course to learn more about the P&P biome as well as current efforts to conserve and restore prairie and wetland habitat. With your instructors and guest experts, you will explore the prairie, its wetlands, and streams through classroom, lab, and outdoor field experiences. We hope you will share your prairie knowledge and experiences with our class and ask questions!

Location: Southwest Minnesota State University, 1501 State St, Marshall, MN 56258

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.

Scholarships are Available

If you plan to apply for a scholarship do not register yet. Instead, download the scholarship here Minnesota Master Naturalist Scholarship Form: Minnesota Master Naturalist Scholarship Form. After the scholarship is fully processed, you will receive a code to enter during registration. 

Section Title
PP - Prairies & Potholes, Olmsted County Parks
Type
--
Days
T
Time
6:00PM to 8:30PM
Dates
Apr 16, 2024 to May 21, 2024
Campus
Off-Campus
Type
--
Days
Th
Time
6:00PM to 8:30PM
Dates
Apr 18, 2024 to May 09, 2024
Campus
Off-Campus
Type
--
Days
Sa
Time
8:00AM to 5:00PM
Dates
Apr 27, 2024
Campus
Off-Campus
Type
--
Days
Sa
Time
8:00AM to 5:00PM
Dates
May 11, 2024
Campus
Off-Campus
Schedule and Location
Contact Hours
43.0
Location
  • Off-Campus
Course Fee(s)
Section Details

Spring is a great time to study nature in Minnesota, and Olmsted Parks have a range of lands, plant communities, and waters that we will visit during this class. We will divide our class time between both Oxbow and Chester Woods County Parks. Besides a range of woodlands and restored prairies, Oxbow County Park has an excellent zoo containing many of the animals of our area, so we will not only see them but we hear about their lives and care. The extensive natural and planted prairies and woods at Chester Woods County Park will allow us to see the effects of management and restoration. Two (required) field trips will take us to other special areas to learn about the amazing and wide ranging habitats in SE Minnesota. All course participants will contribute to a capstone service project with a small group.

This class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m, with all day field trips April 27 and May 11.

Location: Olmsted County Parks, 8378 14 Highway Southeast, Eyota, MN 55934

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.

Scholarships are Available

If you plan to apply for a scholarship do not register yet. Instead, download the scholarship here Minnesota Master Naturalist Scholarship Form: Minnesota Master Naturalist Scholarship Form. After the scholarship is fully processed, you will receive a code to enter during registration. 

Section Title
PP - ARCC Field Biology
Type
--
Days
T
Time
9:00AM to 2:00PM
Dates
May 28, 2024 to Jul 09, 2024
Campus
Off-Campus
Schedule and Location
Contact Hours
35.0
Location
  • Off-Campus
Course Fee(s)
Section Details

This course is taught at Anoka-Ramsey Community College as part of a Field Biology course that meets in person and also has recorded lectures. In-person activities often have assignments that students are expected to complete as a group. These activities are both indoors and outdoors. Master Naturalists are not expected to take the quizzes ARCC's students take. Course material is found in a platform called Desire to Learn Brightspace (D2L). Field trips on Tuesdays are within Anoka County. Two longer day field trips are planned on Thursdays, but only one is required. Ten hours of service learning is also required for a capstone project.

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

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.

Scholarships are Available

If you plan to apply for a scholarship do not register yet. Instead, download the scholarship here Minnesota Master Naturalist Scholarship Form: Minnesota Master Naturalist Scholarship Form. After the scholarship is fully processed, you will receive a code to enter during registration. 

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