Becoming a Florida Master Naturalist is not a guarantee of a great job bettering the environment, or any job at all.

Organizers of the master naturalist program at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences said most people’s motivation is a passion for conservation: To understand Florida’s natural world well enough to help protect it.

Kate Rose, who heads the part of the program dealing with coastal systems for Florida Sea Grant in Charlotte County, said everything else — potential career boosts, volunteer opportunities, personal enrichment — are secondary benefits.

“We get a lot of retirees, but we've also gotten recently a lot of people that plan to use the things that they learn in class, in their career,” she said. “And it's really lovely to see all of those people interact just based on the fact that they love nature and like to learn more about it.”

UF’s master naturalist training is designed to help people to better understand the Sunshine State’s unique ecosystems — focusing on coastal environments, freshwater wetlands, and upland habitats.

People earn the designation by completing hands-on coursework, field trips, and service projects led by scientists and natural-resource professionals.

The next class being offered starts March 5 in Charlotte County.

• The agenda is here.
• Click here for further information and to register.
• Registration closes Feb. 27.

While the master naturalist designation isn’t a professional credential like a CPA or a licensed electrician, it gives people already working to protect Florida’s natural resources a stronger foundation for what they do.

They love nature. They want to deeply understand Florida’s environment by learning from biologists, land managers, and local experts. Many end up volunteering to teach others.

The program is open to anyone, although the most common folks who take the classes include teachers, park rangers, nature guides, retirees, and volunteers. Quite often, those in the program are people who simply want to know what they’re looking at when they walk through the woods or paddle within a mangrove tunnel.

Graduates use the certification in different ways. Some leverage it to strengthen their resumes for work in environmental education, park operations, wildlife rehabilitation, guiding, or conservation nonprofits. Others use the training to volunteer with land-management agencies, lead nature hikes, or make more informed decisions in their own backyards. But the motivation is usually the same: understanding Florida’s wild places well enough to help protect them.

To earn the master naturalist designation, someone must complete one or more of the training courses -- coastal, freshwater, and upland.

Each course includes classroom instruction, field trips led by biologists or land managers, and a final project that demonstrates understanding of the material. The courses typically total about 40 hours of classroom learning and hands-on experience.

There is no exam at the end. Participation is key: doing the fieldwork, completing assignments, and demonstrating engagement with the science of Florida’s natural systems.

“Think of it as an excellent resume booster for nature-related work, but not a golden ticket,” UF said in a press release. “People often say it's like putting on glasses and finally seeing Florida clearly.”

People who take master naturalist courses spread what they learn in various ways, including:

• Impressing the neighbors by identifying that weird plant in their backyards.
• Volunteering with parks, preserves, wildlife centers, or nonprofits.
• Explaining relevant fire ecology, tidal dynamics, and wildlife behavior.
• Becoming “that person” who can answer everyone’s questions during a nature hike.
  

Others enjoy becoming a citizen-expert on weightier ecological concerns, like invasive species, whether the millimeters-long fire ant, which stings and bites, or Burmese pythons, which can grow more than 20 feet long and eat a deer whole.

“The number one thing that comes to mind is the sense of community that we really aim to create in the class,” Rose said. “There's something really special about people from diverse backgrounds coming together.

“I’ve seen friendships and relationships bloom, and that's just great.”

Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health. 

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